chambers078

Dear Carleton,

I consider myself an above average road rider.
Road race results are all or nothing. (I've won two, podium in two, been dropped in five, only one or two pack fodder finishes)
However, when it comes to crits, I consistently make moves that put me on the podium or at least top ten.
Specifically in the last lap.

So, is it time to give up my Lance wannabe phase and give track racing some serious attention?

carleton

It's worth a shot. Some things to consider:

- You can get 4 - 5 races within 3 hours on a typical track race day. That's lots of chances to learn.
- Generally speaking, a road "sprinter" would be a track "endurance" racer.
- Track racing will improve your road game. Lots of great road riders came from the track. Many use the track to hone their sprint, cadence, pack skills, and bike handling.
- If there is a track in your area, don't be surprised if some of the top crit racers moonlight at the track.
- Relatively speaking, your gear will be a fraction of the cost of similar quality road racing gear.
- If you live in the socal area and race indoors at ADT, a race will never be called off due to rain or heat.
- Your roadie friends will envy you because they think the track is balls-out scary, when in fact, more wrecks happen in crits than on the track. See point above about pack and bike handling skills.
- Your gear, your car, and the bathroom are no more than 333M away at all times

Corwings

Dear Carleton,

I commute to work, 16 milesish each way. What would be a good breakfast (not my bowl of cereal) that I could eat and not feel like vomiting without having to eat it exceptionally early. Currently, for lack of anything better, I get up at 5:30am, eat my cereal, go play with my puppy and lay around until about 6:45 when I leave for the day. If I don't wake up early enough to get my milk and cereal in with that much prep time during my ride I start to feel like I am going to toss Cheerios.

Do you have any easy prep breakfast suggestions that sit better in the stomach than milk and cereal (which is pretty much anything) so I can eat at soemthing like 6-6:15 and not feel like dying while I'm pushing up that last hill before I get to work?



I ride 42x16 (yeah it's spinney, but that's the idea for now) because I live on the top of a hill that is fairly steep and short. I average about 20-25 on the flats and about 16 up all the hills and bumps until the final hill at my house, but I live through my ride home quite well.

Thanks,



TL;DR What can I eat right before I bike and not puke up while biking?

Muffin Man

Who is umd and botto? I hear their names on the road forum and see the I support umd sigs, but im confused as to who/what they are

carleton

It's the milk that's making you feel pukey. I've made that mistake before, eating a quick bowl of cereal before racing. Wanted to barf all night.

I'd try something solid like a banana and some bread (toast, bagel). Throw in some peanut butter. Maybe some cereal bars or clif bars. Clif bars are pricey I know, but they are dense in nutrients. I keep them on hand for when I miss meals. They hold me over for about 30-45" till I can get food. I'm sure there are some less expensive options.

Squirrelli

Carleton banned botto once before.

umd was a very prolific poster in the 41 (road forum) and he is very resourceful but he's very blunt with his responses and he was banned because of some really complicated matter.

carleton

botto is a no-nonsense guy in the road and road racing forums. He knows his stuff.

umd was a prolific poster in both forums, too. But, he broke a bunch of rules and eventually got himself temporarily banned them perma-banned. Not really sure about the details. I know that getting banned isn't up to just one moderator. So, he must of pushed a lot of buttons...or one big button.

JesusBananas

I tried reading the 40 page "I support umd" thread once to learn about what happened but gave up about 10 pages in.

And I don't understand the fascination with being a "******or," quite frankly. A website that gets more than a billion pageviews a month is not exactly some secret club.

csj0952

Carleton, I'm at a loss here, I want a LIGHT alumninum 52-53 sized single speed bike for zipping around the city. I am looking at a cannondale capo on ebay but it just went over 1000 dollars in the auction which is a bit more than I figured I'd have to spend. I could just go with a new Trek T1 but I figure I lose so much buying new.

What other options do I have for something that's light as a track bike besides the Trek? There's no fuji dealer where I live and I heard the specialized Langster is heavy. The cannondale is no longer made. I'm screwed...

zoltani

Carleton, why you no answer my question?

carleton

I'm not a personal shopper.

Buying used comes at a discount. But, it's not really a discount. If you have to spend a great deal of time and energy to buy a used bike, then there comes a point when the costs (money + time shopping + time wasted not riding) outweigh the value of the used bike...a bike which is inherently of less value than a new bike to begin with.

So, unless you are extremely lucky and can get the exact bike you want used but in great condition for a fraction of the new price and can have it shipped to you quickly for cheap...buying new might not be a bad option.

carleton

Because you answered your own question.

csj0952

Carleton, you have got me on a new kick now...here are my LBS choices. I want to be under $1000 and under 17lbs hopefully stock. I'm looking for the lightest frame to buy so I can upgrade the components on it. It will be ridden on the road only, not track though.

Rank them based on your opinion keeping lightness/agility in mind:

Specialized Langster Aluminum
Trek T1
Felt TK3
Bianchi Pista
KHS Flite 100

xkillemallx16

...

csj0952

Carleton, how annoying am I on a scale of 1-10?

Sorry about that

hamfoh

^
https://www.wabicycles.com/lightning_...ec_orng11.html

carleton

Thanks, homie.

You are fine...unless you ad a sig pic that's 800px tall

UCF Eric

Dear Carleton,

I know that you don't want your hips to rock when you pedal as this is an indication that your saddle is too high. The problem is that when I have the saddle adjusted to where my hips don't rock, I develop a pain in only my left knee. The problem completely goes away when I move the saddle up just a tad though. I don't think it has to do with my cleat placement because it hasn't changed, only the height of the saddle. Any ideas as to what could cause this and is it okay if I just leave my saddle where it causes no pain?

Thanks.

carleton

My first guess would be that one leg is longer than the other. This is normal. We aren't perfectly symmetrical. A professional bike fitter can determine for sure. Solutions include moving your cleat or shims between your cleat and shoe.

UCF Eric

Thanks, I had thought about one leg being slightly longer than the other. Looks like I need to save up for a bike fit, thanks for the help.

carleton

No problem.

One thing you can do at home, this is what the bike fitter did to me at the shop: Put on some shorts and remove your socks and shoes so you can see your knees and ankles. Stretch and get really limber. Then lay on your back on an impromptu therapy type table or the floor. Have someone gently push your knees into your chest one at a time. Then have them pull and shake your legs by the ankles/feet (they are standing at your feet). Then they will pull your legs and maybe you can see if one knee is lower than the other. That means that one upper leg is longer. If the knees are lined up but one ankle is lower, that means that one lower leg is longer.

In the former case (longer upper leg) cleat placement will help remedy the situation. In the latter case (longer lower leg) then shimming the shorter leg's cleat will help remedy the situation.

Kayce

I have three questions:

Can you go through a basic run down of your tubualr gluing process? Ive read and watched videos that range from 4 days on the well produced Zipp video down to about 5 hours.

Im traveling up to Chicago at the end of the month for the Sprinters Omnium in Northbrook. The plan is to bring most of our own food, but I have never really done an all day event, what sort of things do you think would be a good idea to bring? We have lots of space.

Any tips for a non sprinter doing a bunch of sprint evenets at a track they have never ridden?

carleton

I don't glue my tubulars, but I need to learn.

Bring stuff that will keep well in the heat. Fruit, bread, dry sandwiches, and of course electrolyte drinks. An EZUp type tent with camping chairs will probably be useful. Coolers.

Tips would be to get a good warmup so as not to pull a muscle. Practice standing starts and accelerations from low speeds during workouts leading up to the event. What events will you race?

Kayce

The events are a 200s for seeding, a sprint tournement, a standing lap(is that different from a chariot technique wise?), and a 4 lap scratch.

carleton

Do you have a local track?