Track bars?

[Redturbo]

Is there any rule of thumb as to if I run 40cm ctc on the road what width I should run on a track bike?
thanks

[Too Tall]

Keep the same if you are currently comfortable in the hooks...'cause that's where will be :)

[11.4]

On the road you get to ride the tops much (or most) of the time. On the track, you're always in the drops. Plus, you're doing more hard accelerations. These tend to be served better by a slightly narrower bar.

Think about the geometry of doing a track sprint -- if your bars are wider than your pedals, it's like picking up a weight at arm's length, i.e., not efficient. And if you are pulling in a line outside the line of your pedal stroke, you are wasting energy flipping the bike from side to side (or having to control that tendency, which amounts to the same thing). Try to pull in a straight line with the pedals, which means a somewhat narrower bar width. It isn't just efficiency -- track riders tend to have more back problems because of the strenuousness of their efforts, and forcing your spine out of line with wide bars is one thing that exacerbates this problem.

Also, remember that on the track you're threading through holes, where narrower bars get you through more holes. There are those keirin racers who like 36 cm bars because it's the same width as the pedals -- it sets the minimum width you need to sneak through a gap yet doesn't handicap you. I think that gets a little extreme, but not for some riders.

Note that on the track when you're in the drops and typically using bars with greater reach, you tend to be stretched out a little more. I've opined on this elsewhere, but the position raises your ribs above your diaphragm and gives you more lung capacity -- just spreading your arms with wide bars doesn't do this. You're also working at higher speeds on the track and spreading your arms just increases your frontal area which works against you at those speeds -- if you can get the lung capacity and keep your front slightly smaller, why not do it?

Since I focus on track I'll actually pick road bars widths to match those on the track (rather than vice versa), but if you're serious about both I'd think about going a couple centimeters less on the track (or more). Too much difference and your torso never acclimatizes to a certain geometry, but most people riding general massed-start track events can handle a couple centimeters -- if you were focusing on kilo or sprint even a centimeter can be the source of a lot of back problems (just ask most of the American World Cup track riders such as Jennie Reed).

[RudAwkning]

On the road you get to ride the tops much (or most) of the time. On the track, you're always in the drops. Plus, you're doing more hard accelerations. These tend to be served better by a slightly narrower bar.

Think about the geometry of doing a track sprint -- if your bars are wider than your pedals, it's like picking up a weight at arm's length, i.e., not efficient. And if you are pulling in a line outside the line of your pedal stroke, you are wasting energy flipping the bike from side to side (or having to control that tendency, which amounts to the same thing). Try to pull in a straight line with the pedals, which means a somewhat narrower bar width. It isn't just efficiency -- track riders tend to have more back problems because of the strenuousness of their efforts, and forcing your spine out of line with wide bars is one thing that exacerbates this problem.

Also, remember that on the track you're threading through holes, where narrower bars get you through more holes. There are those keirin racers who like 36 cm bars because it's the same width as the pedals -- it sets the minimum width you need to sneak through a gap yet doesn't handicap you. I think that gets a little extreme, but not for some riders.

Note that on the track when you're in the drops and typically using bars with greater reach, you tend to be stretched out a little more. I've opined on this elsewhere, but the position raises your ribs above your diaphragm and gives you more lung capacity -- just spreading your arms with wide bars doesn't do this. You're also working at higher speeds on the track and spreading your arms just increases your frontal area which works against you at those speeds -- if you can get the lung capacity and keep your front slightly smaller, why not do it?

Since I focus on track I'll actually pick road bars widths to match those on the track (rather than vice versa), but if you're serious about both I'd think about going a couple centimeters less on the track (or more). Too much difference and your torso never acclimatizes to a certain geometry, but most people riding general massed-start track events can handle a couple centimeters -- if you were focusing on kilo or sprint even a centimeter can be the source of a lot of back problems (just ask most of the American World Cup track riders such as Jennie Reed).

+1

I started out with 42s on the track because that's what I rolled with on the road. Could never get comfortable. Just felt way to wide and splayed out in the drops. Ended not only going narrower, but with shallower drops too. Couldn't be happier now.