Track racing bike-build

Plastic bikes are the way to go, if you are not on a BT your bike is crap...

Plastic bikes are the way to go, if you are on a BT your bike looks cheap...

fixed...

:-P

I am suprised it took that long...

170 mm cranks will be fine on a big track like HH. 165 mm are only needed on indoor tracks, which tend to be shorter, and therefore steeper.

Yeah it's really the BB height that makes a difference.

^^ that's awesome news - I just built a bike that I was hoping to take to the track for the first time but put 170mm cranks on and then read this...

Frame must have a bottom bracket height of at least 265mm (from ground to centre) with 165mm cranks

so that's a relief - didn't want to get new cranks!

^^ that's awesome news - I just built a bike that I was hoping to take to the track for the first time but put 170mm cranks on and then read this...

so that's a relief - didn't want to get new cranks!

It means that if you have 170mm cranks the BB height should be 5 mm higher, make sense?

Yep! Thanks for the clarification - can be a bit slow at times....

building my first indoor track bike, and I am wondering a few things, will track drops be necessary or will regular road drops be fine? and what pedals should I be required to use? cheers guys, i'll post up pictures of the build in current porkjets as it comes along

what pedals should I be required to use?

Anything that you're not going to pull out of by accident. Look Keos are popular and not too expensive, I'd suggest black cleats and wind the release tension up to max, get the Sprint pedal if you can as it has about 20% higher max release tension compared with the Classic.

cheers for that mdcc, I use the classics on my race bike so i'll probably just throw a set of keo sprints on there, are shimano not really used?

It means that if you have 170mm cranks the BB height should be 5 mm higher, make sense?

I don't know why they persist with this archaic measure, since pedal selection and Q-factor also have a large effect on cornering clearance. Even tyre profile has a small effect. Surely it would make sense to change to an angle measurement; it would not be hard to make a scrutineering jig to check it, certainly easier than measuring BB height and crank length.

are shimano not really used?

I'm sure there are people on Shimano, my sis in law uses SPD-SL at Calshot for one.

I don't know why they persist with this archaic measure, since pedal selection and Q-factor also have a large effect on cornering clearance. Even tyre profile has a small effect. Surely it would make sense to change to an angle measurement; it would not be hard to make a scrutineering jig to check it, certainly easier than measuring BB height and crank length.

I've only ever seen a BB height measured once for the track , and that was at newport.
It's true pedals make a difference which is why these things are at coach's discretion.

Velodrome rules are generally there for riders to make their judgements before turning up (and possibly being told their bike is unsuitable) It's only really become an issue since people started bringing road 'fixies' along, low BBs 170 cranks and learner pedals mean you will catch the banking when doing lumps and bumps, even at HH

building my first indoor track bike, and I am wondering a few things, will track drops be necessary or will regular road drops be fine? and what pedals should I be required to use? cheers guys, i'll post up pictures of the build in current porkjets as it comes along

Use whatever drops you find comfortable, generally only sprinters use the deep 'track' drops. with your first bike it's better to start with your road position and work from that as you progress.

cheers, thats the plan, i'm just making sure they were track legal, the build is going to be fairly entry level here's the planned build:

Token Pista rv frame and pista rv carbon fork: £349
Token crankset 48T £75
carbon seatpost £40
novatec sealed 32h hubs built onto weinman dp18 black (clincher) £170
specialized phenom saddle, (my saddle that goes on everything, I love it)
Bars ?
stem?
look keo sprint pedals £
continental supersonics (if I can get them, if not, panaracer 140psi jobbies)

get the Sprint pedal if you can as it has about 20% higher max release tension compared with the Classic.

Is that true?
I'm pretty sure classics on maximum will not let you out, why should you need another 20%? if there's a problem you need to put straps on.

Is that true?
I'm pretty sure classics on maximum will not let you out, why should you need another 20%?

It's true, although whether it's necessary is moot. Doesn't do any harm if you're buying new pedals anyway, as the price is about the same. Keo Classic is 8-12Nm, Keo Sprint and all versions of Keo2Max are 9-15Nm. Keo Easy is fixed at 8Nm. None of them will pull out if you keep your feet straight, but higher tension reduces the chance of an accidental release when you wobble, which can turn a scary moment into a crash.

carbon seatpost £40
continental supersonics (if I can get them, if not, panaracer 140psi jobbies)

£40 carbon seat posts tend to be worse than £40 aluminium seat posts.

Conti Supersonics aren't all that, Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX is much nicer, and you can get the old 290tpi ones quite cheap now. Scrutineers might look askance at Panaracers, since they won't know whether the tread compound works on boards

I may try the vittoria's then, anything wrong with conti gp400s or conti triathlons for track?

GP4000s are tractor tyres. Good for all conditions road racing, too slow to be worth using on the track. The Triathlon is a Supersonic with extra puncture protection - again, more rolling resistance added for no track benefit.

aah yes, but has the benefit of being in stock at the local shop (where team discount can be had),

oh and a bit of background info, the bike i'm building is for track training, not racing, as a team we do not race track, only MTB xc racing and road racing, so speed may not be a huge issue for me as it's a training bike,
we're all building the same sort of thing but each with different parts depending on what we can each afford, as I said, mines going to be entry level but hopefully of quality components,

feel free to pm me for pictures of me in lycra if you like

cheers, thats the plan, i'm just making sure they were track legal, the build is going to be fairly entry level here's the planned build:

Token Pista rv frame and pista rv carbon fork: £349
Token crankset 48T £75
carbon seatpost £40
novatec sealed 32h hubs built onto weinman dp18 black (clincher) £170
specialized phenom saddle, (my saddle that goes on everything, I love it)
Bars ?
stem?
look keo sprint pedals £
continental supersonics (if I can get them, if not, panaracer 140psi jobbies)

Have a look at the Planet-X sale mate, I picked up a Carb/alu seat post and san marco saddle for abot £60.....should have been +£100....

been on the PX sale for new mtb shoes and a brooks saddle for the missus, I only need to buy the seatpost as i hoarded specialized phenom 143mm saddles after the first week of owning one, I have one on 2/4 bikes and now 1 spare for the token,

Im building my "track style" bike for winter training (tifosi frame), Also on a budget.....Get some photos of your on here so I can have a butchers!!