Bikes at the Track..
 

Are fixie conversions allowed to ride at veleodromes?
Do any of you race your conversions?
Do the "cool kids" pick on you for racing your conversions? :D

Check with your local velodrome regarding the rules and regulations regarding a proper bike as per velodrome guidelines.

they will not be allowed in sanctioned races though.

no conversions at my local velo.
47 degree corners are pedal strike waiting to happen

Most velodromes do not allow conversions. Reason being is that if your wheel slips forward, it can possible slip out of the dropout. Every velodrome has rental bikes and they usually aren't too dear. Usually ten bucks for the day.

at the risk of sounding like a complete elitist scumbag (i'm really only about 50% elitist scumbag), the thought of someone racing a conversion on the velodrome makes me cringe. so scary. and wrong. velodromes are for track bikes.

I don't think its elitist to be afraid of the possibility that someone's wheel will possibly slip out and cause harm to other riders and one's self.

I guess I shouldn't tell you I used to use my MTB on the Marymoore track in Seattle (well Redmond but who is counting). With knobs and all. Cringe away.

You can ride on some if they deem it safe by doing an inspection but racing..NO!!

S/F,
CEYA!

this made me so happy to see that I cried. You speak the words I think. Thank you - and wtf happened to your brain-housing gruppo?

Cool thanks...
Makes it much easier to decide where to put the money....

translation..brain housing group- did you lose your freaking mind!


S/F,
CEYA!

maybe a conversion happened to his brain-housing gruppo — thus the elitist scumbag frame-of-mind.

another somewhat good reason for disallowing conversions is how nervous other riders (like rotebedrohung) get around them. "what's this guy doing here with a conversion? does he know what he is doing? should i steer clear?" nerous people ride poorly at the track.

personally, i have no problem with it at kissena. but i'm only 20% elitist scumbag and 75% newfie.

he got injured trying to read a bumper sticker in philadelphia.

is that what i was doing!? sounds about right...

anyway i will admit to getting a bit nervous about stuff like that. it's definitely sketchy. i don't know if anyone other than Ceya was at Kissena that Saturday when i was doing pursuits (or a kilo, i can't remember exactly) and that kid on the MTB dropped from the rail all the way downtrack right in front of me in the pole as i was coming around turn 4 at a fairly non-leisurely pace... that ****'s scary, and totally unnecessary. i hurt myself enough as it is. i really don't need any help. track racing may be heating up simply as a side-effect of the current out-of-control trendiness of fixed-gear riding in general, but it's still no joke and anyone out there racing or training (or riding at the same time as people doing so) should respect it (and themselves and the other riders) enough to use proper equipment and take the time to learn what you're doing out there.

we were doing pursuits then kilos. it was doing the last pursuit. yeah that was crazy after i told his father to tell him and his son to stay above the stayer's line(blue line in the middle of the track)


S/F,
CEYA!

At San Diego they let a few people ride conversions or Langsters in the Begginer/Intermediate classes there, as long as there riding a fixed, not freewheel.

Riding behind some of them, I never thought about their wheel sliding foward. but I do wonder if they're going to get nervous, forget where they are, and reach for the brakes.

The wheel sliding forward thing is preposterous elitist bull****. Why on earth would a wheel decide to come off? Conversions don't have shiny slippery stainless steel dropouts... There's a greater risk of a handlebar or stem slipping or breaking, or pedal strike. Come on, invent a better excuse.

well... I understand what they mean. in comparison to a track end, it has a much better chance of hapenning conversion dropout under torque. add the fact the a lot of people flip wheels, in a hurry, at the track — not surprising at all.

hell — once I was in such a hurry I forgot to put finish my master link.

Nothing like a kid on bike who's parents are oblivious. This is pretty common at Northbrook during the summer. I almost crushed some kid on a flying 200 b/c his parents weren't paying attention. A few of the regulars had a talk with the father (who didn't think fast racing belonged at the velo!!! F*ck, the sign even states it! Blind a**hole) who got very defensive. Whatever. Be a better parent. Too many problems like that out there. Little kids running into pacelines or ditched down the banks as people are coming up fast. OR PLAYING SOCCER ON THE INFIELD!!!! MARCUS - CHANGE THIS BEFORE I PAVE IT!!!!:)

Yo Ceya -
never heard this one? I learned that your head, in Airborne school, is assigned the nomenclature "brain-housing group" after the parts of an M16 - upper receiver group, etc. It is also know as your Sixth Point of Contact - just make sure it ain't stuck up the fourth point of contact, Airborne!!! :)

i once rode my jamie roy at the velodrome here. the only time i got pedal strike with it's road height bb, 170's, and eggbeaters was on the high banks at super low speed. all that aside, it was hard to make that bike do what i wanted with it's slack road geometry. at speed in the turns, i had to fight to keep it in the turns. i really had to push the inside handlebar down and hold it there. it was sort of scary. i had to really resist the g force. the difference on my track bike is night and day.

get a track bike.

i rode my conversion up at the Northbrook track a while ago and it was a blast, everyone was really cool to me and i learned alot.

i'm glad i went because now it's clear why i want (edit: need) a track frame. you really notice the lack of quick handling on a bike with less agressive geometry. and if you don't have track drop bars it's difficult to get low enough.. plus, the brake issue is just inconsiderate to other riders.

At northbrook they have stock bike racing nights where you can ride whatever
bike you have from road bikes, to mtb, all the way to Big Wheels.

Also I've never heard of a Velo not allowing a Langster or similarily "road-track" bike. Is that just because of the potential for pedal strike? Otherwise most of the rules are things like no bar ends/bullhorns, and no quick release skewers.

jeff

Brakes are a big no no on the track. I haven't ridden on the track that much but even I'd be nervous if someone had brakes on the track.

They won't even let me chan my bike to the light pole OUTSIDE the track