Anyone Else Racing on the Track tonight?

blorg

What sort of cadences would be normal in these races out of interest? Normal/sprint?

TinyExplosions

blorg wrote: »

What sort of cadences would be normal in these races out of interest? Normal/sprint?

As fast as you can!

Honestly, I wouldn't be certain of mine, but up around 100-120 maybe?

ba

there were a few heads from orwell there. who owns the Giant with zipp wheels? nice bike. then there was a girl from orwell too

TinyExplosions

ba wrote: »

there were a few heads from orwell there. who owns the Giant with zipp wheels? nice bike. then there was a girl from orwell too

He was the one on the Dolan with way too much seatpost showing, but cycling the very nice Wilier home

kenmc

lads what sort of spec are those track bikes, weightwise I mean.
I have an _old_(really) bike lying around in my mums shed which I was going to turn into a commuter. The lads on bikeforums classic and vintage have basically called me a heathen for wanting to put new stuff onto it (see thread here) but they didn't say anything about taking bits off and making it fixed :pac::pac::):D;):rolleyes::eek::cool::p (i think that's all the appropriate faces!)
I must weight the frame alone, then see how much it'd be to get a fixed rear wheel, and single cranks. Would definitely be cheaper than turning it into a commuter, and would possibly get ridden, which would be better than leaving in the shed.

TinyExplosions

kenmc wrote: »

lads what sort of spec are those track bikes, weightwise I mean.
I have an _old_(really) bike lying around in my mums shed which I was going to turn into a commuter. The lads on bikeforums classic and vintage have basically called me a heathen for wanting to put new stuff onto it (see thread here) but they didn't say anything about taking bits off and making it fixed :pac::pac::):D;):rolleyes::eek::cool::p (i think that's all the appropriate faces!)
I must weight the frame alone, then see how much it'd be to get a fixed rear wheel, and single cranks. Would definitely be cheaper than turning it into a commuter, and would possibly get ridden, which would be better than leaving in the shed.

They have a load of Dolans, which are ali, and pretty light, but guys race all sorts (even one on a Paddy Wagon!), so I don't think the weight matters too much. Make it fixed, leave brakes and tah off, and race it

kenmc

yeah that seems like a better choice for me than to renovate it and cycle a heavy ould clunker around for historical reasons, or to waste a load of money into turning it into a commuter with new components.

niceonetom

that's an interesting old bike ken. are the wheels 700mm or 27"? either way if it was mine it would be very fixed. much easier and cheaper way to make it a commuter than trying to modernise it or restore it.

a track bike it ain't though. it looks like it has very relaxed geometry and has a load of rake on the fork which would give it a strong tendency to want to stay in a straight line - less than ideal on a circuit.

the dolans are fine at the track but it's more or less pot luck what gear ratio you end up with and how well they fit.

kenmc

27"ers.
wouldn't dream of commuting on it fixed though, or even single speed - I like gears too much to do that - especially for accelerating from standing starts at roundabouts etc.

TinyExplosions

kenmc wrote: »

27"ers.
wouldn't dream of commuting on it fixed though, or even single speed - I like gears too much to do that - especially for accelerating from standing starts at roundabouts etc.

It's leg muscle, not gears that accelerate you from a standing start

kenmc

gears work for me though

kenmc

Update on the old bike actually (for anyone who cares): just been told by a classic enthusiast that it's nothing special, basically built after the marque had been sold onto other manufacturers who used to trade on the reputation. So nothing unique to destroy. Don't feel so bad now!