carleton

The timer will start and the event begins when the countdown clock is at zero. The rider can sit in the starting gate and not move and the timer will continue to count up with elapsed time. Basically, the timer starts whether the rider is ready or not.

This is why practicing the start is emphasized in order to leave the millisecond the countdown clock hits zero and the timer starts. Every 1/100th of a second the rider is behind the countdown timer finishing is wasted time.

topflightpro

I know a guy who had a welder build a tow-hitch based wheel slot that he can set his bike in, clip in, then do starts from. I'm told it works best when on a slight hill, so that gravity helps keep the bike in the slot.

I've never actually seen this. I've only heard about it.

warx

In MotoGP if the riders reaction is deemed under 0.1sec they consider it a jump start ("Beyond human reaction"). However in the British GP (F1) pretty much looked like Bottas was under 0.1sec but no penalty.

So... if the release happens in around 0.1secs I guess all is good?!

Interesting to see that the wheel is held at the very rear. Guess you have to be good at staying balanced as to not damage your rim (I always feel like I'm fighting the person holding me up!)

Dalai

Note the section on the starting gate sticking forward at seatpost height. This is adjusted to hold the seatpost with the bike in the gate. Bike is rock solid once placed there...

taras0000

The guy on the brake in the pink looks like Shane Kelly?

79pmooney

I"m just poking around here. I am hard core fix gear rider, but strictly road and haven't raced for 40 years (and won't; TBI and too many mild concussions). I do hang out at Alpenrose, 2 miles from my house.

I've done two of these DIYs, converting straps to laces and a chainwhip. The shoes (2 so far but more will happen) because straps, my 60+ yo feet and long fix gear hills make for chronic foot issues leading to infections and the antibiotic routine. I did my first with the small aluminum eyelets but went a size up to brass. Far better! And what a difference! My cheap Lakes which have lasts that work really well for my feet are now some of my all-time favorite shoes.

The chainwhip was made to stow on my top tube so I could ride Cycle Oregon and use three cogs per day. It is 20" long with a rubber (inner tube) handle (so a skinny hillclimber who has climbed a mountain can get any cog off) and weighs less than a pound. From 1/4" 6061 plate. Best chain whip I have ever used. (It took a LOT of work.) Makes roadside cog changes child's play. Works on 12 to 24 tooth cogs (and certainly larger but I have yet to hear of them).

I'll be checking back to see what other ideas you guys have.

Ben

carleton

Thanks for the suggestion to use brass eyelets! I'm going to have my 1st generation Fizik R1s converted to lace-ups and I'll use brass this time.

What tool did you use to punch the holes? I bought a hole punch from the hobby shop years ago and it was difficult to use. Mine was something like this:



It was arduous.

I'm considering using the Makita this time (seriously)

taras0000

Don't drill. Use a punch. There are hammer punches you can get at hardware store. This is what most leatherworkers or cobblers use. Back it with some wood and you'll have a much better experience. The drill will create a hole by tearing through the leather (synthetic or real).

This is what you want - https://www.harborfreight.com/9-piec...-set-3838.html


Or if you really want to use the Makita, there are these ones that will slice a round hole through the leather -- https://www.harborfreight.com/6-piec...set-67030.html

Huskey

if you use a rotary hole punch make sure you have a second layer of something between the brass backing plate and whatever you are trying to make a hole in

carleton

It's been a while, but I took the advice of @taras0000 and used punches. This was a MUCH better tool for the job.

I removed the velcro straps from my 2011 Fizik R1 (kangaroo leather) shoes and made them lace-ups. The velcro straps were on their last leg as they were very fatigued from years of use, so It was a good excuse for me to modify the $400 shoes

All in all, this took less than about 2 hours over 2 sessions.

Removed the straps and metal hardware for them:


Marked using a paint pen:


Punching (used a wood block):


Pressing the optional brass eyelets in place:


The upside of having a sneaker problem...lots of extra laces around:


Fit and feels good:


Compared to the Giro Empire SLX:

carleton

I may punch another 1 or 2 sets of holes further up/back to tighten up the heel area.

topflightpro

I paid a shoe repair place recently to put holes and rivets in an older pair of Specialized shoes. It's great how well I can tighten the shoes down, but I remember why I ultimately replaced them. They're just not that comfortable.

carleton

Yeah, the first pair of shoes I tried this with were Sidi Genius 5. It worked OK, but the shoes kinda sucked. The leather of the upper was really flexible, so no matter how much I tightened them, they would flex a lot every up-stroke. The sole was plastic and sort of flexible, too. Just not a good shoe compared to other mid to high end shoes. But it helped me understand that it was possible.

The next set were the Fizik R3s from earlier in this thread. I paid someone to do those for me in 2012.

700wheel

Have you considered using a fixed-gear multi-speed rear hub? I'm considering such for a winter training bike.

gycho77

https://imgur.com/a/zPYLM

I wanted to use my 3d printer to print something related to my bike, but I had nothing in mind.
So i made a steer spacer that has aeroshape as a joke.

And I did this project few weeks ago but I am too busy to finish this project.
Because of the shim and handlebar material, I always felt that the handlebar wasn't stiff enough. So I combined Nitto B125 AL with S-Work adjustable stem and added carbon fiber for extra stiffness.
Of course I added fiberglass between carbon fiber and aluminum to prevent corrosion.

For next project, I might work on custom track shoes using my ripped old Exustar shoes

79pmooney

I've known about the 3-speed Sturmey-Archer hubs since 1977 (the late Sheldon Brown used to come to our shop and talk about them with the mechanic) but a) never actually saw one and b) have been inder tie impression they were really not up to the abuse I would give them.

I have however taken the 3-speed concept a step further than my chainwhip approach. My Peter Mooney now sports a triple crankset, a fix-fix flip-flop with a "dingle" on one side and a small downhill cog on the other. Each cog is set up to line up with its respective chainring. Right now it is 38-21, 44-17 and 46-14. 46", 70" and 89".

This is very DIY. All 1/8". I had a local framebuilder braze a 17t cog to the 21t (flipped around so the flat side sits against the spokes) to form the "dingle". Built up the crankset from a Sugino GT with the 38 and 44 in the usual double positions, then added the 46t spaced to the outside on custom sleeved SS 8mm bolts and hex nuts. I used a narrow PW BB (so I could dial in the chainline to the most inboard possible). The 38t almost scraped the chainstay paint. Chainlines aren't perfect, but easily within anyone's spec. Except for the obvious gear ratio, I cannot tell riding the bike which combo I am in, nor that the bike was never designed to do that. (Well, the chain does hit the adjacent chainrings. Except for the disfiguring of the rings and making a little noise, that matters zero.)

This project was a blast to do. I drew up the BB, stays and dropouts in AutoCAD plus one of my flip-flops. Mounted my new GT crankset on the Shimano BB on the bike, measured everything up and transferred it to the drawing. Drew up what was needed for the cogs and chainring bolts for TiCycles. Ordered the BB from Phil Wood. It all worked from the beginning. Designed to ride to, up to, around Crater Lake and back down. Completely up to the job.

This wasn't really all DIY. I paid others real money. But the concept and design were 100% mine. (The dingle idea, no. But I never actually looked at a Surly dingle and still don't know how they are made.) Likewise the BB. I thought I would need a custom but it turned out PW had a stock BB on the shelf that met my needs perfectly.

I had heard of the concept that I will call constant cog-ring, ie keeping the sum of the teeth of the cog and chainring constant to keep the axle in the same place in the dropout. But I have never heard of anyone doing that with 3 chainrings and cogs. Nor have I heard the term "triple chainline" except out of my mouth.

This isn't my first crazy fix gear project. My ti fix gear has rear dropouts I invented in 2011. Last summer I saw a Bay Area fix gear with a steel version of those dropouts made years before I designed mine. Apparently a run of them was made. Portland's fix gear boss told me when I sketched up what I was having built that they had also been made early last century. Horizontal dropouts that open to the front, then down in an "L", allowing bolting the wheel anywhere along the slot and allowing big cogs to be used so the tire is right up against the seattube and you can still get the wheel out easily.) Those with a chain peg (the peg is on both bikes) make roadside gear changes fast and hand stay clean.

Doing something original on bikes is hard!

Ben

Baby Puke

@79pmooney, do you have any pictures of your setup you could post? Sounds interesting but I'm having trouble visualizing how it would work.

79pmooney

Not yet. Still digitally stone-age (camera-wise). I do need to change that. I've now got several photo worthy bikes.

Ben