maggot

I ride my tack bike all over nyc. I love to go fast.
but getting up at 4:30 am to race in the park on saterdays isn't my cup of tea
plus I like the simplicity of fixed bikes.
So I was wondering if some one good give me some info on how to get started

huerro

1. Go to velodrome
2. Take track class
3. **********???
4. Profit!

Yoshi

The track racing season is over at Kissena but it will start again next year in April. The races are typically held on Wednesday nights starting at 6:20pm. There are occasionally weekend races (open weekend, state championships, labor day weekend, etc.) that are held during the day.

In addition to the races Campo holds a track racing class on Saturdays during the summer. I think the class starts at 11am.

https://www.kissena.info/track/ for more info.

maggot

thanks alot for the info but it would be great if some could tell me what type of gears I should be running
and so on.

Yoshi

Gearing is a pretty personal choice. I run an 84" gear on the track (48x15) but some people run gears in the 90s and higher.

Also your bike must have drop bars with the ends plugged for mass start races.

dutret

start with a 48x16 and move up as you get better. Remember it's better to struggle for a while and develop a good spin than to win a few beginner races without doing so.

Since you have most of a year to prepare the best thing you can do is to get a road bike and start going on group rides. The ones with the roadies in team kits. Being comfortable riding shoulder to shoulder and drafting will not only make you much faster but also keep you and everyone else safe. Even more then fitness the biggest problem the street fixie crowd has is that they can't ride in a pack.

maggot

thanks so much for the info I was running a 48x16 on my old ride until someone stole it. So I guess i'll get another 48 for the new bike. Right now I'm just running a 45x16 and I can put a 15 on the other side of my flip flop hub for training purposes. And as for running in a pack, thats why I want to race my roomate races and every chance I get I ride in a pelaton with him and his teammates when the training. However there not to found of me when I doit on my track bike. And I can never stay with them for more than 5 or 6 miles anyway. On my road bike its a diffrent story. But its just to carefree with brakes.

dutret

I honestly can't tell if this is a joke or not.

Voodoo76

88" is a pretty standard Gear for most training, a lot of guys even race this low. 90" to 92" will cover up to very fast mass start stuff. As mentioned it's personal pref and related a bit to riding style, however it's pretty rare to find someone riding outside of 86 to 92.

dutret

90-92" for beginners? Which track?

Voodoo76

Agree that would be steep for training, depends for the racing. Most in my experience, even 4s, at Major Taylor or Northbrook are at least 86" or 88" for mass start stuff. Would say 90% of Racing at the old drome in Det (Dorais) was 88 +, the new track there is shorter/steeper so smaller is a little more common.

Guess I was trying to illustrate that even though gearing is "individual" the range isn't really large. The recomendation I was given starting out was to have a 14T thru 16T for the back and 48T thru 50T for the front to cover about 99% of what I would ever need from warmup thru race. Have been in a few points races where 92 would have been appropriate.

dutret

So have I ane even steeper depending on what you planned. They were far from begginers races though. A begginers race isn't going to be that fast and they will be better served by learning to spin before they gear up.

Voodoo76

Yep.