Herne Hill Saturday Training

Using Your Own Bike

All racing and training track sessions at Herne Hill Velodrome are carried out on fixed-wheel track bikes. The only exception is the Tuesday night road bike training session, where you may ride a standard road bike.
The rise in popularity of fixed-wheel bikes now means many people may own one for use on the road. To make it track legal it must adhere to certain standards:

• It must have a fixed wheel drivetrain
  
• Frame must have a bottom bracket height of at least 265mm (from ground to centre) when using 165mm cranks (more if using longer cranks)
  
• If frame has braze-ons or fittings they must be padded and taped over to avoid injury
  
• It must have no brakes or extraneous parts (this includes the entire brake assembly, bottle cages, lights & brackets etc)
  
• It must have Drop handlebars
  
• Handlebars must be fitted with bar-end plugs and bartape or grips
  
• Tyres must be in good condition and pumped up hard
  
• Pedals should provide adequate foot retention (clips and straps or clipless pedals set to a high tension)
  
• Wheel axles should be of the nutted type (no quick-release skewers)
  
• Gearing should be between 82 and 88 gear inches for novice riders. (48 x 15 (86″) is ideal for adult riders) a slightly higher ratio around 88-90 gear inches is preferred for racing.
  
• Bikes must be in safe, well maintained and working order. If a member of the coaching staff thinks your bike isn’t safe, you will not be able to ride it on the track.