Originally Posted by
LarrySellerz
I was planning on buying a used one from craigslist, there are also some bike shops in san jose who have track bikes/fixies for sale. Or I could get one online (wabi looks nice but pricy) I wanted a track geometry as opposed to a more urban build, but really dont know much about fixed gears. Dont think ill take it on the velodrome
Larry, I bought a Felt TK2 about 10 years ago because I thought I missed the ultra-short wheelbase geometry of one of my earlier track bikes I used in the early '80s. I rode the TK2 maybe 4 or 5 times a year for a while and then admitted to myself that, even though the drilled fork allowed me to install a front brake, so it's not quite as suicidal a choice as it would otherwise be, it's just too hair-raisingly skittish for enjoyment out on the road.
Judging from your post history, that description probably increased rather than decreased your desire to buy a sprint-geometry track bike. That said, the Specialized Langster that I bought in its first year of production (I'd been searching for a road-worthy aluminum fixed-gear bike for years) is possibly my favorite bike that I've ever owned. Ironically, the wheelbase and geometry are likely very nearly identical to those of my first track bike, the Helyett Speciale that I wheedled my parents into buying in 1964.
And I rode that Helyett track bike with my local bike club when everyone else was on road bikes, training in the hilly terrain north of New Haven. At age 13, I was an unusually strong cyclist for my age, and it annoyed one of the 17-year-old guys so much that he couldn't stay with me on the climbs that he wanted to have me kicked out of our local cycling club. (Quote: "It's not fair that he gets to go on training rides after school while I have to go to my job!")