First Track bike
 

OKay so I got that Somec Track Frame...now someone just told me that if I put road cranks the bb shell will bust? Everyone who has a track bike...please give me the 411 on anything I need to know different in putting this girl together...I've put together a fixie already...what are the differences I should take note of.

are you kidding? jump the shark already with some downhill Blackspire cranks and apehanger bars.

Huh?? Hello? Track newbie here...in newbie talk please:)

ok, get some Sugino (RD,XT,75) track cranks, whatever you can afford, or some used track cranks.

i dont know what this bb thing is about, but that thing deserves some nice parts. why do you want to use road cranks?

about how much do those run?

I'm not gonna go really spendy on it...I just want to get it build and rideable without going bankrupt....I'll upgrade later.

RD below 100, 75s above, XT somewhere between?

sugino 75's run 175. they go down from there.

what is the difference between a track crank and normal road cranks

BCD, chainline spacing, durability, style, cost, certification.

get the Sugino RDs... do it!

dude in the long run you will spend more money getting ****ty parts and having to replace them. go all out , but be mndful and in the end the slightly higher better performer will last longer and be better for you. and some minor debt liek that isnt bad. its better to be in debt worry free about your whip rather than close to debt and have something break on you and being way in debt.

XVX

I agree with lumen, you should just take your time and build with quality parts. Now that doesn't mean bling highend parts like phils or DA. You still have the conversion right? if that's still riding fine, then you should take your time and build it up right because the second you put cheap parts on it you'll be thinking of up grading and whatever the cheap parts cost will just be added expense ontop of the quality parts costs. A frame like that deserves decent parts and if you put sugino RDs on it, you might as well have gotten a NYCB frame.

I know it's hard to wait and you want to put it together rightaway but trust me, it's worth the wait so your first ride on the bike will be perfect.

Just the way I feel about these thing...

Also, BB shells on italian track frames are not designed to take the load that road frames are.

Think of it like this: On a road bike, the forces are being absorbed by the extra chainrings and stuff. On a track crank, there is extra material to absorb the extra load (which is why they have a bigger bolt pattern. Bigger pattern = more metal). This is why you need track cranks on a track frame.

Also, you should really take it to the track sometimes so the metal will get a chance to stretch. High speeds allows the metal and the joints to stretch.

If it's too much of a financial burden, you might just want to sell the frame. What size is it?

well I'll just get track cranks then and then just get velocity/formula hubs and dura ace track cog and lockring and it should be fine right?! No matter what I'm not going to build this bike up super costly...

the scientist in me cringes at this statement...I'm not sure what you're trying to say, exactly...but remember newton's laws. "extra material to absorb the extra load" wtf??? "high speeds allows the metal and the joints to stretch"" (double)wtf???

A stiffer crank (such as a track one) is going to transmit more force than a less stiff one (such as a non-DA road) to the bottom bracket. The more metal in the crank, the less it's going to flex and the more it's going to transmit force somewhere else (this is what we want, we want that force transmitted to the rear wheel through the chain.)

man you guys are like totally beating me into this "spend a ton on this bike..it deserves it"...wtf...it's a frame...it's a bike...it's a track bike...who cares if I don't buy all campy or italian stuff. I'm not going to buy super expensive stuff okay. I just need to know what will make this bike go without messing it up...that's all. A simple "no you can't use road cranks on a track bike because...etc..etc..etc" would have been fine. Jesus!

get some sugino 75s. i just got my set in the mail, complete with a 49t sugino chainring for $175. really good deal since the chainrings alone are around $45 and the cranks w/o ring sell for $175 through lots of retailers. they're not the cheapest cranks, but not the most expensive either. but they'll last you from frame to frame. put an 18t cog on the back and you'll have a nice gear ratio for flat and hilly terrain as well as 18 skid spots.

seaden - we're a bunch of bike nerds, what did you expect?

I say spend money on it cuz you've got a bike already from what i gather, and its fun to make something really nice. I took 4 months to collect and assemble my current bike, and i'm glad i did. also, nice parts resell well when you wanna swap them, and bad ones, well... dont. your bottom bracket will not explode to the best of my knowledge. i mean, its an axel, some cups, and some ball bearings... if you wanna build it up cheap take it to a bike co-op or used parts place and just build it up with whatever. Could probably get the whole thing running for 2-300 bucks. It won't be nice, but it'll roll.

I don't exactly remember this newton guy you're talking about. What does he have to do with bikes?

Listen man, I'm a physicist, and I'll tell you, they put that extra material there to absorb the stresses of a fixed gear. A track BB shell is not designed to take those loads, and thus you HAVE TO USE TRACK CRANKS ON A TRACK FRAME.

Now, as for the wheelset, you can get away with formula hubs, but really, track bikes are designed to use tubular tires. See, tubular tires have lower rolling resistance, and track bikes are designed to use them, so the added forces of a tire with a very HIGH rolling resistance (remember, resistance = load = forces), such as a clincher tire designed for the road, will put undue stresses on your fork and rear stays.

Listen man, you can build it however you want, but if you don't want to face plant in the middle of the street because YOU put components the bike was NOT DESIGNED TO USE, that's your decision.

Added benefit of tubulars: Tubular rims can be had for cheap at most bike shops or on ebay.

See, building a track bike doesn't have to be ALL expensive! Imagine if you had to buy a d-ace 9spd group!

never heard such a complete bull*****.

to OP, get sugino RD, or maybe stronglight track cranks. they are cheaper and they'll serve you just fine. And stick to some cheap shimano cartridge BB, and you will be fine. don't forget it's Italian threaded. Oh, and have a mechanic install them properly if possible.

rd crankset is not as stiff (obv) as 75 but also half the price. It will hold up to most of our non gigantic keirin racer legs just fine.

+1 for Stronglight (www.businesscycles.com)

just have fun with the build and don't stress.

BTW. from my experience, lbs will charge you about the same to install you BB as it costs to by the tool and DIY. Just get the tool and learn.

improper installation of BB could seriously damage the frame. since her knowledge of bike mechanics and terminology is somehow limited, maybe OP should ask someone with experience to show her how to install it first.

agreed

do you still have the bike pictured in your avatar? if so, why rush to build up the somec
with parts that you're just going end up replacing in the long run.

besides that's the great thing about a track bike, there are hardly any parts to buy, so
why not make sure they are quality.

i just don't understand why you would buy a nice track frame only to build it up with low
quality parts. if you don't really care, then buy a low quality track frame to match those
low quality parts that you want to buy.

...then sell me the somec so i can put some nice nos vintage campy parts on it.

I'm with you Seaden. You don't have to spend a ton t make this a nice bike that you love.

The one thing I would suggest to you that others have: Take your time building this up. Be mindful as you go. ENJOY the process of selecting parts, hunting for bargains and building.

It took me a week to build my first conversion, and it's taking me months to build my Soma. I built the conversion fast, because I wanted to RIDE. I'm taking my time with the currernt project for 2 reasons: I want it to be really nice when I'm done, someting I can be proud of, and I'm also savoring the process of building.

Savor this project. Enjoy the process of building it as much as you will eventually enjoy riding it. Choose the parts that make you happy. Splurge where you feel you need to splurge, but not because some online bike geek says "you can't put road cranks on a track bike!"

Above all SLOW DOWN! 2 days ago you were saying "I think I might get a track frame" then BAM you snap up this Somec! You're very vulnerable to suggestion now. I suggest before you buy anything else you wait till you have the frame in hand. Polish it up with a diaper, and take it to bed with you for a few nights. Let yourself fall in love with it, and then move forward mindfully.

Thems my 4¢

BTW Vomitron is totally full of ****. If you didn't get that yet.

Hehe, you're silly.

Alright, so you say they put extra material in the cranks (I'm assuming, you never really specified, but since you said the BB can't handle the load you must mean it's weak, therefore has less material) to handle the load, but as a physicist you must also know force balancing. That is, if he puts 180 pounds on a track crank that flexes little, or a road crank that flexes more, once the material is done flexing that 180 pounds is still placed directly onto the bottom bracket. Now, it doesn't matter if it is applied in forward motion or rear, as the BB shell doesn't get much torque from the crankset, only the forces.

The frame must then have extra material? Well, no, as track bikes are designed to take very specifically meted forces, not including being ridden roughly on the street, although they can be used for such. And the force a track rider places on the bike is no more than that of the same racer on a road frame, as if they're on the same ratio there is no difference when accelerating except for slightly higher drivetrain resistance on the road bike.

Now, tubulars. They actually have a higher rolling resistance, but the lower weight of both the tubular and tubular-specific rim decreases the rotational inertia of the wheelset, making accelerating, such in track sprints, far easier. However, due to the greater flexes in tubular tires, they have a tiny amount MORE rolling resistance.

So therefore, if you have tubulars on your bike, due to THEIR higher rolling resistance, they must be putting undue stress on YOUR bike, which is liable to fail at any moment apparently! AND you're putting more stress on the BB shell by allowing for less flex in the crank, making a more drastic application of load possible! You better just give your bike(s) to me so they can be safeguarded and made suitable for track application...

[/thinks he knows it all Junior in Mechanical Engineering who hates ignorance rant over]

As for your bike, I'd go with mattface's suggestion. Wait for deals, wait for the right part, don't just throw money at companies until you get something that's ok.