100 meter bike races, building a bike for sprints.
#51
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Seems appropriate for the thread:
#54
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I saw this video while ago which I feel is relevant to the topic at hand. It's in dutch, but there is no problem understanding what's going on.
In short, 3 professional athletes from different disciplines - track, BMX, cross-country MTB - do sprint races over distances of 25m, 50m, 75m, 100m, 150m and 200m. Guess who was the overall winner?
It looked like great fun, and the results may be not what you expect.
In short, 3 professional athletes from different disciplines - track, BMX, cross-country MTB - do sprint races over distances of 25m, 50m, 75m, 100m, 150m and 200m. Guess who was the overall winner?
It looked like great fun, and the results may be not what you expect.
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When I was into car drag racing I accidentally came across this on youtube videos. I agree, the distances I saw in the videos were much more like 250m. A couple videos actually looked more like 500m to 1km to me as they had video of the start and finish from two cameras and the finish camera couldn't see the crowd/bikes at the start. In 250m you'd easily see in a camera shot the start. And one guy pretty sure I saw had shown up with a pursuit track bike setup.
Personally 100m sounds like taking your car to a 1/16th mile drag strip, which don't exist. Not enough time to go fast to make it worth it. The "fun ratio" of going fast but also making the race short enough to cater to the format is important.
I think 500m is good for the local yokels out for a good time.
And for the other guy above..........again, no idea what he's talking about with breaking chains. I guess as he's no idea. Track bikes run a different chain less prone to breaking than a typical 11spd road chain. I also doubt local yokels out doing this will have the quads of a 1km or flying 200 dedicated track racer who actually goes to the velodrome. I would expect to see a lot of State Bicycle fixie bikes and maybe even bmx bikes. That's bmx racing holeshot sprinting and gearing.
Personally 100m sounds like taking your car to a 1/16th mile drag strip, which don't exist. Not enough time to go fast to make it worth it. The "fun ratio" of going fast but also making the race short enough to cater to the format is important.
I think 500m is good for the local yokels out for a good time.
And for the other guy above..........again, no idea what he's talking about with breaking chains. I guess as he's no idea. Track bikes run a different chain less prone to breaking than a typical 11spd road chain. I also doubt local yokels out doing this will have the quads of a 1km or flying 200 dedicated track racer who actually goes to the velodrome. I would expect to see a lot of State Bicycle fixie bikes and maybe even bmx bikes. That's bmx racing holeshot sprinting and gearing.
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I saw this video while ago which I feel is relevant to the topic at hand. It's in dutch, but there is no problem understanding what's going on.
In short, 3 professional athletes from different disciplines - track, BMX, cross-country MTB - do sprint races over distances of 25m, 50m, 75m, 100m, 150m and 200m. Guess who was the overall winner?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKzCWF9o-ag
It looked like great fun, and the results may be not what you expect.
In short, 3 professional athletes from different disciplines - track, BMX, cross-country MTB - do sprint races over distances of 25m, 50m, 75m, 100m, 150m and 200m. Guess who was the overall winner?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKzCWF9o-ag
It looked like great fun, and the results may be not what you expect.
#60
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The best of those three bikes was the BMX. I think a 3 speed SA would be better. You know we dont have to have a friday night get together we can each run our bikes all out for 100m and post our times and our bikes and stats. Of course it would be honor system but that works as long as there is no cash money prizes.
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#62
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The best of those three bikes was the BMX. I think a 3 speed SA would be better. You know we dont have to have a friday night get together we can each run our bikes all out for 100m and post our times and our bikes and stats. Of course it would be honor system but that works as long as there is no cash money prizes.
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#64
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I would say no on the sea level because a 10 second sprint is anaerobic and should not depend on oxygen concentration in the air supply as aerobic events do.
I suppose there are formulas to factor in the grade but measuring the grade accurately and is the grade uniform? I think its best to make the track straight and flat. There must be 100 meters of a straight stretch of flat paved pathway in nearly every town. I dont know how accurate google maps measure distance is but someone could use their bike computer against it and see how accurate it is. Im looking forward to trying this out as soon as possible on my 72 Schwinn.
I suppose there are formulas to factor in the grade but measuring the grade accurately and is the grade uniform? I think its best to make the track straight and flat. There must be 100 meters of a straight stretch of flat paved pathway in nearly every town. I dont know how accurate google maps measure distance is but someone could use their bike computer against it and see how accurate it is. Im looking forward to trying this out as soon as possible on my 72 Schwinn.
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Look at all the fun they are having!!
BICYCLE DRAG RACES AT FALLBROOK SQUARE WEST HILLS CALIFORNIA - YouTube
I guess times have changed.
BICYCLE DRAG RACES AT FALLBROOK SQUARE WEST HILLS CALIFORNIA - YouTube
I guess times have changed.
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#67
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GCN did a Facebook segment training with parachute. One danger that was obvious, the parachute kept drifting to the shrubs beside the road, likely due to crosswinds.
If the parachute catches a shrub, it can pull you off the bike and you land hard on your butt or you fly off the bike.
They need safer means to slow the bike down
.
If the parachute catches a shrub, it can pull you off the bike and you land hard on your butt or you fly off the bike.
They need safer means to slow the bike down
.
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IMO I think just setting up Gold Sprints in your local bar or brewery is a better fun idea. If it's this short, why not go ahead and toss in the alcohol factor and thumping music.
#70
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IMO I think just setting up Gold Sprints in your local bar or brewery is a better fun idea. If it's this short, why not go ahead and toss in the alcohol factor and thumping music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj1VhZ3gMnE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj1VhZ3gMnE
#71
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IMO I think just setting up Gold Sprints in your local bar or brewery is a better fun idea. If it's this short, why not go ahead and toss in the alcohol factor and thumping music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj1VhZ3gMnE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj1VhZ3gMnE
Last edited by BikePower; 01-12-22 at 08:47 AM.
#72
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Light wheels key to acceleration from a standing start.
I was watching this video tonight and they were talking about wheel weight, rotating mass. They said that light wheels wind up faster than heavy wheels. Heavy wheels would be better for top speed and maintaining speed. Light wheels better if you start and stop a lot. Power to weight as in automobile drag racing would also be key. So I would think smaller, lighter wheels would be an advantage. In the one video from yesterday the bmx rider won all the races except the longest distance drag race. So that makes sense.
I have mapped out a 100 meters section of road in front of my house and I am going to make a few trial runs and see what my baseline times are with the 72 Schwinn. I will report weight of the bike, wheels, and rider (me) and elapsed time. I will experiment with different gears to see which ones work best for zero to 30mph acceleration. Currently I am limited to only 5 speeds as my front derailer is missing its cable. (but I have some on order). Also I have no computer head yet so I will time it with a stopwatch.
I have mapped out a 100 meters section of road in front of my house and I am going to make a few trial runs and see what my baseline times are with the 72 Schwinn. I will report weight of the bike, wheels, and rider (me) and elapsed time. I will experiment with different gears to see which ones work best for zero to 30mph acceleration. Currently I am limited to only 5 speeds as my front derailer is missing its cable. (but I have some on order). Also I have no computer head yet so I will time it with a stopwatch.
#73
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I didn't see a Racing section of the forum so I guess I will post this in the General.
I would like to see 100 meter straight line racing for bicycles. It could be different classes depending on type of bike and also open class and with any kind of human powered bike. The goal is to get to the finish line the fastest. I havent seen much on youtube or online. If you were going to build a bike for 100m straight line racing, how would you gear it?
I would like to see 100 meter straight line racing for bicycles. It could be different classes depending on type of bike and also open class and with any kind of human powered bike. The goal is to get to the finish line the fastest. I havent seen much on youtube or online. If you were going to build a bike for 100m straight line racing, how would you gear it?

#74
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Last edited by Doug64; 01-12-22 at 11:07 PM.