Billy, Bunch of thoughts. First is, knowing what you want to use the bike for. Is it for racing at the track? Specifically, Kissena, or other tracks? Or is it for fixed gear road training? For competitive track racing I'd recommend an alu bike, but not something with super steep 74-75 deg angles - Kissena has a few bumps and my Felt TK2's very very short wheelbase isn't ideal.
Or is it for fg road training? You can get comfortable with somewhat slacker angles; maybe you'd want a decent steel frame. Lots and lots of track bikes come with drilled forks, even race-intended bikes; many others can have their forks drilled, with some exceptions (Fuji Track Pro can; Bianchi Pista Concept cannot).
Crank length... again, this goes back to your intended use. It's not super important. A lot of people like shorter cranks for track bikes; I ride 167.5s on one of mine, and 165s on another. It's probably six of one, half a dozen of the other at that point; I had 170s on one of them but those definitely felt too long - back then. I wonder if they would still feel too long. I've gotten comfortable on my racing length, 167.5, and that's the most important thing.
Some bikes you can't go wrong with: Cannondale's track bike (crappy stock build as the Capo, but a good frame); Fuji Track Pro (older models, now the Track Comp as the Pro is stepped up a level) - has very affordable prices on the used market. People like Van Dessel's track frame a lot.
I could really go on all day about track bikes...
Funny. the Word verification for this comment is "bibrat."
Thanks! I would greatly benefit from someone going on and on. I am looking specifically for Kissena and Trexlertown, but being brand new to the track am hedging my bets a bit and trying to get as much use out of a potential decent bike as possible. You mentioned most of the ones I had been considering. I looked at a Pista Concept yesterday that was very nice, and the seller very nicely hipped me to the Trexlertown swap in October and advised me to wait for that?
Billy,
ReplyDeleteBunch of thoughts. First is, knowing what you want to use the bike for. Is it for racing at the track? Specifically, Kissena, or other tracks? Or is it for fixed gear road training? For competitive track racing I'd recommend an alu bike, but not something with super steep 74-75 deg angles - Kissena has a few bumps and my Felt TK2's very very short wheelbase isn't ideal.
Or is it for fg road training? You can get comfortable with somewhat slacker angles; maybe you'd want a decent steel frame. Lots and lots of track bikes come with drilled forks, even race-intended bikes; many others can have their forks drilled, with some exceptions (Fuji Track Pro can; Bianchi Pista Concept cannot).
Crank length... again, this goes back to your intended use. It's not super important. A lot of people like shorter cranks for track bikes; I ride 167.5s on one of mine, and 165s on another. It's probably six of one, half a dozen of the other at that point; I had 170s on one of them but those definitely felt too long - back then. I wonder if they would still feel too long. I've gotten comfortable on my racing length, 167.5, and that's the most important thing.
Some bikes you can't go wrong with: Cannondale's track bike (crappy stock build as the Capo, but a good frame); Fuji Track Pro (older models, now the Track Comp as the Pro is stepped up a level) - has very affordable prices on the used market. People like Van Dessel's track frame a lot.
I could really go on all day about track bikes...
Funny. the Word verification for this comment is "bibrat."
Thanks! I would greatly benefit from someone going on and on. I am looking specifically for Kissena and Trexlertown, but being brand new to the track am hedging my bets a bit and trying to get as much use out of a potential decent bike as possible. You mentioned most of the ones I had been considering. I looked at a Pista Concept yesterday that was very nice, and the seller very nicely hipped me to the Trexlertown swap in October and advised me to wait for that?
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