Thread: A kilo
View Single Post
Old 07-20-10 | 12:02 PM
  #42  
Brian Ratliff's Avatar
Brian Ratliff
Senior Member
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,123
Likes: 4
From: Near Portland, OR

Bikes: Three road bikes. Two track bikes.

Roadies tend to overgear on the track. 50/14 (96 inch) is probably the biggest that most amateur racers use. Most will be closer to a 90 inch gear. 110 RPM average (including the standing start in a 90 inch gear) is what I hit on my latest kilo race (1:18 on my second ever kilo on a standard track bike), and if you look at the video of Hoy (in the fixed gear fever presentation), he is right around that average cadence as well.

Control is a big deal too, depending on the track. At my home track, Alpenrose, most first time kilo riders with aerobars end up riding near the stayers line. While it's not as bad at other tracks (ours is particularly steep for it's length), you'll give up 3-4 seconds with a standard track bar, but you'll sacrifice more if you mishandle even one corner.
__________________
Cat 2 Track, Cat 3 Road.
"If you’re new enough [to racing] that you would ask such question, then i would hazard a guess that if you just made up a workout that sounded hard to do, and did it, you’d probably get faster." --the tiniest sprinter

Last edited by Brian Ratliff; 07-20-10 at 12:08 PM.
Brian Ratliff is offline  
Reply