taras0000

Road and track are different beasts when it comes to what forces are put on the bike. In theory a wheel with a loose quick release can fall out from under you as you transition out of turns 2 and 4, especially on tighter tracks. This is because centrifugal force is bringing your CoG outwards as the bike is tilting back underneath you as the track is flattening out and dropping out from under you.

carleton

I've seen spokes get removed on the track. I believe it was from contact with the pedal/shoe of another rider.

I haven't seen a quick relase come open personally. But, rarely see them being used on the track (it's usually someone doing it in training when the track director isn't paying attention). I don't race on the road.

wens

I saw a wheel just fall out of dropouts in a crit once, no idea if it was loose at the start.

It's a tradition thing though, it's not a big deal to get an Allen key skewer, and trying to change it is a waste of effort even if it is pointless.

gtrob

I race nothing but tubulars on the road/track and have no idea what that even means

If I get a flat or want to change tires, I get out my can of tubular glue, close the windows, put on some pink floyd, and ride the dragon.

dunderhi

Wow, a 100% track purist. Is this common among the membership here? I consider myself a trackie, but I've got a road race, 2 time trials, and 11 crits planned before my first track race on 2 April at Rock Hill. I'll do a bunch of additional road events prior to T-town opening up in mid-May. After that, I'll probably only do track events on the weekends until T-town closes for the season. After that, maybe I'll give a cyclocross event or two a try.

taras0000

Now that we know dunderhi's plan for the season, maybe we can plan out his training schedule . But seriously, that's pretty awesome that you've got that much racing lined up. That's more than what I've done in the last 5 years, lol.

carleton

If you are racing that much so early, either you have an incredible engine, or you'll be fried by June.

The only masters I know who can hang with a schedule like that are CAT 1/2 on the road and are used to that much volume and intensity. And even then, they are done and dusted by the end of Speed Week or Road Nationals (around May).

I don't know any sprinters that race so much so early and intend to race through the end of the summer.


Tell me about it


DLV has a long season, a full 6 months (April - September). So, I'm in no hurry to start racing. Many locals dust off their track bikes just a week or two before the season starts and have nothing resembling "track legs" for the first month. By the time August comes you've had your fill. And you don't want to see your track bike by September.

Dalai

I'm like dunderhi - I tend to focus on one discipline per season but race at least weekly or another track / criterium midweek. Track in summer and will be back racing road TT's and CX through winter possibly racing track Tuesday nights as well.

As long as you can keep your motivation going and swapping disciplines helps with that, there is no need for the traditional periodisation program dictated by severe winters some of you suffer through.

queerpunk

Being a 100% trackie is something that's much more common for sprinters than enduros.

For me, track season starts in late May. By then I will have done about 10 crits. Getting race miles in my legs before track season is pretty vital to my form.

Plus, road racing is fun. I have a bunch of crits planned (including some big ones at Tour of America's Dairylands) throughout the season. It would probably be a little bit easier to train consistently if there weren't a handful of crits that I would want to be somewhat fresh for, but that's OK by me.

dunderhi

My training regime is a secret, so I'll share it with you guys.

It is pretty simple, I ride everyday (indoors or outdoors) in the Winter. The scedule is pretty much one hard day followed by two easy days and then repeat. I started my 2015 season peparation on 1 December and I now have 1,700 miles logged with no days missed. So my overall training plan is pretty simple: Train in the Winter. Race in the spring. Focus and specialize in the Summer. Have fun on the Fall. Repeat.

This will be an interesting test, since although I have the body of a Cat 6 (Clydesdale) Master, I tend to think like a Cat 2 Senior. In my youth, I raced on average 5 days/week, but I'm not young anymore, so I will see what my body can handle. The Masters in my club race several races per week, so I'll have some motivation to keep up.

As a side note, my signature quote might be misleading, since it's only a play on my current weight situation. I race track: any and all events. I would call myself an omnium racer, with an equal likelihood of winning a scratch, pursuit, or a sprint competition.

Yes, in September when my track season ended, I was really bummed out. I felt I was really starting to come into form only after the season was over. This year, I have already committed to to a promoter to do her CX race next December.


+1

I waited until May last year (my first year back racing) to start racing and I wasn't anywhere near ready, so that's part of my motivation to get stated earlier. Until the indoor track is Pittsburgh is completed, the road is the only place for me to race in the late Winter/early Spring. I've not committed to a "Tour of" level crit yet, but I might give one a try.

MrMinty

Has anyone (particularly enduros) tried supplementing with bicarbonate of soda prior to racing?

Do the positive effects outweigh the potential bad?

taras0000

No one really does it anymore. It lessens the burn but doesn't make you any faster.

tomgdaly

Why does my front wheel lift sometimes when I 'kick'?
'Kick' is relative as I'm 60 years old an not a sprinter. In other words, it's not raw power that's causing it.
I was doing standing 250 recently and it happened a couple of times on one of the efforts. It has happened an odd time when I've kicked off the banking - disconcerting to say the least.
I thought I had reasonably good technique with the standing start, but ....
I think the bike fits ok

Velocirapture

There were some useful comments previously when i asked a similar question (happens sometimes on a standing start for me, not on a general kick), i think in this thread. could be worth going back to see the various observations.

one thing that comes to mind, given that yours happens in motion is that your weight placement might be quite far back on the bike. either with a set back seatpost or fairly high bars.. (assuming that you are seated when it happens).
If its when you get out of the saddle to jump, possible a different story. for me, it was due to hand vs front axle placement, essentially also translating as weight further back. have you tried leaning forward on your hands a bit more?

carleton

tomgdaly, will you post a pic of your bike (from the side)?

As Velocirature suggests, it could be a weight distribution thing dictated by how your bike is setup.

I think that you are somehow "un-weighting" the front end.

Hida Yanra

yup.
I did this a few times when I was first learning how track sprints differed from road sprints - it is absolutely disconcerting, but easily remedied.

bitingduck

I've seen a front hub bolt cut a nice spiral in a disk wheel. A spoked wheel would almost certainly have opened a QR. In this case neither rider went down.

I've had my feet clipped by front tires many times without anybody going down.

I've also made contact at the *bottom* of my tire to the bottom of another rider's tire during a race. We were both fine. I knew exactly what had happened, and he rode around a couple laps looking over the bars at his tires.

QRs are legal in track time trials, but not in mass start with good reason.

tomgdaly

I'm pretty sure it's not the bike. Saddle setback is 2.5 cm and it's also happened on a hire bike.
I expect it's technique.
What is the 'easy remedy'?

carleton

Try and be more deliberate with your sprint practice jumps. Practice jumping out of the saddle at 50, 75, 90% power before going all out.

I've assigned drills where the athlete was to accelerate out of the saddle at various points on the track.

Maybe have someone watch you can comment. It's kinda hard to do this via text over the internet. It's like fixing a tennis serve...via text over the internet

Dalai

C'mon Carleton, it's obvious your ball toss is too far to your left...

bouldergeek

So, I am a total n00b when it comes to track.

Regarding gearing, are there no limitations for Senior/Masters men's? Do people just ride the gears that they can push, or do certain races have certain ratios that everyone must conform to?

My bike came with an 18T on one side of the hub and a 16T on the other. Chainring is a 49T. I'm pretty sure that a 49/18 would be just for the road, and too low for group riding at the track.

I bought a 14T cog, thinking that a 49/16 and 49/14 would probably be flexible and appropriate to have. Does this seem right?

Bonus question: why do people say to avoid FSA Carbon track cranksets? The ones on my bike seem pretty nice for general hacking. Other than potential cracking fatigue from a crash, why would an alloy crank be better for an amateur?

rndstr

Yes, that's a pretty good start. Warmup on 49/16 then move to the 14 and go fast. You will soon figure out whether the 14 is too big or too small. It mostly depends on what (top) speed you want to ride. This might help: BikeCalc.com - Speed at all Cadences for any Gear and Wheel

I started off with a 49/15 for quite a while but now moved to a 14 in the back for the harder efforts. But some days I prefer the spin and go back to the 15.

queerpunk

Do you have other racing experience? What kind of races do you want to do? For starters, I'd recommend you get a 15t cog. And then, you'll probably want a couple more chainrings at some point, too.

The reason I say that is that many local elite track racers use gears quite a bit smaller than 49/14, especially for long races.

People say to avoid FSA track cranksets because they had a model that had a spider attached to the cranks via a spline-and-lockring system. It had a bad habit of loosening up.

dunderhi

I like ride 50x14 in Masters 1-4 races and 47x14 in Senior 4 races. The Masters races area constant high speed event where the pace seldom lets up, while the Senior 4 races speed up and slow down with lots of attacks. So the bigger gearing lets me motor along at 30+mph, while the lower gear lets me have ability to accelerate quickly from 23mph. Since you have a 49 chainwheel, I would second the choice of a 15 cog to start. If you find the pace is too fast, then put on the 14.

Good luck.

carleton

bouldergeek, gearing takes into account the following variables:

- Race (Standing lap to The Hour)
- Rider strength
- Rider leg speed
- Rider endurance
- Body weight
- Training objective (race gear, over gear, under gear)
- Track dimensions/angle
- Period within the seas (early, mid, late)

So, see how you'll end up with a bag full of chainrings and cogs?

I currently own 44-51 chainrings and 12-16 cogs and I'll use all of them throughout the season.

I'm not suggesting you buy a complete kit like a lot of people have. I'm illustrating how buying one $30 cog probably won't give you everything you'll need. I listed a buying progression that I thing beginners on a budget could follow here: