Track Tyres

In certain circumstances only.

Current supply chain issues being one of those circumstances and any mention I make of the Sprinter comes with the caveat/side note about how Conti classify it etc.

@M_V wow! Thanks for the wealth of info. It does seem like a minefield and could certainly benefit from some standardisation!
@leggy_blonde thanks for clarifying re. The compounds.
I’m only planning to ride at Newport so only indoors. I’m sure when I’ve used their hire bikes a couple were on Zaffiro slicks which don’t seem to be available any more but the last one I used definitely had a ‘treaded’ road type tyre on it.
I think the Challenge Pista will be a worthy investment as I don’t plan on riding more than once a week.

Yeah that's fair enough. I used them at Herne Hill for years but remember going to Newport for some madison training with them and thought "never again!"

Zaffiros are what is on our hire fleet and I believe the hire bikes at Manchester

It was Zafiro Slicks 700c on all bikes but Conti Gatorskin 650c on the 39cm frames. All those bikes went back to Dolan when the arena refurb began. As a consumable Zafiro slicks couldn't be sourced ahead of the closure, and an alternative hadn't been decided upon. It'll be interesting to see what the new fleet tyres are.

I still have concerns over the lack of a standardised approach across all the indoor Velodromes, following the Newport case in terms of consequences both as a rider (physical) and for track side coaches (legal), and despite raising this with my local venue operator & bc this has gone nowhere afaik.

Ah ok.

I’ve probably ridden our tandems which used to have sprinters on them but that’s the extent of my experience using them.

Yeah, BC didn’t seem to want to get involved.

I’ve had youths come to our track with wildly inappropriate tyres and when questioned they’d been recommended by BC pathway coaches so probably best they keep their nose out of it tbh.

For what it's worth, the hire bikes at Lee Valley have Conti GP5000 clinchers...

My son thinks they grip better than the Veloflex Record tubs I have on my track bike. (He's ridden both and felt like my tubs were slipping down when going slow round the banking).

Interesting.

I think Conti has maybe made some changes to their site. There's now a 'Road and Track' section which when you click into it has options for 'Clincher' or 'Tubular'. I don't think it used to be like that.

The charts which have a 'track/indoor' section for tubs but not clinchers are still the same though. These obviously pre-date the GP Supersonic (which imo looks to be the more track suitable tyre) as it isn't on the clincher one.

When you click into the GP Supersonic it does say "This tyre is intended for race use only in solo events on the road or as an all-round track clincher (indoor & outdoor), and is not recommended for road races or training rides due to its short tread life."

The GP5000 does not mention track.

I kind of wish they'd just remove the charts, they are out of date anyway and the opinion at Glasgow at least is that by having a 'track/indoor' section on the tub one but not the clincher one, they are as good as saying "We don't make track suitable clinchers."

So the Challenge Pista tyres arrived today. On the plus side they do generally feel like a quality tyre and the tread surface is very ‘sticky’ out the box. None of the sheen you normally get with road tyres.
On the negative I’m a little concerned that there are patches of the tread where it looks like the manufacturer hasn’t quite applied enough rubber….
Could be a bit dodgy riding on banking no? What do you think?

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The shiny stuff on the edge? Looks like excess adhesive to me. The tread will come in one piece and then is glued to carcass by hand.

Thank you; yes! It looks like my early morning eyes may have deceived me. I can’t rub it off and don’t have any chemicals to hand but it could be adhesive. It really does look like the tread has gaps in it at the edges but hopefully your suggestion is correct. Will see if alcohol will remove it later.

Just for the benefit of anyone reading this: I’d sanded my new track tyres a little at home. Got to the track and they were still too squeaky / slippery. Sanded the shit out of them with some emery cloth and they were fine.
In hindsight I should have just done a few road miles on them!
Lesson: just because they’re ‘track’ tyres doesn’t mean they’ll be good to go out the box.

While we are talking about tyres, tubs in particular, how many layers of glue do you tend put down? Especially for a high banked indoor track like LVV? My wheels already have had a tyre mounted for LVV.

For a new tub and rim, 3.
1 each on the tub and rim, leave 12-24hrs then 2nd layer on rim to mount tub

I tend to do that for my road tubs. I was thinking it would be more due to the extra stresses the tubs would be under.

I don’t glue many tubs but when I started reading @leggy_blonde reply I thought, yeah three layers on each is about right 😬

Saying that, I’ve seen mechanics at uci events do one layer on each and chuck the tyre on and about ten minutes later it’s on the track being raced so…

@M_V @Andytrack69 150psi keeps the tyre on pretty well by itself!

Thanks guys.

@Andytrack69, Continental treat their base tape differently, so you need at least two layers for a Conti tub: min two on the tub, one on the rim.

More important than many layers IMO is to ensure that the cement covers right to the edge of the rim. That cement at the edges is doing most of the work keeping the tub on. A guy new to track was rightly concerned about his tubs. He hadn't glued wide enough and they would have rolled eventually.

Reading this thread had me slightly worried about the bike check at LVV. But turned up last week and all they seemed to care about was my gearing, barely glanced at the rest of the bike or tyres 🤷‍♂️ was on gp5ks for reference

@Turkish running tubeless or with inner tubes? I was told that tubeless weren't allowed, though it isn't on their specs. If a tubeless punctures or leaks, there is going to be sealant on the track, which won't make you too popular with the other riders!

Tubed! I dont mess with tubeless, waste of time imo

I've just bought a new Dolan Pre Cursa (stock build) and it comes with Conti Ultra Sports. I know they are a pretty cheap road tyre, but my question is will these be fine at LVV or is it best I change them to a better tyre?

I have emailed LVV and they just replied by attaching their gear spec sheet which just states:
Tyres/tubulars must be in good condition
Tyres/tubulars must be 21-25mm wide
Tyres/tubulars must not have coloured tread
Tyres/tubulars must be cleaned before entering the track
Michelin tyres/tubulars or other silica/dual compounds are not permitted

I can't imagine that Dolan would stick on tyres that wouldn't work on an indoor track. If you're worried, check with them.

Be sure to clean the tyres with isopropyl or vinegar before you ride them. And ride around the car park or azur before you join the track.