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Thinking of track, also of my old track bike, opinions?

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Thinking of track, also of my old track bike, opinions?

Old 10-27-11, 03:19 PM
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Thinking of track, also of my old track bike, opinions?

Okay, I'm under a job search mode, but one option will put me within reach of the Kenosha velodrome so I'm thinking of using my track bike maybe next year. It won't be anything serious, just some fun racing and training, and I'm in my 50's so no dreams anymore of entering the Olympics.

Anyway, I'm wondering if my bike is too far out of date, or what I need to measure to ensure it will be suitable for the track. I've posted about it a couple of times up in the C&V section, I've also thought about selling it locally but the local market isn't interested so now I'm thinking of just using it.

Measurements and some pics in this thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...t=quattro+assi

From that thread:
seat tube is about 57cm ctt
top tube is about 55cm ctc
it has a 105mm ctc Cinelli stem
gearing is 48x15 if I counted right

I don't know what the BB height is, nor do I recall what the crank length is.
For any of you who have rode Kenosha, how does the gearing look? High, low, depends on event?

I'm also wondering what some reasonably priced pedals are. I've got some clips/straps and somewhere I've got some slotted cleats that will attach to my shoes. My old leather shoes with the nailed on slotted cleats no longer fit, which is probably a good thing.

Thanks for any input, not sure if this makes me nuts or not. Worst case is I add a front brake and ride it around town, then go back to the part time work at the LBS and try to swing an EP deal on a more current track bike.



Maybe I've still got lingering dreams of going to the Master's Nat's someday....
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Old 10-27-11, 08:07 PM
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Just pumped up the tires and measured the BB height.
27.5cm from center of crank to the ground,
Crank arms are 165's.

I'll have to rummage around the web tomorrow and compare to current track bike geometries.
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Old 10-28-11, 03:32 AM
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I think your bike would be perfect.

Give the bike a tuneup:
- Put on some fresh tires
- Fresh grip tape
- Grease and repack hubs, headset, BB
- Check spoke tension
- Maybe a new chain (keep the old one)

Normal clipless shoes and pedals are fine and are the majority of what you'll see on the track.

Nice bike, by the way.
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Old 10-28-11, 07:38 AM
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Thanks, should be fun. I finally picked up another set of rollers so I should be able to do some spinning this winter and get a jump on the Spring training. I'm starting to look forward to actually getting some miles on this bike.
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Old 10-28-11, 09:42 AM
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If it still fits and is comfortable (i.e. you aren't 6 inches taller than when you rode it last) it will be fine-- do what Carleton said as far as maintenance.

Those old red looks are fine, too- just make sure your cleats aren't worn.
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Old 10-28-11, 10:25 AM
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The red Look CarboPro's are off the bike and back into the pedal bucket for now, put some Campy pedals with clips/straps on it earlier this summer when I found a set for cheap on the local CL. I've been thinking of rounding up a set of Speedplays, not sure if the Zero model is the same as the Track model. I'd be afraid of popping out of the Looks. I'll have to dig out my shoes and see what cleats I have mounted onto them and go from there.

I'm thinking the tires might be good, no signs of ozone deteriation, just been hanging in the basement for the most part since I put them on several years ago (or more than several maybe), but they still look good so I might just reglue them and see how they seem. But tires are cheap compared to crashing from a blowout so maybe if the job comes through then I'll just spring for new rubber.

Grip tape is still good, dusty but good. But, yeah, I should freshen up all the grease. Chain seems fine as do the cog and chainring. I probably should shop around for some different cog sizes though so I can adjust the gearing if needed. And I've got a 56 tooth chainring that might fit the cranks which would take me from 84 gear inches to 98 inches per Sheldon's gear calculator if I decided to run a longer event. I think I read in some of the threads here that some of you run 95-100 inch gearing, probably overkill for my out of shape knees though.

Off to do some reading and research on all of this ....
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Old 10-28-11, 11:12 AM
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Originally Posted by treebound
The red Look CarboPro's are off the bike and back into the pedal bucket for now, put some Campy pedals with clips/straps on it earlier this summer when I found a set for cheap on the local CL. I've been thinking of rounding up a set of Speedplays, not sure if the Zero model is the same as the Track model. I'd be afraid of popping out of the Looks. I'll have to dig out my shoes and see what cleats I have mounted onto them and go from there.

I'm thinking the tires might be good, no signs of ozone deteriation, just been hanging in the basement for the most part since I put them on several years ago (or more than several maybe), but they still look good so I might just reglue them and see how they seem. But tires are cheap compared to crashing from a blowout so maybe if the job comes through then I'll just spring for new rubber.

Grip tape is still good, dusty but good. But, yeah, I should freshen up all the grease. Chain seems fine as do the cog and chainring. I probably should shop around for some different cog sizes though so I can adjust the gearing if needed. And I've got a 56 tooth chainring that might fit the cranks which would take me from 84 gear inches to 98 inches per Sheldon's gear calculator if I decided to run a longer event. I think I read in some of the threads here that some of you run 95-100 inch gearing, probably overkill for my out of shape knees though.

Off to do some reading and research on all of this ....
Speedplay zeros are fine.

The tires are probably hard as rocks. Tufo tires are generally hard to me anyway. You want supple and grippy tires. Just put some new ones on so that you know what you got.

A 56 chainring is probably too much. You'll get lots of use from:
48/16 for warmup
48/15 for racing
49/15 for racing
50/15 for racing
...during your first season back.

Go to the track's rookie class as a refresher.

Last edited by carleton; 10-28-11 at 11:46 AM.
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Old 10-28-11, 11:33 AM
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Sounds good, thanks.
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Old 11-03-11, 09:53 AM
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48x15 will be fine for the first year. Keep it simple and learn the track, the bike, and the technique. Once you have those nailed, then you can start worrying about fine tuning things like that.

Unless your lungs are exploding, and you are consistantly in the top 3 in races - then you can worry about gearing.

First thing on the list: learn how to spin fast and smooth. You need that before you start swapping cogs.
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Old 11-03-11, 11:11 AM
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Yep, and thanks. I've got some rollers again, finally, that I plan to use this winter to get my spin and balance and holding a line back into perspective. Haven't done much riding this summer due to job searching and house repairs and family stuff burning up all my free hours. Hopefully next year, one way or another, will be a cycling year.

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it.
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Old 11-05-11, 06:31 PM
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That's a beautiful bike. I was just looking at the dropouts and thinking they look pretty short. I had that problem with my Gios and it made it hard to fit certain gears. Like my chain was always too short or too long for whatever gear I was trying to run. Believe it or not that is one of the big reasons I decided to get a new track bike.
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