taras0000

Banchad, what sort of bars are you running now?

Banchad

Some ****e aluminium bars from Evans Cycles

These: FWE 31.8mm Track Bars | Evans Cycles

sgtdirt

how's my posture?

after my cyclocross races, i did a workout on the track (the track was on the same premises as the CX race). pedaling up to speed was the easy part. tired race legs makes stopping a little interesting!

carleton

Looks good.

BTW, just coast down to stop. Even if that means taking an extra lap inside of the blue ribbon at at casual pace.

gtrob

Short tracks can be funny since the minimum speed to stay upright on the track can be a fair bit higher than the max speed to stay in control on the apron due to how steep the banks are, coupled with a very short straight/stopping distance, you tend to have to 'brake' more than you would on a longer track that you can coast down on.


Looks like an awesome day there, this must be the some of the last riding. I think detroit is all put away already.

taras0000

Banchad, you should be fine with just about any Cro-Mo bars. I used to run steel Nittos on all my bikes, road included. I found that without the stiffness that is engineered into track bikes, the steel bars were fine, YMMV. I'm a larger guy, so steel bars don't rattle me as much as someone smaller.

sgtdirt

it turned out to be a beautiful day. the guy who owns the track set up a food tent for the CX race. he had homemade smoked pulled pork and brisket...mmmm...gooood! beer too!

he'll keep the track open for night riding (5pm to...) until the snow falls which around here, could be tomorrow.

gycho77

Thanks for your advice
Right now, I have a nitto steel B123(40cm)
I was asking this question, because i'm planning to get a track bike fit from "Bike line".
However, I'm not this will help a lot......
Do you think I should get a 38cm handlebar?
Sorry about asking you about bike fit again...

Baby Puke

I started several years ago now on 40cm. I'm now on 36cm and pretty happy with that. Several guys at my track are using the little 33cm bars and really liking those. Seems like narrower feels weird at first, then you get used to it and like it. Of course this is for sprinters. If you're a sprinter and you're not a really huge guy, I'd consider trying out something under 38cm. If you're an enduro, then someone else here can advise, but 40 is still reasonable because that set-up is closer to a road position generally.

carleton

+1

No worries.

A lot of people a little reluctant to get bars under 40cm at first. But, these days, even 38cm Easton EC90s are considered "wide". As BabyPuke suggests, if you are focusing on sprinting, go with something under 38cm.

To put this into perspective, I'm 6'1" with broad shoulders. All of my tshirts are XL or XXL and I ride 37cm Scattos and I have some 33cm Nitto B123s as well. My 38cm Easton EC90s (GREAT bars, BTW) feel super wide.

Take the leap of faith and get narrow bars. You won't regret it.

And, also as BabyPuke suggests: If you are focusing on enduro events (mass start, madison etc...) then go for 40cm. You can find road bars in 40cm. I know Fizik has made some for years (for jr riders) and I'm sure others do, too.

gycho77

I'm really interested in sprint races, but I cannot attend sprint races because of my uci group?
I currently riding track bike(with brake adapter) on the quiet road.
Thank you so much for your help

gycho77

I cannot attend sprint races yet.
However, I should try get a narrow handlebar for the future

I'm sorry but can you give me some advices for getting track fit with a local bike shop?
I don't live near velodrome. So I'm guessing the shop does not have any experience with track fit.

Thank you for helping me

Baby Puke

This seems strange. Where are you? Can you describe your riding situation a bit more? When I moved to Japan, I was initially frozen out of riding the track because of the pro keirin situation. But through patience and persistence I eventually met "the right people" and was able to get on the track regularly (though still not as often as I'd have liked). Tell us more about your situation.

gycho77

So I live in Delaware which is 2 hours away from the velodrome(Valley proffered velodrome).
Therefore, I train on the quiet road with the track bike(with brake). I used to ride my road bike, but I sold the road bike......
I have a mtb(for bad weather) and a track bike.
Also to race keirin and sprint races, I need to be a professional rider(cat 2?).
I can do Omnium and scratch races.

Right now, I have a 40cm nitto handlebar with steel bike(eBay)
My neighbor(retired track cyclist) gave me the handlebar
Because of my neighbor, I just need a good bike fit.
My back hurts when I'm sprinting.
This is why I'm asking many questions about bike fit.

Thank you so much for your help, and sorry about bad english

Baby Puke

If you're in the US you should be able to race any type of race you want as a Cat 5. It's true that you won't be eligible to race in the national championships in sprint races until you upgrade. It's down to what races the local promoter puts on, but I'd think at least some sprint events happen for lower category races at Trexlertown. Somebody who's local there and chime in and help.

As far as the distance form the track, that's tough. Training on the road may be your only option.

carleton

I think you are a bit confused about "sprinting".

When we say "Sprinter" or "Enduro" or "Endurance" we are simply talking about they style of racing you would like to do. If we were talking about Baseball, we'd say "Pitcher", "Catcher", "Outfielder", etc...

We assumed that you have already decided on which discipline to focus on.

Cycling is divided into experience+ability levels. Beginners race beginners, intermediate race other intermediate, super-fast race other super-fast racers. That way it keeps it fun for everyone.

You can still do "sprint" events in the beginner group. You don't have to wait till you become pro to do sprints, just like little Timmy doesn't have to go to the Dogers before he can ever Pitch

Find out if your track offers beginner races. That's where you belong. You don't need a UCI category. UCI is for international racing.

gycho77

Oh sorry I made a mistake sprinting should be dancing.
I was confused with korean haha

I should do some more research about the race

thanks

gycho77

Thank you for your help!!
I'm having hard time finding informations about the races.
Maybe I should go to the velodrome often for help

carleton

Think of racing categories like military rank. You have to be promoted by someone with authority to promote you. There are 2 major systems in the USA:

- USA Cycling
- ATRA (American Track Racing Association


USA Cycling Categories (low to high):

- Category 5 (new beginner...just paid my fee and I know nothing)
- Category 4 (getting better. more experience)
- Category 3 (pretty good. experience plus fast)
- Category 2 (very good. experience plus very fast)
- Category 1 (fast as pro, but do not have a pro contract)
- Pro (have a pro contract with strict rules. These are the guys you see on TV and in magazines.)


ATRA (low to high):

- Category D (new beginner)
- Category C (some experience)
- Category B (some experience plus fast)
- Category A (experienced plus very fast. Similar to Pro/1/2 in USA Cycling)

When you race, you will race with other athletes in your skill level. Category 5 will race with other Category 5s. Pro will race with other Pros.

That is the general rule. The problem is that very often there are not enough Pros to make a good race, so they let Category 1 people race. This makes it a Pro/1 race. Again, sometimes there are not enough Pro/1 people there to make a big field...so they will allow 2s in as well. This makes it a Pro/1/2 race. NOW you have a full track Of course, the 2s will sometimes be too slow to keep up.

Same system for ATRA. Look at Dick Lane Velodrome results here: Results : Dick Lane Velodrome - Fixed Gear Bicycle Racing (East Point) Atlanta, GA

Notice how here, there were enough racers to make individual A, B, and C groups:


But, this day had a low attendance. So, the skill groups were combined:


On a day like the above, there may be only 5 or 6 Category A racers. That's not fun. So, they let the Category B racers join in.

Also, if you note above, Daniel Holt is a pro. He's the only pro there. If they had him race the Pro category alone...that would be very boring

gycho77

haha nice explanation

thank you for your explanation, this information helped me a lot

carleton

Your bars are fine for now. Only upgrade when you have extra money or just want to. You don't *need* to do this.

Aggressive track positions will hurt your back. Save this for actual racing Raise your bars up!

But, understand that you don't need to train 100% on your track bike to be ready for next season.

Remember, Daniel-son did not train to kick and punch by kicking and punching.

carleton

The lessons that preceded:

carleton

3 and 4


I'm an 80s kid

dunderhi

Sprints and timed events are a rare sight at Ttown. There's only a couple of opportunities to do a sprint or a pursuit each year. The sprinter vs. enduro terminology isn't used much there because almost everyone is an enduro, so we just call ourselves track racers. At Ttown there are plenty of mass start opportunities for riders of all ages and capabilities. If you are new to track racing (Cat4/5) or a over 35 (Cat1/2/3/4), then Masters & Rookies is the place to be on Saturdays from May through August. Tuesday nights are for Cats Pro/1/2/3 and Fridays are for the Pro/1. The Pro/1 riders are usually strong US and international contingent.

I know several people that drive up to Ttown from Delaware every Saturday for Mastersa & Rookies. I drive up from Maryland every weekend and I also drive up to NYC for their early spring series on Sundays. Ttown also has Try-the-Track sessions for first timers a few times a year. I volunteer to help the more apprehensive riders during those sessions.

Also, narrow or steel bars aren't all that necessary or all that popular at Ttown. Pretty much 40cm alloy is the standard and there are a smattering of 37/38's and 42's. I've ridden 42's comfortably at Ttown, but I'm currently riding 40s. So, I would recommend to go with whatever makes you comfortable.

carleton

This:

might explain this:

According to this:

And that's understandable. To be honest, if all the racing I got to do was bunch racing, that would suck balls riding 33cm bars