dunderhi

I found Rock Hill much easier to ride with aero bars than Ttown. For some reason, it just felt natural, maybe because of the steeper banked turns.


Constantly tweaking your position and gear is key part of the track racing experience, right? BTW, I've ordered yet another bike, which means I'll need a bigger RV to cart all of my stuff to the track.

carleton

I was in a conversation with a guy who owned a big bike shop that catered to the triathlete crowd. He remarked, "In all of my years, I have never seen a crowd so picky about their bikes as track racers are." I was like, "Yeah, I am sorta 'The Princess and the Pea' about my stuff "

I think it's because there are a lot less variables that everything becomes more important...and noticeable. 2cm difference in bar width, 2 degree difference in stem angle, 5mm seat drop, cleat positioning, oh my lord cleat positioning, hahahaha

queerpunk

Schuermann tracks tend to have great transitions and very natural speed designs.

Huskey

My new signature

seau grateau

My Dolan turned out to be too small for me, so I got a new toy. I get to try it out on the track tomorrow.

dunderhi

Nice! I like the pink hubs.

seau grateau

Thanks! They were a steal at $50 for the set (Gran Compe), so I used them to try my hand a wheel building for the first time.

taras0000

Congrats! So they're laced and on the bike, but how did they turn out? How did you like building them up?

seau grateau

For a while they felt really flexy because I hadn't put enough tension in the spokes. I tightened them up a bit and they ride pretty nicely now, though I could probably stand to tension them further again. It's definitely been a learning process the whole way through, and it was really cool when they finally started to spin true. The tough part was doing it without a truing stand.

taras0000

The wheels will settle a bit and you'll probably tweak them once more and they'll be set.

Truing stands aren't necessary. The only thing you need is a fork with one brake pad, lol, but a truing stand does make it go quicker (by about half the time).

It is a thrilling feeling seeing the wheel start to come into true. My first wheel that I did properly is still one of most satisfying accomplishments in an odd way. You have this sort of epiphany that you've gained a little of the magic in a certain black art, but that there is still a lot of mastery involved in it.

gl98115

Make sure to stress relieve the spokes during the build process and the wheel will stay true.

Stress Relieving Spokes by Jobst Brandt

twoyacks

me likey....

rustymongrel

Here's my track bike, just raced it on the weekend for the first time since building it earlier this year.

dunderhi

Wow, your rear wheel is tight!! It looks like you will have an advantage in elimination races.


So how did you do with your new machine?

taras0000

Looks like there's a small cut-out/indent in the seat tube? Downslope to the TT? Love the colour!

seau grateau

Very nice indeed.

rustymongrel

Yes and yes. 2 degree slope on the TT and the seat tube is an old gilco one with a deep indent. Allows the wheel to go at least 1cm further forward than it would if it was just a round ST.

Racing was okay, I have been on the track with the bike since February but hadn't raced until now. I had been off the bike for two weeks but managed to hold my own in the B category. Next race night is a week from now and I should be in better shape then.

carleton

Looks like a really comfortable bike to race. Excellent choices of components. Good job!

rustymongrel

Thanks! The nice thing about building your own frames is that you can make them fit perfectly

Components have been a work in progress since the beginning, still working on finding a saddle that works since my usual road saddle does not work for me on the track. Finally got the bar/stem dialed in for training and mass start racing once I found a 150mm stem and tried the pro track bar. Wheels are sorted for the time being, the 303/808 pair I built in the photo, a 900 disc and miche/gp4 tubulars for training.

carleton

For those wondering about the long stem. 150mm sounds "unreasonably long" for a stem, but it's really not. Stem length is proportional to head tube length which is proportional to leg length.

So, the taller the rider, the longer the stem (and vice-versa).

Notice that rusty's hands will be directly over the front axle where they should be. Using a shorter stem would bring his hands behind the axle and adversely affect handling.

jfiveeight

I am getting closer to buying a new frame and was reviewing posts - didn't catch that you posted your Tdome. Really nice. Round tubes + deep section wheels is always neat since most have aero/carbon with race wheels.

Concerning frames, I joined a team that works with Van Dessel so I'm back to looking at the DSC. I talked with Edwin at Van Dessel and by my math it should fit 58t with room to spare. 60t+ is cutting it too close. I guess I can make compromise somewhere. I did recently see one up close and the rear triangle has some seriously thick tubing.

I finished out my first season with a 12.8 F200 and a super slow team pursuit.

@carleton: So if I have stumpy legs, a longish torso, and an arm to height ratio greater than Michael Phelps - I should have a shorter head tube?

taras0000

jfiveeight,

You will need a bike with a longer top tube vs seat tube (or Reach and Stack ratios). The length of the headtube can be shorter, but will be determined most by comfort and flexibility. If you can fold like Cav, shorter is better. If you're a little stiff in the lower back, then taller will be of more benefit. If your arms are really that long, then a shorter head tube is definitely in order to be able to get the bars low enough.

Have you played with the Tiemeyer fit calculator? It's a great place to start.
Tiemeyer Cycles, Inc. :: Custom Bicycle Frame Builder

Armspan:Height ratio is one measurement to take note of, but you will have to remember that the same ratio can be affected differently. Broad shoulders with shorter arms, or Narrow shoulders with longer arms. Although the same ratio, they will result in different bike fits.

1incpa

Thanks! I like the look of it too!
My race set-up ended up being a 404 on the front with a disc on the back. I don't know that it's any faster, but it sure sounds good!
The Van Dessel is a nice frame. You can always play around with different stem length and drop to dial in your fit. The bigger frame will have a taller head tube, so going with the smaller frame makes sense to me.

jfiveeight

I am 173cm tall, this calc puts me on a huge bike. I can get my knuckles on the ground when touching my toes with pretty straight knees.

1incpa

What are you riding now? Is it comfortable?
At about 5'-9", a 56cm top tube isn't what I'd call huge. I'm 5'-10" and ride a 56.5 tt with a 120 stem. The Tiemeyer calculator has me on a 57.5 tt.
BTW, I would hazard a guess that we're built similarly, I can get my palms on the floor with straight knees.
PI