Track bike advice
 

I am pretty new to track racing and was wondering what the thoughts are on used track bikes? I am considering a used steel track bike from the 90’s, but wondering if something newer would be better possibly aluminium? Help a newbie out!! :-)


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Well, it depends IMO.

Are going to just give it a try or are serious about it?

What frame are we talking about here? a lot of non track stuff marketed as such in the market. Even seen some road colnagos super that had the drop outs swapped for track ones.

As for aluminum or steel, IMO if the geometry is the right one you can do track even in a bike made of straight gauge tubing.

Go get a Bianchi Pista or Felt whatever their entry level track frame is, and go have fun.

Unless we are talking about the old bianchi pista and not the new chromed ones that I would not even put them in the same category of the old bianchi pista... yes, i would pick that.

The chromed ones arent even close to a track frame if this dude is serious going into racing, if he is going to taste it and just mess with it, even an old road bike will do, just put fix gear and go to race. Yeah the BB height... as long as you are pedaling u shouldnt have problems because the BB is tad low.

A lot of guys in the track over there at london canada in road bikes, hell i went with one years ago ;D

Bruh, raced a "chrome" one at Dick Lane for years with no problems. It's a track bike and plenty of bike to dip a toe into racing. And if it ain't your bag, someone will gladly take it off your hands for that fixie life.

I am a serious as a 50+ dude can be I suppose, no Olympic aspersions. I definitely want to try some master level racing. I have be renting a track bike from the velodrome so far and it has been fine but would like my own bike. I will only be looking at track specific bikes.


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And I should add that I do have a soft spot for nice steel from the 90s....


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OP, are you really in Australia?

If not, then I would suggest the bike below. If so, then maybe it's too much trouble getting one shipped all the way there.
(Edit: Either way, I'm sure you've heard of Waterford, and Richard Schwinn.)

Bonus: they're on sale.

https://www.milwaukeebicycleco.com/m..._20834/product

https://www.milwaukeebicycleco.com/a...ed_Side_PP.jpg

Yes, I am in Australia


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In that case, I suppose something purchased locally makes more sense.

(Although a few years ago I did ship a frameset to someone in Australia and it wasn't insanely expensive.)

Around here used track bikes are usually the way to get a nice bike. Entry level bikes are quite nice if you have a second set of wheels. You'll probably change contact/fit points (saddle, stem, bars, pedals) so you can sort of ignore those.

If you can get an aluminum frame, great. Carbon frame, if it's a reputable brand, great. Steel... not as great.

Get good geometry - very short chainstay, taller BB. If the stays are over 40.5 cm long it's probably not a "true" track bike. BB drop should be minimal. The head tube should look tall for the frame. My 51cm steel frame has a head tube that belongs on a 55.

I started racing track on a straight gauge steel frame from the 80s - I bought it from a guy that bought it from the rep, in maybe 1990. Frame/fork and OMAS headset weighed over 7 pounds. I raced it briefly in 1992 the put it away. In 2009 I bought a take off triple from the local shop, put it on the bike using one chainring, and put together a new rear wheel, and went racing. It was really a mashup of parts. I got some better stuff - basic SRAM track cranks, reasonable bars, etc, but still, it's about as cheap as it gets.

It didn't really hurt me - my lack of track experience made more of a difference. Having raced on the road for a while (25 seasons?) made a huge difference, but the frame didn't fit really well (old track frames tend to be short in length, and I need really long frames) so it wasn't ideal. Performance wise it didn't hurt at my entry level racing.

I decided to get serious and get a "good" track bike. With a new frame (not a custom like my road bikes - I wanted a UCI approved frame), two disc wheels (one a spare), 2 front wheels (spare), some better clincher training wheels, an SRM, 2 sets pedals, 2 saddles, stiffer shoes, aero helmet, and a dedicated CycleOps 300 bike for practicing starts, I budgeted about $5000 for my adventure. The pandemic sort of threw my plans into a tizzy but let's just say I've gotten most of my list, just a couple key areas to figure out (bars mainly, and therefore stems).

My goal is to do short power events, so 500m TT (M50+), flying 200m, sprint, keirin if applicable, scratch, points?.

Check dumpsters and attics for an old Malvern Star. That's what you need.

Why?

OP you don't say what kind of track racing you're talking, especially the track.

Wooden indoors, concrete outdoors, they're very different beasts. My advice apart from gumtree and FB groups is to let it be known at the velodrome that you're in the market for a bike and see who's got what.

You're unlikely to get ripped, and even if you can't turn up a bike in your size at a fair price you seem to know what you're looking for. All trackies have a truckload of spares and bits and building up a bike isn't hard.

Indoor velodrome on boards


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