homebrewk

Yes.

JesusBananas

And it was only a few thousand dollars per bike.

Leukybear 

Thunk of duh madz street cred tho bro

homebrewk

Dear Carleton,

What are a couple of things that a novice track racer truly needs to get started in racing? (besides the bike of course). Also, what clipless pedals to you recommend for track racing?

Kayce

Come out to the track tonight and hang out. Say hi to me, Ive got a big read beard and an orange and blue jersey.

carleton

This is sort of a broad question. Could you be more specific?

Most road style clipless pedals will due. I would not recommend MTB clipless pedals. Some tracks forbid them. Personally, I like the Shimano SPD-SL series. But, LOOK Keo (or Keo Max 2) and Speedplay Zeros are also very popular. I would guess that those 3 systems make up about 90% of the pedals you'd see at tracks across the country (or world for that matter).

Have a look here: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...n-Introduction


+1

homebrewk, you will learn a lot from friends at the track.

homebrewk

Can't make it tonight but I'm going to try to make it to the some of the Tuesday night races once I get my bike from tarck mode to track mode. I'll make sure I'll give you a heads up when I'm there!

edit: the races are actually on Thursday night

homebrewk

I was just wondering what kind of bike equipment and clothes track racers use.

carleton

Read this. I wrote the "Now what??" section: https://www.dicklanevelodrome.com/pag...erprogram.html

Have a look here to see what people use and wear: https://www.flickr.com/groups/dlv/pool/

Let me know if you need more info.

homebrewk

Thanks a lot. One more thing: do you really need a rear disc wheel? or is an aero front wheel more important?

carleton

First of all, you don't need a disc or aero front wheel. Plus, I strongly advise you not to show up as a beginner with either one. It will just give people something to talk about, e.g., "Look at the newb with his aero wheels in the beginner races!!"

Don't bust out the aero gear till you get into the higher levels. Plus, no one uses aero wheels until race day. Practice races and training are done on "training wheels" which are basic wheels. Your race wheels are like a nice suit, you only use it on special occasions.

World Champion Kevin Sireau racing on training wheels:


And yes, the front wheel gives the vast majority of the aero benefits. The rear wheel is blocked by the seat tube. Some would say that a disc is more beneficial for it's stiffness than aero benefits. There are plenty of people that race with an aero front wheel (from a road bike) and a standard track rear wheel.

homebrewk

Alright. Thanks for the response!

calv

Carleton, this is a great post!

Kayce

Carleton, I do not mean to hijack your thread. But I ahve a pretty good amount of experience at Penrose where I assume homebrewk will be racing.

The track is pretty bumpy and has a good amout of cracks, so things work a bit different here. Most aero equiptment wont have too much advantage. Having a good stiff set of wheels is the much better route. The same is true for skinsuits, shoe covers, etc. A lot of the top riders were the old school road jersy and bibs. If you want to invest in a nice set of road pedals and shoes they will help, but SPDs work for a lot of new riders.

Since we just have the normal thursday night sessions, and two days of state championships(the omnium is Aug 20th and the individual races are the 27th this year) having a really nice set of special event wheels isnt nessisary. Most people either have an all around set of good clincher wheels. Or like me have a set of decent clincher wheels to warm up and train on, and a set of tubies for racing. We have some thorny plants that grow around the track, and all the cracks so you dont want to ride a Pista Evo or anything that fancy. I have a set of Continetal Giro tires on my wheels. They work out pretty well but I could go a bit nicer.

homebrewk

Nice info. Thanks!

shuyan86

Dear Carleton,

What brand and model of bikes do police ride in most major American cities? I just saw one on the street and was curious. It didn't have any markings, all I know is that it was a mtb.

Thanks!

8bits

maybe this?
https://www.cannondale.com/bra/2011/b...aw-enforcement

carleton

I've seen various different brands used as police bikes. It's usually a base model or slightly above. Nothing nice.

calbob76

Dear Carleton

will i notice a big difference or will it be a big problem if i switch from 165 cranks to 170? i ride a 52 big block which has a pretty high bottom bracket but i just wanted someones opinion who is very knowledgeable

carleton

You'll be fine.

Most people here don't even know their crank length.

redpear

Well, I'd say we know the length of our cranks but not our appropriate crank length according to our legs.

hairnet

ride what feels good. i could probably get away with 175s on my conversion

carleton

+1

Studies have shown that there is no optimal leg length to crank length ratio. Cyclists in the study did best on the cranks that felt best to them.

bb1

dear carleton,

what is a good rule of thumb when choosing the proper width of track handlebars, particularly the nitto b123 crmo?

i'm 5'4" with medium build, and i come from mt bike background so i'm used to wider bars

tried the old method of grasping the curved area of the bars and bringing down my hands to thigh level, 380 mm seemed too narrow and 420 seemed spot-on

i understand that for competition, you guys prefer narrow bars, but i'll be using it primarily for training/ exercise only and not for competition

also, i plan to use my thomson elite 25.4 stem for this, but is it safe to use stem shims so i can use a 31.8 stem for a 25.4 bar such as nitto?

thanks man

bb1

carleton

Narrow bars make standing starts and sprinting a bit easier. The bike won't sway back and forth as much. But, if you are just training, then ride what's comfortable. I ride 37cm. For you, I'd recommend 38s or no bigger than 40s.

Shims are safe.

By the way, I've got some brand new Nitto B123 Cromo 40cm bars for sale with a 31.8mm clamp area.
These bars: https://www.benscycle.net/index.php?m...ducts_id=11154

PM me if you want them. I tried them for 1 or 2 track sessions and settled on a different bar.