big john

A guy showed up at our club start on a track bike, complete with no brakes. Everyone told him to stay away.

MoAlpha

What hath God wrought?

Eric F 

That's fair.

big john

Just a crank brake, no big deal.

Eric F 

Back when I was a go-fast racer-boy, there was a guy who used to show up to one of the high-level group rides on a track bike (no brakes) on occasion. He was a very well-known regular in the group, and one of the stronger riders. He was also a former National Champ, and regularly competed at Masters WC events. He handled his bike extremely well, and was smart enough to always have an escape path, if needed.

Random unknown guy on a track bike might be a different story.

LarrySellerz

that’s a chad brake right there. No brakes would be better but that’s sick.

big john

Young man, brakes are good. Take it from an old man.

LarrySellerz

my back brake started rubbing on my out of true wheel like 600 miles ago and I just unhooked the brake lol. That’s my commuter bike though, racing hybrid stays with 2 brakes

colnago62

fixed gear and road bikes don’t mix well, especially if the guys on road bikes don’t ride fixed gear also. Chances for a pileup increase. Fixed gearing is always a compromise. You don’t want it so low that you spin out on the flats or too high so you can’t climb.

caloso

I've seen track bikes (with brakes) on the River Ride occasionally. I can think of maybe 4 or 5 riders who've done it, and they're all experienced on the road and track. It's flat and there are only a few tight-ish turns that could be an issue if you tried to take the inside line, but easily avoided if you plan ahead. It's never been an issue, but the RR is known to be a bit more laissez-faire regarding equipment than other group rides I've been on. If you show up on a TT bike, you don't use the aerobars unless you're safely off the front or off the back. If you show up on a track bike, you have brakes and pedal through. If you show up on a CX bike, you better have a big enough gear to roll the fast parts. Just be safe and don't be a jerk.

big john

Did you try to true the wheel? Seems like the better option, especially since an out of true wheel might get worse or start breaking spokes.

base2 

In an earnest attempt to be helpful:
Get yourself a set of Gevenalle shifters $200
Get yourself a shorter "take-off" stem $10
Get yourself a road handlebar (aluminum) $30
Get yourself some bartape, cables & housing $50
Get yourself some decent road tires & tubes $100

At $400 you will have a much, much faster bike than your current configuration. Aerodynamics & rolling resistance mean a lot. The energy conserved on flats will make a meaningful contribution to your reserves on climbs.

The same can be said for your actual hill climbing technique. Sit. Spin or grind (depending on your perspective) at around 80 rpm or so. Hands on the tops, not the hoods. Sit bones a bit forward on the saddle, head up, chest a bit forward, shoulders a bit back, with the roundest pedal circles you can coordinate your legs to make.

Remember to exhale completely so that you can let in lots of fresh Oxygen. It's easy to forget to breathe. I've seen people nearly pass out because they inhaled to "grunt-out" an effort & never let any air out for the duration.

Then as others have said: Group dynamics & strategy for further conservation of energy. The best place to be is right behind the leader. It helps minimize the sling-shot-caterpillar-surge-effect that ejects slower riders off the back & as a secondary benefit buys you a meaningful amount of time on climbs as you fall to the back of the group.

Hills are also about raw athletic capacity, motivation, technique, & determination. You can't buy yourself to the front. You build yourself to the front. Do what you're going to do. Ride what your going to ride. But, you might find it's best to save your light & fancy bike for the group rides. Combine that with fresh legs. Many people "train heavy" & "ride light." It's a time honored tradition.

FWIW: A fancy $4-6,000 carbon wonder bike & no ability would be considered Fredly on the opposite end of the scale. Those guys tend to self-select out of our group before very long. Our group has migrated to "heavy" "gravel" bikes with 38c tires & way too much storage over the years, as the group average over a 25 mile suburb road ride has remained moreorless steady at around 18mph or so. Stay with your current bike.

Make the above changes, build yourself, & do your own work. Kickin' their Aces on what is perceived as "lesser" equipment builds street cred.

big john

That's a good rule.

Eric F 

You're full of good decisions.

LarrySellerz

i think the axel is messed up or broken, bike shops tried to fix it. They said it won’t fail catastrophically so that’s good enough for me

https://imgur.com/a/HFUy5YW I’m loaded up and about to go do hill repeats

big john

It's nice they are so optimistic since it isn't their ass out riding the thing. If something is messed up to the point your brakes are rubbing you might want to get a second person to have a look at it.

MinnMan

Check out the glass jars in the basket loaded up prior to the "hill repeat" session.

Elvo

In an alley cat nearly everyone is riding fixed so they are more or less equal in stopping/skidding. Non fixed riders can slow down a lot faster so mixing the two is bad news.

LarrySellerz

Nothing wrong with that... kings kicked my ass though couldn't do a full repeat on it. clocked 27 miles with 3k feet elevation so im happy. This experienced descender tried to kill me on the way down, he was taking the turns at speed and I was doing my best to follow. Was the fastest ive ever gone on a bike according to strava at 44.7 MPH!!!

LarrySellerz

I take it off for the group ride, it isn’t as dangerous as it looks because it dont flop around much and doesn’t extend past the footprint of my bike. Though If I crash im going over my handelbars. I don't need to get in them that often but if Im racing a fast roadie the position it offers is very aggressive and gives me a fighting chance. I think its more aggressive than a roadie in his or her drops, or atleast on par. They bruise my forearms if I stay in them too long

big john

I'm having trouble deciding if he's just pulling our collective legs. Sure seems like he is.

WhyFi

Looking at previous threads, I've decided that this is performance artist.

MinnMan

bye

big john

Let's see some pics.

colnago62

There was a guy on YouTube who would wear a rubber mask of an old man and old guy cloths and pass younger rider on hills