Dalai

The Omnium is a great bike. I would have no regrets with your bike sarals.

I haven't raced Pursuits since the rule change so will have to measure. Though looks like once again I will have to replace equipment that has been legal for years courtesy of the UCI (Vision Tech basebars on the TT bike failed the 3:1 aspect ratio by the smallest margin when they changed the rules back around 2010 I think it was).

sarals 

Dalai, thanks! I race a Giant CX bike, which I really like, so I didn't hesitate on a purchase when the Omnium came available. I've done two rides on it, on a closed section of public street, and my initial impressions were very positive. My overwhelming impression was on how smooth it was! As I said, I'll have it for a long time.

carleton

That bike will be fine for you. You won't need any carbon. Get carbon if you want, but it won't give you any advantages. That bike is small enough that, when equipped with race wheels, you will probably have to add weight to it to make 15lbs. It is plenty stiff for someone your height.

Consider getting 35mm narrow handlebars. They work. They will feel weird at first. You'll get used to it.

Also, if you are coming from the road, then I wouldn't be surprised if you did the "roadie sprint" where you stand up and wave your bike left to right. You can't do that on the track. You'll learn to sprint upright. Waving back and forth does two things: You will bump people next to you and you greatly increase your chances of unclipping.

The narrow bars will ease your urge to wave the bike.

Further, if you are working with Racer Ex, his thoughts trump anything we say here I'm sure he has a master plan.

sarals 

Ex knows me very well! He's lead me from my infancy as a bike racer!

I don't think I need worry about the 151 pound limit. I won't be under! I'm small, but one of those proverbial fireplugs?

In my road sprints, I don't move my bike around all that much. I know that Cavendish and others have preached "bring the bike to you" in a sprint, rock it, but my tendency has not been to do that. I think I'll adapt to track sprinting fairly easily. The resting to OMG in a few seconds is going to take some getting used to, but.... Still, your suggestion of 35MM bars is intriguing. I'll see if I can borrow a pair.

Carleton, thanks!!

carleton

Hahaha, no I mean that your bike must weigh at least 15 pounds to be UCI legal. Many small bikes (49-50cm) are so small, that with light race wheels they aren't heavy enough to make the 15 pound minimum. There are many stories of people at nationals dropping wrenches inside of the seat tube to make the bike heavier to pass bike inspection.

So, it's not about your weight, it's your bike

sarals 

I could have SWORN I saw 1 5 1.....



Actually, I don't know how much that bike weighs. Good point, though.

Woman don't talk about their weight. Until they get old(er) and become athletes.

carleton

Hahaha

Well, just so you know:

- UCI technical bike rules have specific weight and dimensions.
- Judging by your bike size, I'm assuming that you are of below-average height and would therefore probably qualify for an anthropomorphic exception to allow the nose of your saddle within 5cm of a vertical line through your bottom bracket.
- USA Cycling rules say that all of their events must follow UCI rules, so if you do US Nationals or UCI Worlds, you have to abide by them.
- All bikes are supposed to be checked before an event. This will happen at Worlds and might happen at US Nationals.
- If your bike fails (for any reason) you must either correct the offending thing, use a different bike, or not race.


I've seen people train all year then fail bike check 15 minutes before their event at Nationals and are stymied.

It really doesn't matter at any event outside of Nationals or Worlds. I've never seen bikes measured at a local event. But, if your plan is to go to Worlds, that should be considered. For example, I had a guy tell me, "I'd love to ride with my saddle 2cm more forward, but that wouldn't pass at Nationals. So, I'm learning to ride it the right way now so I'm used to it." because that was his goal for the year, to medal at Nationals.

sarals 

A commissaire would try that with a post menopausal woman at their extreme peril...



Seriously, Ex will help me make sure the bike is completely within spec long before I go to any big show type event. The sooner the better!

carleton

Hahahahaha!

sarals 

Curious about these? They won't break the bank, and I know that Pro is a division of Shimano...

Pro Vibe 7S Handlebars - Track | Chain Reaction Cycles

queerpunk

They are good handlebars. But.

They are classic "sprint" handlebars - which means that they have a big, deep drop, and a curveature to prevent wrist contact from standing starts. This "deep and long" handlebar shape is falling out of favor - some people struggle to set up their bikes well with bars that deep and long (often requires a high-rise stem), or make do with uncomfortable setups. And, narrower handlebars are becoming more favored - and these only go down to 40cm. People ride as narrow as 33, and 35 and 37 are quite common.

happybday29475

Those are what I use, they're fine and dandy.

FYI, this is not a paid endorsement. Nobody pays any attention to what I run on the track, and for a very good reason.

sarals 

Tom, oh come on! I know you better than that!

I'll root around this forum a thread on handlebars. I've read the aerobar discussion, I'm certain there's one on "track bars".

carleton

+1

They will be too deep for your bike, sarals, because your head tube is so short. You'll wind up with a wonky setup like this:



That's Anna Meares' bike from like 2008 before "short and shallow" sprint bars became popular. Remember that your fingers cannot go below the tire line.

Deep drop sprint bars were left over from the old days when people had LOOOOONG head tubes and needed a deep drop bar to get low. This is a 56cm. Look at how long:

sarals 

Carleton, gotcha!

I assume the Dolan Alpini bars have a similar deep drop?

And the Nitto's do not?

Nor do the Scatto's?

carleton

Only consider the Dolan Alpina 33cm. They are deep, but not that deep. The British women used them for a while.

Nitto 125AA (aluminum, still very stiff) is my recommendation in 36cm. It is short and shallow. Very similar dimension to the 3T Scatto. Victoria Pendleton used these a lot before the British made custom carbon bars for the team. I've used them, too before I got Scattos. These are great.

Do not get the Nitto B123/B123AA. They are the very definition of long and low drop bars. Too deep.

3T Scattos if you have everything else and have $400 to burn. They are not worth $300 more than the Nitto B125AA. But, we all like nice shiny carbon things

dunderhi

@sarals


I have several pairs of the 7S in 40cm and converted my teammate (current Masters Pan American medalist) over to them this year.


As far as reach and drop, some posters may be surprised by the actual measurements: Handlebar reach and drop table ? Up! Up! Up! An introduction to track sprint cycling

sarals 

Thanks, guys!!

@carleton, I asked my friend Barb which bars she uses on her track bike (a Dixie Flyer, by the way), and she uses Scatto, 35mm. I asked her about them and she said "they were expensive".

@dunderhi, thanks for that link! More reading.

sarals 

@dunderhi, interesting, indeed! 37cm Scattos, reach and drop 82 x 148, and 40cm Pro Vibe 7s is 80 x 142.

Hmmmmm.....

queerpunk

oh right - i always forget that the 35cm scattos are short and shallow, and the 37cm are shaped like more conventional drops.

careful on your tables, though - the Pro Vibe 7S bar has those measurements, but the Vibe Track has 108/170. Much deeper!

carleton

Welcome to track racing.

Hang around long enough and you'll learn how to waste money like this:



I literally did not get faster on that bike

dunderhi

The Pro Vibe Track carbon-only model (on my No.22) has much more drop than my Pro Vibe 7S Track alloy-only bars (on my Pinarello/Paramount). The Pro Vibe 7S road bar (on my road bike) is 131/81. Yeah, I have a bunch of Pro Vibe bars.

dunderhi

But you looked faster riding it.

sarals 

@carleton, you mean that front wheel alone (which costs almost as much as my Venge) didn't give you 150 watts more power and 12 mph top end? Shocked!

Seriously, that's a BEAUTIFUL bike! You're obviously a top drawer racer and can take advantage of the small gains that each of your upgrades on that machine give you. I understand that, at the elite level, .01 second can win or loose a race. That tells me a lot about where you race. And it makes perfect sense, at the top levels, to give yourself every edge that you can. I'd gain nothing in riding equipment like yours, except for maybe a photograph or two. Results, though? I doubt it.

sarals 

I'm considering the alloy 7S. I wouldn't have to sell my TT bike to buy them!