PICTURES ADDED ON PAGE 3

Seems like a lifetime ago. It was 1989 and I was working as a mechanic at a bike shop to help support what would be my last season of bicycle racing. I can't remember how that bike made it into the shop and onto the top rack by the door. I just remember noticing that lone new track bike in the one day and asking my boss about it. The story went that it was built for something called Keirin racing (something I never bothered to confirm). He suggested I give the Panasonic Track 4000 a try. This was back when almost nobody in Connecticut had ever seen a fixed gear, let alone ride one. Thankfully, the Track 4000 came with a brake. Oddly though it was factory drilled only for a back brake, and the forks didn't come drilled for a front one. I still remember the first time I test rode it. It was very sweet. Anyway, the frame was probably a couple centimeters larger than I'd have normally gone with but still in a safe range, and the negotiated price with employee discount was right. I soon after became the owner of my first and only fixed gear bike. It became my town bike for some of college and eventually lost favor to cars, girls, and rowing. In the mean time the track sew ups were swapped for cyclecross sew ups, a dummy brake hood was added, I put some new tape, pedals, a freewheel, and a chainring on the bike. I think I even kept all the original parts along the way. And now it sits at my Mom's house, in nice condition and with only a few hundred miles on it.

I've noticed something lately. Other people in NYC, not just messengers and racers, are riding fixed gears. I'm seeing them everywhere. And I'm getting fat and shelling out too much dough for taxis. So, tomorrow I'm going to visit an old friend. Maybe my Panasonic will even get a new pair of wheels. Maybe I'll switch to clinchers. Or maybe I'll just get the sew up wheels trued and find some Contis. Either way, I think I'll be riding a fixed gear by the end of the week.

That being said:
Function over form clincher wheelsets for a 190-200 pound guy in NYC? Is Velocity the way to go?
What clinchers don't totally suck?
What's the best handlebar and single brake set-up for the City?
What lock should I get?
What are decent but not expensive helmets?

Cheers,
Peter J

PS- My bike looks just like this one, that another member posted, except mine is basically stock.

DO IT
DO IT
DO IT

P.S. I can't answer any of your questions because I am not from New York.

Heading out in a few hours to check out the old bike. Kinda psyched. Will feel bad about leaving my other old bike all alone in the closet though, my 1980's custom Serotta criterium racer. Now that thing makes most track bikes feel like a laid back ride. Decidedly not your usual road geometry, and the reason it was so easy to adapt to fixed gear handling. One day I'll restore and start riding that one too. Until then, it is safe and sound. Albeit, lonely. I just would be too heart broken if it was ever stolen in the City. Too many memories there. When I have a place to safely rise it, I'll restore it. Until then, it will be all about the Panasonic Track 4000 methinks.

how exciting

show her to us when you can

nice story. some answers:
formula hubs laced to a decent rim (mavic open pro? some velocity rim? sure.), well-tensioned and trued, will be a good wheelset for you in nyc. formula hubs are one of the better deals i can think of - affordable, smooth, well-sealed. they'd make a good everyday wheelset. for tires, i like continental ultra gatorskins. they ride nice and are very tough to flat. vittoria rubino pro i also like, but get mixed reviews.

for bars and brakes - whatever you're comfy with. on my bikes i use cinelli criterium drops (shaped like track drops, but shallower) and flatbars.

get the big kryptonite chain lock. it costs a bundle and is heavy but you'll have little to worry about. another option is the big kryptonite nyc u-lock, but that will leave one of your wheels unprotected.

for helmets, definitely go to a shop to try stuff on. i've found that different brands fit me differently. i use a bell furio, which looks okay, feels good, and was an okay price.

Maybe we can meet up and I can help you put that red and silver bike back together.

S/F,
CEYA!

lock should be either 2 u-locks or kryptonite chain.

for bars i say go with whatever your comfy with that is narrow enough to negotiate some tight spaces

this does not need to be overdone.

i agree 100%. i see some people with barely enough bar to hold onto and i'm just like whattt? i use 38cm bullhorns and i like it.

then again i see people with super wide cruiser bars too.

spoon- for the bars, bullhorns are a popular choice and seem to be accepted more than flat bars or risers when put on track bikes. Keep the beautiful track drops the bike came with, and put on some Nitto RB-021 or RB-019 (or whatever they're called).. alternatively many people take old road drops, flip them upside down and cut off the drops so you get bullhorns.. nice cheap option, many hand positions. Try the bike out first, you may like riding in the track drops... but many aren't comfortable with this for city riding.

As for brakes.. with bullhorns many people run the bar-end time trial levers, which look real slick and if you ride on the horns a lot, they're right there. Otherwise, people run "cross" levers, which use the same motion as mountain bike levers, but are much more tared-down.. mount right next to the stem. You could probably use your old brake calipers, but check the pads.

Wheels.. luckily most clinchers prebuilt for fixed-gear/track bikes are incredibly durable at best. Look for formula hubs, which aren't anything special, but hold up well under most conditions. Velocity Deep-V's are a favorite around here, but they're heavy and somewhat expensive. Weinnemans or Mavic CXP-22's are also a good bet. You can get a hand built wheelset on ebay for between 120-160 that should suit your purpose.. not incredibly lightweight, but reasonably durable. Just search for "fixed gear wheelset". Tires.. the toughest are gatorskins and armadillos, but rubino pros are fairly common as well.

All helmets certified by CPSC or whatever that organization is called are just as safe as others.. you just get more ventilation and lighter weight, and maybe a better fit with more expensive helmets. Try them on before buying.

yeah. i have flatbars that are between 38 and 40 cm wide, i think. they look and feel wide, but when i'm splitting traffic, i'm usually concerned about mirrors and my shoulders. none of which have to do with the width of my bars.

I felt under the weather today, so I skipped the trip. Will go tomorrow instead. I'm agonising a bit over wheelset choices. I'm a real dyed in the wool tubular guy. I just don't trust clincers not to flat out a lot, and not to cause serious injury when they do. Thinking my best options are:
a) Have my old track hubs rebuilt to new tubular rims and spokes
b) Get a new pair of Velocity Deep V rims and Formula hubs.
c) Get a new pair of Mavic CXP22 rims and Formula hubs

If I go with clinchers, I'd have to choose between:
a) Using Tufo Tubular Clinchers
b) Using regular clinchers (shudder)

Difficult choices.

I just looked up the Tufo Tubular Clincher and I think it looks sketchy. What the hell holds the bead in the groove of the rim if not air pressure?!

The air pressure holding the bead of a clincher tire in place is sufficient, spoon. Just make sure the bead is seated properly when you inflate the tire and you will be fine. I'm curious how many Gs would even be required to pull a clincher off the rim while turning.

did you really look it up? cuz the first link that comes up on google, the link to the tufo site, explains it pretty well

The Tufo is a tubular with clincher style sidewalls. It is held to the groove b air tension and my the sidewall design.

Ever seen what can happen when a clincher flats out at high speeds, it isn't pretty. This goes double when you need to maintain control over your bike, like in a paceline or NYC traffic. Tubulars are still held to your rim when they flat out. This isn't always true of clinchers.

I'm curious how many Gs would even be required to pull a clincher off the rim while turning.[/QUOTE]
When uninflated, not many G's, seen a clincher peel right off a rim more than once. When inflated, a lot of G's, but a big guy making a hard turn can cause a "snakebite" flat. Had it happen enough times to me before I switched. I was getting many times more flats riding clinchers than tubulars. Enough so that tubulars saved me both frustration and money in the long run. Maybe clinchers are that much better nowadays, but I just haven't seen any evidence yet.

Lastly, the difference in how tubulars rode and how clinchers rode was really night and day. The Tufo's seem to address this, though I haven't heard much else about them. Otherwise, I just haven't seen any tubulars that ride as well as clinchers, offer the safety of tubulars in a flat out, or offer the same flat resistance by basic design.

Look, if there are great clinchers for fixed gear riding in the City, I'd love to know about them. Thing is, I'm going to have to love them more than my tubulars.

Good point about flatting in a turn. That would suck pretty bad.

https://www.tufotires.com/tufo_clincher_works.htm
I still don't understand this tubular clincher. If the air pressure does not exert as much pressure on the walls of the rim as a clincher, how can it be held securely? I suppose it isn't actually dangerous since these haven't been pulled off the shelves by lawsuits, but I still wouldn't trust them.

Just run tubulars. Don't want to start another huge tubular debate, there are already a few going, but the only time they are an inconvenience is when patching them. Patching them is not even that big of a deal if you know what you are doing, or willing to learn, and have a couple of hours to kill to patch them. Save a few up buy some beer and fix them one night when you don't have anything to do.

All I can say is that an 80's Panasonic frame deserves better that formulas laced to deep V's. What kind of hubs do you have currently.

Honestly, that thing needs a nice set of Superbe Pro hubs laced to a set of Araya Tubbies. That's the way to go. Panasonics were such amazing (and underrated) bikes, that thing needs to shine. As for bars, I would personally go with TT bars, more practical for the city. Find a set of Cinelli 84 TT bars for it.

That's just my opinion.

Some updates:
Picked the bike up today, got it tuned up a little, and rode it from Trackstar to the Slope. It was complete with all the parts. Before riding it, some observations and changes:

I had a brand new Limar helmet I'd picked up a couple years ago for rollerblading sitting near the bike.

Ended up the wheelset was in great condition and still true all these years later. The oem wheels are Araya Red tubular rims with Suntour Sport high flange track hubs. I just have to replace the tires, while the 16 year old sew-ups Fast Tacked to the rims got me home, they are a tad old to be trust worthy.

Had the chain replaced and I'll soak the oem chain some weekend and keep it as a back up.

Had the brake lever swapped out, as the brake hood had rotted. Had the brake cable and housing replaced too.

Swapped out the track pedals for some MTB pedals with plastic toe clips and leather straps. May ebay the track pedals (NJS).

Swapped out the Panasonic OEM Italian saddle for my old Turbo saddle. Installed a bottle cage behind the saddle, Ironman style, as there are no bottle cage braze-ons on the frame.

Phil Wood grease is the sh*t. Before leaving the bike for 16 years, I'd repacked all the moving parts with Phil Wood grease or oil. 16 years later, it runs fine with just a brake cable replaced. I'll repack things when I have a chance, but there is no rush.

And observations after riding it a few miles:

Post 9/11 injury, my back isn't what it was when I was 21. Drops and bull horns are going to beat my back up too much for NYC riding. I'm switching to risers.

The Turbo seat foam is pretty shot. I'll need a new saddle. Thinking a Brooks B-17 narrow will pair nicely with risers and be a bit more spine friendly.

The 16x42 gearing I have the bike set up with is a little steep for city spinning. I may get a larger cog. Thinking a 19 or 20 tooth would be perfect.

Cyclecross knobbies might be overkill for NYC. I'll consider switching to training tires or cyclecross pyramid/diamond tread. Most likely the latter. Probably Tufos with tape and flat goo. And yeah, tubulars just completely rule.

I'll try to snap some pictures of the bike today, BTW.

yay for suntour/arayas, nice.

Whatcha' gonna do with that panasonic saddle?

Nice story and sounds like you're off to a good start. I'd have two suggestions for you, though:
- don't ebay the original NJS pedals too quickly. you might end up preferring them to mtb clip pedals (I hate the feel of the plastic clips)
- limiting yourself to one hand position with riser bars isn't always a good idea. A good shallow-drop bullhorn like the Syntace Stratos gives you the same flat position, plus a few more. Nobody's going to call the street cred police if you don't ride stretched out all the time.

Good luck with the build and post up some shots.

^ +1 for a good set of bullhorns. Don't get me wrong, I love risers for riding around the block, etc. But for longer rides, TT bars or drops are more practical.

Also, plus the idea of keeping all the original parts.

Please, please don't put risers on this bike. I realize you have a bit of a back problem, but if you just run bullhorns or road drops you get about the same upright position without butchering a classic bike.

Going from 42x16 to 42x19 or 20 is a HUGE jump.. I'd get a 17 at most.

I understand your distrust of clinchers, but tubulars are actually better known for flatting.. you are probably right that you have better control after you flat, but rarely does this make that big of a difference. For city riding, clinchers are nice because you can quickly patch a tube or swap it out, whereas with tubulars you're gonna have to walk unless you have a spare wheel. Tubulars do ride much smoother for smooth roads and tracks, and they are nice and lightweight. Oh, and cornering ends up being about the same if you have proper pressure.

You're probably distrustful because of the old non-hooked rims that had pretty serious problems, but now the hook is much larger and clinchers are much safer.

I'd get a tough clincher wheelset for city riding, and save the track handlebars and tubular wheelset for the track or a nice smooth bike path.

Just some opinions.. of course you're free to do what you want.