Originally Posted by hair07
so, why are track bikes fixed gear? is this a rule in track racing? if so, would track racing benefit from the introduction of multiple gear bikes(hypothetically)? would speeds increase and times go down? if not(a rule), it must be advantagous to use a fixed gear b/c that's what track racers use. anyone know why?
as a sidenote, are there any good resources on the internet for either history of track racing or theory and strategy? thanks.
dan
There are two reasons that bikes use a fixed gear on the track. The first one is tradition. Organized track racing has been around much longer than the types of road races we are accustomed to today. The second reason, and this one goes way back as well, is safety. It is much easier to keep a consistent speed with a fixed gear. You don't have the ability to stop and slow down as quickly as you do with a bike equipped with brakes. If you were to allow multiple gear bikes with a freewheel, then racers would sit up as soon as they've finished they're effort, and guys would be plowing into each other as the guys at the front of the pack stopped pedaling. With the racing on a track being so tight, this would create too many problems in mass start races. You'd be best off to swerve around a pileup, and if you can't, then you wouldn't be able to stop in time anyways.
My own opinion as well, seeing as this whole not stopping in time would only be good for mas start races, is that a fixed gear handles a standing start much better. My experiences with doing standing starts on road bikes are horrible. The chain line is never straight due to the multiple gears, and this causes problems with derrailment and broken chains when in a big gear. With a perfect chain line (if you have it set up that way), you never have any of these problems on a track bike.
taras