How come "track bikes" are really for the velodrome?
 

I see lots of "track bikes" in bike catalogs, like the Bianchi Pista and LeMond Sarthe and Langster and they are more designed for street use than velodrome racing.

So why are they called track bikes when they should be advertised as Fixed Gear bikes?

On the other hand...

I see lots of articles for track racing in the UK cycling magazines and those bikes that are "real" track racing bikes are bikes that I've never seen in any bike catalogs or on the street and they look like UFOs or something, where can you buy one of those? (Not like I'm going to).

For example:

if i had that Corima, the last place i'd ride it would be on the street. that thing costs more than some small cars.

chaos ensues:

Thought I'd ask this to provoke chaos! ;)

And I wrote the title wrong to boot. (by mistake)

the bikes that you see in cataloges have geometry that is pretty track specific. they have a higher bottom bracket ( so that you dont skip a pedal on the track), and they have shorter cranks for the same reason. the steerer tube angle is much steeper than on a road bike, as opposed by often termed "slack" road bike geometry. very crisp handling is needed on a velodrome for group sprints. most racing (except at the most elite levels) is actually done on bikes such as the bianchi pista, pista concept, and a multitude of other traditional frame manufacturers.

however, there are very specific designs for pursuit and kilo racing that push the envelope in design and manufacture...look makes a frameset that is very similar to the picture that you attached...it is $9000! kinda puts it in the hands of riders who pay with dicipline, miles, and pain...not dollars.

btw

i bought a khs flite...since i lack dicipline miles and pain

back2fixie's answer is good; there is not so much a hard and fast definition of "track bike" as there are design features that make a bike more and more "track specific". to the previous list i would add rear-facing "track ends" instead of dropouts, fork and seatstay bridge not drilled for brakes, circular cross-section fork blades instead of elliptical (for steel anyway). 1/8" drive train instead of 3/32". anything else?

i rode a corima last night.

It scared me to think that the frame was worth more than everything I own.

The Sarthe is a road racing bike. It has more gears than I know what to do with. I believe you meant the Fillmore? And the Fillmore is advertised as a fixed gear road bike, while the Pista and Langster are more track-oriented in their geometry (the Pista a bit more so), so they can be accurately referred to as "track bikes."

Real track bikes are not designed with comfort in mind since they are usually not ridden more than a few minutes at a time (excluding hour records, of course). You probably would not want to ride one more than a mile or two on the street (okay, some of you will!)

I heard that real track bike headsets (such as the Dura-Ace Track) have alot of little tiny ball bearings compared to a road h/set for more precise steering but are for smooth velodrome surfaces and are not designed to take the punishment of road conditions, (bumps, potholes etc).