David Broon 

This may be too personal, but do you coach at all? Either beginner/drop in stuff, or sending plans? That, and would you consider writing a book on how to do everything about racing track? I'd buy a copy or six.

carleton

Ha! I'm flattered.

I'm a USA Cycling Category C official and I passed the USA Cycling Coaching Certification test but I didn't pay for the background check because I decided that I really didn't want to pursue coaching. My background is 100% clean. I just didn't want to spend the $ for a cert that I wasn't going to use.

Over the past few years I've been coached by some of the best in the US. Without naming names, their palmarès include: Olympic Medalist, Olympian in 3 Olympic Games, Elite World Champion, Jr World Champion, Masters World Champion, Elite National Champion. They also coached athletes to similar heights (I'm the slowest of them all). When they spoke, I listened

I, myself, have done limited coaching. I coached one person who did reasonably well on the elite national level for a brief moment before she quit racing due to personal commitments. I (as well as many others) thought she had what it takes to make it to the next level, but life got in the way.

So, no, I don't coach. And as far as a book may go, this thread is about as much as you can get from me

David Broon 

So much appreciation for all of this.

MXLeader

Carleton...

Lurker but first poster... Could you give me your thoughts on this as a bike for sprint/endurance type velodrome riding at least regarding geo. The geometry looks comparable to a lot of the more specific track bikes with aero tubing and such. Not much has been written about the AC Thunderdome yet and I'd like a second opinion from somewhere other than All-City's website from someone who knows track bikes. Much appreciated.

https://allcitycycles.com/bikes/thunderdome

Appreciate all you've written here... BTW, I grew up in PDX and miss it at some point nearly every day.

David Broon 

What made you decide to sell the look?

carleton

Sorry, I missed this one. I didn't get the email notification.

That looks pretty good! The geometry is sort of sprint-specific. I like it.

All City makes (and/or imports) some nice stuff. Go for it.

The top tube is too short

As nice as it is (and it's really, really nice) it doesn't fit me well. The TT is 56 and I thought that with my new saddle position (much further back than before) that I could use it, but nope. I need a 58cm TT.

As I've always said: Frames are like shoes in that it doesn't matter how nice they are, if they are too big or too small, you won't like them.

David Broon 

Back to the Custom? Again?

carleton

Yup! Fit wins over Fancy every time

MXLeader

All City Frame and Fork are on it's way... Thanks for the little push to pull the trigger.

spazegun2213

so what are you getting now?

carleton

Good luck!

I'm riding my Tiemeyer.

Hida Yanra

"Dear Carleton" did you know that every Monday is now Sprint Mania at Marymoor?

hugz an stuff,
~Seattle

carleton

Nice!

Thomas47

What workout would you recommend to increase your sprint speed ?
currently at 46kph-ish want to get up towards 50kph, I am youth so hope that explains slower speeds.

carleton

Hi, Thomas. You are asking for a training program. It is very difficult to prescribe a program over the internet. There is a lot involved. This is like a young football player asking, "How do I become a better quarterback?"

Do you have a local track? Are you on a team? Do you ride/race on the road?

Thomas47

Thanks for replying so quickly. I live within 45 min drive to national cycling centre-where the track world cup was held the other day. And I belong to a club, I have started to race on the road and can just about keep up, ( 40 kph avg. speed usually) on a crit circuit.

brawlo

Last year, about mid season I had the same desire. So on the track training night that I would normally do strength work like standing starts and jumps, I would just do a couple of standing starts and then go into max speed revouts. Basically jump from 30km/h and go for broke. If you do them right, you're stuffed, and they're not the sort of thing you can do repeats of every couple of minutes. I could only really do 3 of good quality in a 1hr session. Doing these over the course of about 1 1/2 months saw me go from a top speed of 56 up to 58.8. I would suggest you try that out, but having done it, I think it has the most benefit during a race season. I probably wouldn't do much of that type of work in off season.

That is just one technique that worked for me to achieve the same thing you say you want. As Carleton said, I think getting a coach will help you to gain in all areas rather than just one facet of the game.

Thomas47

Thanks

himespau 

Looking at rollers for winter training. Any suggestions? I like the idea of the sportcrafters one that has the progressive resistance inside the drum, but I'm not sure I want to drop that much coin as I'm not sure whether I'll be able to stick with them.

carleton

Most trackies like rollers with big drums like Kreitler 4.5 inch. These are great for warming up, active recovery, or cadence drills. They use normal trainers for resistance work.

I don't know many who use resistance rollers for winter resistance workouts. I wouldn't suggest it. Save your money and buy a set of quality big-drum rollers and a quality trainer and have the best of both worlds.

Jaytron

Yo,

Thoughts on generic laminated leather straps: https://www.retro-gression.com/produc...-double-straps vs Toshi's?

I feel that since MOST of the holding power is still in the clipless system, and that the straps are more of an assistance/backup system, it shouldn't really matter?

carleton

I find that the generic ones don't hold very well. Not sure if it's the clasp or the strap or the combination of the two. They also wear out quickly. The ones in the photo are simple leather that will stretch immediately and continue to do so. There is no laminate there.

Toshi, Kashimax, and the like are two pieces of sueade (for grip) with laminate (for inelasticity). They are expensive probably because they require more material and effort to produce.

I have used Toshi's for more than a season of regular use. I only replace them when they look bad aesthetically. They still function very well even after more than a full season.

I'd pass on the generic ones. You can feel them loosen on the first hard effort.

To save a bit of money, I have purchased a set of Toshi doubles and simply cut them in half, giving me two sets of singles.

Jaytron

Thoughts on the guys using hold fast straps and what not?

carleton

I tried Hold Fast straps back in 2010.

Pros:

- The feel great. No focused pressure or pinching that you might get from straps.
- They are very snug.
- They are inexpensive.
- They come in lots of colors

Cons:
- The way you open them, towards the bike, brings your fingers close to the finger-eating machine (the chainwheel)
- They don't open fully with one swipe like you can with Toshi type straps. You have to undo the velcro them pull the strap out of the buckle to make slack. So, it's a 2-step process.
- They seemed to be harder to get into (I guess that can be overcome with training)


I gave them a fair shot in 2010 and in 2013 and both times went back to the leather Toshi straps. I still have the Hold Fast straps.

I would use them if they opened from the top of the foot outward (away from the bike) using a similar motion that one uses to exit normal leather straps.

Jaytron

Noted. Thanks Carleton! I think I'll be going with Toshis.