taras0000

I use these markers for anything I need to trace. They are extremely handy once you have them.

https://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...43&cat=1,42936

southernfox

Today I Learned (okay, it was last night):

Standing starts: straight arms are just a platform for your core/legs to do their work: don't pull up as hard as you can like a gorilla.

Also, soft arms through the first back straight when you're rocking the bike: don't muscle it there.

Look up during the start like a proper deadlift.

carleton

A small shop rag in your track sack is great for wiping down chainrings and cogs when you remove them. (When I remember to bring one) it's a great habit to get into while resting between efforts. It really keeps the black chain oil smudges from getting all over the place.

While recovering, I'd wipe down a chainring and cog while even getting in between each tooth and found it sort of relaxing.

I'd also wipe the surface of the chain occasionally to get the oil that had migrated out as well as surface grit.

krispenhartung

Good points. I have some cyclist friends who will go down town and climb up and down 20 stories of a US Bank. I've done entire workouts in a hotel with nothing but the stretch workout bands...whatever it takes!

Morelock

My tips from Friday night (my first real try at the kilo!) pursuit. (3k)
1.) Speedplay's for some reason give me the impression I'm going to pull my foot out. Maybe it's just 10+ years of riding Shimano.
2.) 30cm Aerobars (Brezza Nano's) aren't great for leverage.
Also, don't drive 6 hours and not warm up before racing Your legs will not love it.

marginalgains

I just wondered, what type of lube do you men and women use.
Thanks

carleton

My favorite is Dumonde Tech Lite: https://www.dumondetech.com/portfoli...-lite-formula/

Nice smell, too.

Baby Puke

Wax. Then you can pretty much dispense with the rag.

brawlo

+1 to wax. One of the best moves I've made in racing. No mess, no fuss. I use straight paraffin wax. You can get all inventive and technical and put friction reducing additives into it or buy something like the Molten stuff that has it in there already.

queerpunk

i use White Lightning wax in a bottle. it's not super long lasting or anything - it sucks for road chains - but it's nice for a track chain because it's easy to apply and reapply, and it's super clean. and it definitely lowers the noise level of a big loud izumi chain.

krispenhartung

...need some quick advice here. Tonight I won my second omnium for the week here at Jerry Baker Velodrome and the race director upgrade me to Cat 3. So it looks like I staying and doing the Northwest Regional track championships this weekend. I'm 50 and doing 500m, 2K, international tempo, elimination (international omnium version), scratch, keirin, and points. I'm nervous as hell, but glad to be racing in my age group. :-) I've only done scratch, keirin, and points on this list. My main question is that I need to gear up. I'm on 48:15 now (restricted gearing for Cat 4s) so I need to gear up but I don't have a lot of time to experiment, so I can't take a lot of risks. I'm thinking 52:15 (90 inches), 48:14 (89 inches) or 50:15 (86.8 inches). Unfortunately, I don't have a 49t with me, but I have 16, 15, 14, and 12t cogs. Again, I don't want to risk it too much, but clearly can't be spinning out on my 48:15. Any suggestions? I am inclined toward the mid option, 48:14, and if I have to spin at 140rpm on some sprint laps, I'm good with that. BTW, for the TT/pursuits, I have a different bike for that and different gearing. I'm already set there, based on my Oregon State Masters 500m and 2k.

JimiMimni

A couple of years ago I stole a gear list from the "Learn to ride track" page that the Minnesota cycling federation had up. Here's the condensed version I use:

Scratch: 49/14 (50/14 for 2k or shorter)
Points: 48/14 or 51/15
Tempo: 52/15
Elimination: 49/14 or 52/15
Chariot: 51/15
Keirin: 51/14

Your mileage may vary as this is what I use for under-40s 3s races. The original author suggested going down a tooth when not racing at altitude, so consider that as well. I haven't had the opportunity to test that, so I can neither confirm nor deny.

queerpunk

FYI you are using accurate but non-standard calculation to come up with your gear inches. Most people do 27 * chainring/cog. You're using 26.X, which is the true diameter of the wheel. But most people use 27 as the multiplier, and call a 51x15 a 91.8" gear, a 48/14 a 92.5, etc.

I think low 90s is the right zone for a Cat 3. 51-15 or 48-14.

krispenhartung

Cool, thanks! btw, I am getting my calculations from the the BikeGear app. I'm plugging in the chainring and cog sizes, crank length of 165, and tire size of 700x20.
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bike...936361951?mt=8
Android: ???

Know of an app that uses the calculation that you reference above?

topflightpro

I agree with Jimi and QP's comments and suggestions.

Also, any basic gear chart should suffice for knowing gear inches - You don't need an app, just an image. And while there will be some minor differences among the various charts, it's pretty much universally agreed that 50x15 is 90 inches.

krispenhartung

I'd have a panic attack if i had to switch gears that much in a night! :-) At a bare min, I'd prefer to keep the same chain ring and change my cogs, or a wheel with a different sized cog on each side of the hub

topflightpro

All those combinations are between 92 and 98 inches. A lot of people can get through all those events in one gear.

Also, switching cogs is fine, but it's a big jump ~6 inches. Switching a chainring is a much smaller jump, ~2 inches.

carleton

As a broad rule of thumb:

Mass Start / Enduro: Err on the side of a smaller gear. It's easier to carry a higher cadence longer than it is to be stuck "behind" a big gear that you can't "turn over".

Sprinters: Err on the side of a bigger gear to keep from spinning out and limiting max speed.


I'm talking about a 1-tooth up or down decision.

JimiMimni

The Flip-flop hub is a necessity. But also, those are just my guidelines. At BVV, we're racing 4 races per night, at a max. It's way less gear changing than it looks.

Clythio

Got surprised at last year Master Worlds at LA-Carson last year. 54-59 and 60-64 top performers used ~100" for 500m TT (stand start) and ~104" for 200m...

krispenhartung

I went with 48x14 yesterday and took a spin around the track, did a few standing and rolling lap sprints, etc. Felt pretty good so I'll try that. However, if the guys are fast and frisky tonight (it appears the regional masters 50+ champ will be in the field, who also races Cat 1 elite), I may have to bump up to 52x15. That would be convenient, actually, given it's what I use for a 2K. My may goal tonight as a new Cat 3 racer is to just hang on and survive, grab a wheel, not screw myself over.

carleton

1) Try not to overthink it.
2) Your competitors are wondering the same thing.
3) Feel it out. Your gearing can change based on current fitness, where you are in your annual training, energy level during the race night, caffeine level, atmospheric conditions, pack speeds.

The cool thing is that your legs and lungs are the things that smooth out those variables. You now have a *range* of cadences that you can use.

You'll be fine.

krispenhartung

Awesome! Thanks for the tips! It's going to be fun.

southernfox

https://www.velodrome.shop/gearchart2.jpg

Or just do what the rest of us do, and use a chart. (I only do the calculation when I need to be precise about the speeds I was hitting based on cadence data)

Godsight

If you have access to previous races average speed with the same field of racers, you can use that as a guideline with taking in consideration your cadence sweet spot to calculate the gear ratio you want.

ie
Senior elite at Bromont is usually around 43-45kph average speed during mass start races
My cadence sweet spot is 95-105rpm
So i hover between 50/14 and 50/13