mash bike
 

I bought my first track frame with the intention of tricking on it, but that has long since passed...Any references for track frames with pretty fast geometry but that will still hold up in the streets? right now i'm on a 2005 or 2006 56cm raleigh rush hour...it's actually pretty fast so if i should stick with it just let me know...

oh and like the title says...really want it to just mash around town on...

fastness is primarily dependent upon the bicyclist, not the bike

thank you for the great insight. of course i know that but the geometry on frames plays into how fast a bicyclist can be on different bikes....for instance (an extreme example) a mtb is not as fast as a road bike.

okay, but fast how?

get a TT bike. that's the "fastest".


if you just want track bikes, here are some fast track bikes:

http://www.cervelo.com/bikes.aspx?bike=P3Track2009
http://www.pinarello.com/ita/montellopista_scheda.php
http://www.bikesale.com/look-596-track.aspx

that should get you started.

Stick with your Rush Hour. If you want if to feel faster get a lighter wheelset. Better hubs, lighter spokes and lighter rims, and either 23c or 25c tires. Rougher roads go for 25. Good roads go for 23. Maybe add a carbon fork too.

thanks CharneK. that's really the advice that I was looking for...same to you LupinIII, but I'm not looking for a tri-bike or something to put on the velodrome. any references for good wheelsets guys? i'm gonna want to go for the 25s because the roads in east austin are rough...probably working with 200 dollar budget max....

geometry has nothing to do with your speed on the bike, only handling characteristics. the mtb example is off base bc they use lower gearing, 26" wheels and knobby, heavier tires.

Silly and false.

what

no

Go for the 23's and play through the pain.

And I would think that you can forget about that 200 budget if you're looking for a high-perf wheelset.

OP- you will do fine on 23c tires in Austin. I ride all over Austin (East, West, South, North) on my 23c Gatorskins and have no problems. You be aight. BTW, ur bike is fine.

thanks PedallingATX. i feel confident hearing that from another austinite...what's your ride look like? maybe i'll see you around sometime...

everyone knows pursuit geometry makes you so fast.

kinda sorta. frame geometry will change your aerodynamics a good bit and the positioning of your saddle over the bottom bracket will change which leg muscles you use but things like wheelbase or head tube angle probably won't change much in terms of speed I wouldn't think

there are some pics of my bike in the thread "Sputnik where are you?" check it out. I usually do the moonlight ride and critical mass. I just ride a lot in general. PM me if you ever wanna ride.

for 200 bucks stay with your raleigh

Honestly dude, it doesn't matter a whole lot. If you want to be faster work on your pedal stroke and ride more.

That said ... if I had a Rush Hour and wanted to throw money at it to make it faster I'd save up for a new wheelset ... for everyday riding (no tricks, but maybe **** roads sometimes) I'd go for: Mavic Open Pro rims, DT Swiss Competiton spokes, Formula small flange hubs. There, you just took a pound of rotational weight off your bike. I never skidded a lot when I road fixed so I could get away with "light" tires (compared to "skidding" tires) so I'd maybe buy some Michelin Lithions ... they're a good compromise between nice ride quality, flat resistance and price.

</$0.02>

generally a steep seat tube angle will be good for "mashing*"


I ****ing HATE that term...because it mostly stands for kids riding fixed gears recklessly through traffic and making it a nightmare to drive on main thoroughfares of cities

shapelike, do you have a link for Formula low flange hubs? I want some badly.

I got some iro branded ones from the iro bargain basement. 20 bucks each. only have 32hole rears left, but have both 32 and 36 for the front. I think they spin pretty nicely, seem to be comparable in quality to any of the other budget sealed cartridge hubs out there.

When I was riding fixed a few years ago J&B Importers was the main distributor in the states that carried them. I'd ask your LBS about ordering from them or maybe try QBP as well. They're a other massive U.S. distributor. Maybe call EAI (Euro Asia Imports) and ask if they stock them now too.

thanks for all the responses yall...

@ pedallingatx...ill try to catch you at the next CM...cant do the cruise tomorrow night because my friends in the hospital and its just not the same w/o him...

to everyone else...thanks for all the responses...i actually ended up getting an '09 leader frame with h plus son rims and a truvativ crankset for 800 and was able to part out my raleigh for 500...so it came out to be a good deal.

as for "mashing"...im not gonna lie, i run red lights every now and then but its the kind where its midnight and there's no one out and we're still checking to make sure its clear...i dont ever bomb hills and stuff and then go run the light at the bottom...sorry if the term has a negative connotation on it but i'd rather say "mashing" instead of "going fast" or something else...

Saying you like to go out and ride hard stands on its own. You don't need to make it sound cool. Enjoy your new bike.