Key words:

different tires, training, 60mm

It took me til I became a competitive Cat 4 to get fancy wheels (and I only got them because I got a HELL of a deal) and they're 55mm. Get faster tires- maybe Conti Gp4ks2

First time posting on this site so hopefully I am in the right spot. I have a question about rear track wheels. Normally I would research until I find what I want, but I thought I would try consulting the people of the world wide interwebs.

Soooooo here's my question... Where can I find a rear track wheel with only the fixed gear option on the hub? Everything I find online is either a flipflop hub or close to a million dollars and I would really like to know why its so hard to come by. Perhaps I am not looking on the right areas on the internet. So any brand names or websites would be super helpful. If you want to go one step further I don't really want to pay more than $150 on one wheel. So yeah any help would be greatly appreciated! thanks!

There is nothing wrong with a flip flop hub, and if your budget is only 150 thats probably all you will find. Most of the 'track' hubs I know off the top of my head are 150+ alone for the hubs lol

not to say it doesn't exist, maybe used, but just get a wheel with threads on both sites, no big deal.


Sorry can't help with where, but would suggest used first so whatever that channel is for you in your location.

Miche Pistard?

Like the pistards as training wheels, sometimes use them for racing on weekday races

Flip flop hubs come as either fixed-fixed or fixed-freewheel types. I have Mavic Ellipse clinchers which are fixed-fixed (I bought them for less than $300 from Proscloset); I have a warm up gear one side and race gear the other. Note that a few tires are unidirectional (Conti Grand Prix).

A good place to find wheels is at the track.

Yeah but most of 'em have owners already. :(

hey if anybody has any tips on doing bike throws on track bikes, i'd love to hear 'em.

mine always seem crappy compared to on a road bike, because it's harder to throw your weight backwards when you still gotta be pedaling.

I lost a race by 1/4 wheel tonight, so these are super relevant to my interests! Especially videos.

I always thought to just practice them, as I never came across a comprehensive resource for throwing your bike at speed on a fixed gear. I found saddle choice made a difference in allowing you to get off the back and back on easily. Selle Italia Flite ended up being my go to saddle, not for the bike throw reason, but it works really well for that.

Reversing unidirectional tires with siping like the GP 4000 series shouldn't make a difference in dry weather. In the rain, it won't be a very long ride on a steeply banked track with any tire!

Another nice thing about fixed-fixed hubs is the symmetrical offset and resulting spoke tension between the two sides. Theoretically not as strong to one side if there's less dish, but makes building and truing a bit simpler. Flip flop hubs also make me lazy, though: the temptation to go from 16 to 14 is too great to overcome unless there's "strongly suggested" gearing for a workout.

I recall reading someplace that the only reason continental tires have a "correct" direction is because people kept calling customer service and asking when they didn't indicate it, so they just put it on there so those people are happy and they spend less time answering phones. I can't for the life of me remember where I saw that though.

Ive heard this too (and believe it). Even the tread is just for show anyway, to make people think they work better in the rain, but it has nothing to do with that. Tread on a car tire channels water away so it doesn't hydroplane (ride on top of the water). On a bike tire, the contact patch is too small and curved that its impossible to hydroplane, so those tiny designs are purely cosmetic.


*Edit* to add, even car tires don't have direction except for channeling water. I used to race cars and we would often mount tires BACKWARDS if it was going to be a dry day, because certain tires were actually faster that way. And race slicks generally had no direction, people would often remount them to even the wear.

Every rear track hub I've ever come across (single sided, FxFx, FxFr) has always had symmetrical flange spacing. In fact, most hubsets have identical (or close to) flange spacing between the front and rear hubs.

I was thinking specifically of DA 7600 - which is the only track hub I've bought to build up myself (i.e., I actually needed to know the specs). I've seen the left flange offset for the single quoted as being more than 1cm wider than the right / drive side. That said, I ended up buying the fixed-fixed, so I couldn't confirm the difference based on personal knowledge.

How much toe overlap is acceptable (if any) on the track? I finally got my Cinelli Parallax out at Rock Hill this weekend for the cert class and with my Look pedals the overlap was significant but it didn't seem to impair anything when in use, just on tighter turns in the infield and whatnot.

So my question is, what's the litmus test for determining if I need to go another route for a dedicated track rig? Thank you.

the litmus test is, is it possible to touch your toe to the tire while riding on a velodrome?
the answer is no.
you're fine and your bike is fine.
toe overlap is normal.
it only matters in the parking lot.

The smaller the bike the worse it is. I have several youth classes with 10 year olds riding 41cm bikes with some on cages, and you basically can't turn the wheel more a few degrees without hitting their feet. They do fine on the track, and even do well in the infield drills.

Roger that, thanks guys - appreciate your input.

Requested my cat 2 upgrade, currently mashing refresh.

Hahahaha

I have never, nor will I, owned a track bike with no toe overlap.

On hey, that upgrade sent through. Now to start the nationals next year thought exercise

don't think about it, just prepare for it.

Congrats!