Originally Posted by
Woolly Mammoth
Hello everyone. I'm really interested in getting into track cycling, been riding the road for 8 years now. I have so many questions about the track, and Bike Forums looks like it is a place full of answers. I guess a little about myself. I have been itching to get into track racing for a year now, and live an hour away from a velodrome. Of course, 2 things seem to be in short supply these days, time and money.
I guess the first thing I'm asking is it possible to be half way decent at track with maybe, at best, getting one day a week of training on the track?
If the answer if yes, what do I need to get started? I know a track bike, and I DON'T pretend that have have great knowledge of bikes! I've been looking at the Fuji Track 1.1 and the Felt TK2. The local bike shop that I deal with is a Fuji dealer, so I lean that way. But what is with them putting brakes on it this year? I figure you can take them off, but does it mess up the look of the frame? If anyone has any input on these or other suggestions let me have it.
What other purchases will it take to get started? A roller?
With my limited time on the track, what do I do for training?
I know there are probably days worth of answers to these questions, but it will be a start. Like I said, just really excited to get on the track. Thanks everyone for the time you take to answer and a great forum.
Hi, and welcome to the forum and the sport!
Some random comments here:
Being 1 hour away is awesome! Some in ATL travel from the north side of ATL down to the velodrome in about an hour. I used to drive 3.5 hours from VA to Trexlertown, PA to train/race. So, an hour is nothing
The Fuji and Felt that you mention above are very comparable. The only thing is that the TK2 comes with 3T Sphinx bars which I would not recommend for a newbie. Just take those off and install the road bars of your choice (I suggest 40cm wide or less, NOT the usual 42-44cm).
The brakes are due to the fact that track bikes are trendy and most of them are ridden on the street (just like most basketball shoes never see a basketball court). Just take them off.
You will find that track gear is MUCH less expensive that comparable quality road gear. You'll see guys winning US National Championships on $1,500 bikes. Their road bikes back home are over $4,000
What do you need? There are more ways to skin cats than there are cats! I trained my entire 1st season with only a track bike. Meaning, no road bike, no rollers, no indoor trainer. Just drove down the DLV and trained/raced my track bike 5-6 days a week. Your road bike and road training routine will be PLENTY during your first season. People use rollers to warm up at the track the same way people use mag trainers to warm up for crits. Nothing special. Some do roller workouts, but being that you can't adjust resistance on most rollers, the only real gains there are in smoothing out the pedal stroke. This is important, but not super important for beginners.
Spend your limited time on the track:
- Learning basic etiquette via a beginner's course. Even guys who are CAT1 on the road must take the beginners courses and race with the beginners then progress up. Jeff Hopkins at DLV won't let the CAT1 guys leave the pack of beginner racers until the final sprint. This forces them to learn how to ride in the group, not just go off the front because they are stronger.
- All etiquette is rooted in safety. Etiquette is strictly enforced at most tracks and this is why track racing generally has less incidents than road/crit racing.
- Getting comfortable on the track. Just riding around, being close to others, changing lanes, changing speeds, etc...
Equipment:
- You won't need fancy wheels, skinsuits, aero helmets, etc during your first few months. If you have these things, fine, but no need to go and buy them now. Just like in road racing, that stuff isn't needed to win beginner races.
- The basic off-the-rack bike is fine for now.
- You will need basic tools. I'll find the link to a thread we have on the subject and post it here.
Finally:
Go get certified ASAP before the track closes for the winter! Use the rental bikes. That way you can train this winter and be ready to rock and roll next spring.