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Getting into Track Racing

Old 11-26-12, 05:14 PM
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Getting into Track Racing

Hey guys, I kind of new to this forum. I have been a "Roadie"(kind of) for about a year now(not in full kit yet). Took a nasty crash about 2 weeks ago(posted in the Road forum). Im not in any clubs or anything unfortunately, but want to be. I usually ride by myself for the most part. I am still a little new to road cycling, but I THINK I want to get into track racing also. I live in the inner city of Atlanta, and sometimes I "train" on my road bike or my fixed gear bike. I dont know many people to cycle with in my area because the area I live in, most people only cycle to commute to bars or the grocery store, or for the fixed gear style(see Hipster. I have many friends in that cult unfortunately.LOL). I know theres a track in East Point, GA, and since its not far from me, I want to take advantage of that. I will be EXTREMELY nervous to ride around others in the beginner classes since I usually ride by myself. I dont want to look dumb out there.LOL. Anyway, my question is, should I get more saddle time on the road first before hitting up the Velo, or can I/should I try to jump into track racing now? Sorry for the long post. Thanks
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Old 11-26-12, 05:21 PM
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Jump into track racing now.
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Old 11-26-12, 05:31 PM
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If you have shoes, pedals and a pair of shorts, go now. You'll learn a lot of things that will transfer to your road riding (spinning, handling, etc.).
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Old 11-26-12, 06:45 PM
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Dont shame the fixie hipsters, a lot of them will beat you on the track see: Chicago cutting crew.
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Old 11-26-12, 07:05 PM
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https://www.dicklanevelodrome.com/

They have a site figure out when they have beginner sessions and get on the track!
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Old 11-26-12, 07:47 PM
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Originally Posted by VeloNewbie
Hey guys, I kind of new to this forum. I have been a "Roadie"(kind of) for about a year now(not in full kit yet). Took a nasty crash about 2 weeks ago(posted in the Road forum). Im not in any clubs or anything unfortunately, but want to be. I usually ride by myself for the most part. I am still a little new to road cycling, but I THINK I want to get into track racing also. I live in the inner city of Atlanta, and sometimes I "train" on my road bike or my fixed gear bike. I dont know many people to cycle with in my area because the area I live in, most people only cycle to commute to bars or the grocery store, or for the fixed gear style(see Hipster. I have many friends in that cult unfortunately.LOL). I know theres a track in East Point, GA, and since its not far from me, I want to take advantage of that. I will be EXTREMELY nervous to ride around others in the beginner classes since I usually ride by myself. I dont want to look dumb out there.LOL. Anyway, my question is, should I get more saddle time on the road first before hitting up the Velo, or can I/should I try to jump into track racing now? Sorry for the long post. Thanks
You'll be fine. The people at DLV are really nice (myself included).

Don't worry about being nervous when riding with others. You'll get over it. I've seen people that were literally shaking with fear on the bike turn in to comfortable racing vets in no time.

The season is over at DLV right now. Keep an eye out for a Beginner's Class sometime in March 2013, which will be 1 month before the season starts.

https://www.dicklanevelodrome.com/pag...erprogram.html

Keep an eye out for when "Winter Training" starts. Usually in January or so. Come and watch and ask questions. You won't be able to ride the track till you finish the beginner class for safety and insurance reasons.

The calender is actually up to date: https://www.dicklanevelodrome.com/calendar

If 8 year old kids can do it, you can do it!
https://www.dicklanevelodrome.com/pag...ingleague.html
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Old 11-26-12, 08:38 PM
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DLV is definitely a great place to start. I took the beginner class last year, having never been on a track before (I'm 43). You won't realize how much more comfortable on a track you'll be until the weekend is over. The class gets broken into 2 groups: experienced and noobs. The pace is perfect and there is a constant emphasis on safety. You'll regret it if you don't do it. Everyone is easy to talk to and friendly. And yes, Carleton is a great guy. He entertained my wife during the entire second day. Thanks! I had some issues last year but have been steadily on the rollers and in the gym and am fired up for next season. I'll definitely be back at DLV. Best of luck and ask anyway. Everyone here is more than happy to offer advice.
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Old 11-26-12, 08:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Kayce
Dont shame the fixie hipsters, a lot of them will beat you on the track see: Chicago cutting crew.
LOL. I know this. Some of my friends do alleycats and they move like bats out of h***!
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Old 11-26-12, 08:56 PM
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Originally Posted by carleton
You'll be fine. The people at DLV are really nice (myself included).

Don't worry about being nervous when riding with others. You'll get over it. I've seen people that were literally shaking with fear on the bike turn in to comfortable racing vets in no time.

The season is over at DLV right now. Keep an eye out for a Beginner's Class sometime in March 2013, which will be 1 month before the season starts.

https://www.dicklanevelodrome.com/pag...erprogram.html

Keep an eye out for when "Winter Training" starts. Usually in January or so. Come and watch and ask questions. You won't be able to ride the track till you finish the beginner class for safety and insurance reasons.

The calender is actually up to date: https://www.dicklanevelodrome.com/calendar

If 8 year old kids can do it, you can do it!
https://www.dicklanevelodrome.com/pag...ingleague.html
Awsome! I cant wait to watch some people out there before I jump into it. It will just be weird for me though since I usually ride by myself. I dont have a high end track bike(I dont think I need a full carbon rig.lol.). Its a KHS Flite 100 with everyday parts(IRD cranks, profile hubs, NJS stem, Brooks saddle, etc.). How many people are usually in the beginner class?
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Old 11-26-12, 09:01 PM
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BTW, thanks for all the replies so far guys
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Old 11-26-12, 10:41 PM
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Originally Posted by VeloNewbie
Awsome! I cant wait to watch some people out there before I jump into it. It will just be weird for me though since I usually ride by myself. I dont have a high end track bike(I dont think I need a full carbon rig.lol.). Its a KHS Flite 100 with everyday parts(IRD cranks, profile hubs, NJS stem, Brooks saddle, etc.). How many people are usually in the beginner class?
If you are a morning person, stop by on Saturday Sunday mornings between like 9-11AM. There are a few people that sometimes train during that time. It's no guarantee, but you might see some regulars there. Just say hi.

Don't sweat the fact that you don't have a high-end bike. Most don't either. Here is the DLV Flickr group: https://www.flickr.com/groups/dlv/pool/

Have a look and see the normal gear that people use. Yeah, there are guys that ride fancy stuff, but most don't. Most bikes are aluminum. Then a few carbon and steel frames. You'll find out quickly that a fancy frame won't make you significantly faster. A frame to a cyclist is like a set of basketball shoes to a basketball player. You really just need them to fit well and be durable. Many people buy high end gear to solve particular problems (like flexing) or just to have fancy things (there's nothing wrong with that).
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Old 11-26-12, 10:46 PM
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For example, here are Pros Oscar Clark and O'Neil Samuals. Oscar raced a steel fuji that day and O'Neil raced a converted aluminum road TT frame. Both are fast as hell.

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Old 11-27-12, 10:48 AM
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You’ll do fine. Just take it easy and try to keep the adrenaline under control. ;-) I road that bike for over a year and was quite happy with it for a long time.
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Old 12-04-12, 06:15 AM
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I cant wait! I think my KHS Flite 100 will get the job done. I just need to get rid of my heavy wheelset on there now(velocity B43). I want to get a set of more track oriented wheels, but keep my velocity B43 for city riding(they're strong).
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Old 12-04-12, 11:46 AM
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good idea!
Those things are going to be hard to accelerate with.
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Old 12-04-12, 07:00 PM
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You have two decent options when it comes to track wheels. You can build yourself a pretty good set of wheels and have them be pretty all around. So ideally a flip flop good hub, and nice clincher rim. This way they can be used for any race, and warming up. Or you can drop more money and have a set of training/ warm-up wheels and a set of race wheels. The race wheels can be some really really nice hubs and tubular rims.

It depends on what track youre racing, your own personal goals, and your finances.
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Old 12-04-12, 07:11 PM
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Originally Posted by chas58
good idea!
Those things are going to be hard to accelerate with.
Yeah, Ive always saw the B43 rims as more of a stylish rim over functional. LOL. They can take a beating though
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Old 12-04-12, 07:13 PM
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I was thinking about doing a all around setup to start with. Then once I start racing more and more, I want to get 2 purpose built wheelsets like you were saying. That would be great.
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Old 12-04-12, 09:57 PM
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For a lot of people, myself included, the all around wheel becomes the training wheel when you get the nice shiney race wheels.
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Old 12-04-12, 10:11 PM
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Originally Posted by chas58
good idea!
Those things are going to be hard to accelerate with.
eh. probably not any more than a lot of high-end aero track wheels. ubiquitous discs and 5-spokes are no lightweights.
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Old 12-04-12, 11:57 PM
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Originally Posted by queerpunk
eh. probably not any more than a lot of high-end aero track wheels. ubiquitous discs and 5-spokes are no lightweights.
It has a lot to do with how the weight is distributed. B43's pack all their weight as far from the axle as possible.
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