My foray into the velodrome

So this began when I spotted this frame on this forum going for quite cheap. I used to have a street fixed bike back when I lived in Sydney a while back and kind of missed it so bought it on a whim. Combined this with a cheap second hand wheelset and some leftover parts.

Great thing is this is a true track frame meant for the velodrome, super steep head angle and tight geometry, barely fits 25mm tyres and massive amounts of toe overlap: just perfect! Supposedly it may be a Donohue made frame for Graham Weigh, in any case it's Reynolds 853 with an aero style downtube and the frame weight is a featherlike 1.68kg and forks 0.55kg.

Mockup with some pursuit bars and an old Look ergo stem I had lying around... looks kinda odd to be honest!

This thread will tell the story of how this bike got me riding at HHV and how it's changed over the past 6-9 months.

Love a Graham Weigh - looking forward to seeing this story unfold!

Love it

I like the decals

So mid/late last year I did a taster session at HHV and decided to just chuck on some drop bars. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with this bike

Although quickly became kind of hooked to riding at Herne Hill and ended up going to the skills session week after week to learn the ropes. Eventually I found that the 47x16t was fine for street but I was completely spinning out before my max speed so an upgrade was in order. Ditto with the bars, the ones I had were just some leftover compact drops, a bit too wide at 40cm.

I ended up sticking a 14t on the back to get roughly 90 gear inches so I was maxing out in the sprints 56km/h @ 130rpm or thereabouts. The drops I stuck on are BLB alloy 36cm drops which are really deep, gives a super aggressive position. Although I'm not a big guy with not a lot of power, my advantage is I'm pretty flexible so don't have any big issues with such large drop.

It's been a while since I updated this thread, but I've actually gone on to do training and race accreditation at Herne Hill. Also made some minor mods, I managed to find some Dura Ace FC-7600 NJS stamped cranks which I stripped and polished

They paired perfectly well with a Campag Centaur BB, I read from differing sources that the taper on these DA cranks is not JIS, in any case this BB gave a 42mm chainline and the tapers fit snugly just right.

Also I started racing this year, I was intending to do it last year but I had a back injury which stopped me from training. So far have managed to get points and place in the top 3 in the two rounds I've raced in. Handlebars have been changed to Nitto B123, which are a super deep traditional track drop.

However after looking at this photo of myself, I think the frame is too small for me. The bars are too low and too close, I do feel cramped when sprinting and my arms are locked out which is not good. Track riding aero has come a really long way and what people are running are super narrow handlebars and long reach which helps you stretch out and stay low.

So I decided to look at getting a new frame, in particular one that is one size up, say about 54cm top tube as the Graham Weigh is absolutely tiny, 51.5cm or so. Also it will have to be a modernish frame set with a threadless headset which allows the most choice with handlebars.

So I picked this up... only ridden at an indoor velodrome. It's not drilled for brakes so is a pure track frame.

Oh and picked up some new handlebars... these are 31cm wide

Nice project! Crazy stuff! 31cm drop bars, also perfect to ride in between taxis probably

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Great thread. Nice to read about your progress.

yeah, love this, especially the polish up on the cranks.

nice

Great work on the cranks. Did you wax them, too?

I agree that higher bars and more reach will probably work better for you. That's a bit of an old-school position of the Weigh. May take a bit of getting used to, though.

Shame to see one of the last remaining steel frames at track league disappear but also great to see new racers!

What I love about this is the

So I decided to look at getting a new frame..

Brilliant, have fun

Likewise, great to read how you've enjoyed riding on track. Also another +1 for the crank refurb, looking good!

Great to see you document this, i loved my short stint at HHV so will be watching with interest.

4 fixed only projects on page 1 has got to be a decade record!

I should stick some wax on them, did that on my other bike which had some bare polished alloy cranks. I rode the new position on the bike last night, will write a bit more in a bit. But yes generally better!

Still quite a lot of steel frames to be honest, there is one guy with a beautiful Cherubim actually.

Obligatory weigh in...

Also some clues on the fork, looks like a 2015 model. Can't seem to find much more info apart from this link. I'm pretty sure Planet X just used some kind of open mould http://xds-carbon.com/services-en.html

Ok, so I've fitted the bars to the frame now.

Great thread. ID on those bars? Asking for a friend... 👀

Haha, they are a generic open mould handlebar you can get on Aliexpress. However I sourced them from https://www.brookscycles.co.uk/product/carbon-endurance-bar-330mm/ as I wanted some kind of warranty/customer service. I also have the 310mm version which is not on their website yet...

Looks fast already

Ok, mocked it up with my old wheels

Looks the business!

Looks roughly as if it will bring your forearms up without affecting any other part of your position.

Sweeeet!

I was sceptical looking at the frame, thinking it was just another crabon thing. But that looks the business.