Frame & Gear Recommendations - First Track Bike

[OLMO]

Hi All,

Converted triathlete turned road racer. Have a great bike for the road, but would like to get into fixed gear cycling to build up some power for short efforts / sprints.

I'd like to get something mid-level, steel preferably.

Any specific frames come to mind? What about a good ratio for a beginner?

Any other advice as to bars, cranks and hubs would be appreciated as well.


OLMO

 

[nutbag]

Are you gunna ride on the track?

First important tip: be very careful when you first get on a fixed gear bike; the inability to "free-wheel" causes heaps of people to crash when they're start out. Even Tony Rominger fell off his track bike just before he set his hour record. It's second nature on a road bike to stop pedalling immediately after a hard effort (which you obviously can't do on a fixed gear), then BANG(!), the cranks on the track bike pull your legs around unexpectedly.

If you wanna save money, there's nothing wrong with good old Reynolds 531 steel. Most steel track bikes are still light because they have nothing on them.

If you are a big "masher" with a strong upper body, you might want to get some steel handle bars. All the top pro track sprinters use steel bars, but they are all huge guys.

I only raced on the track for two years and wasted the first year on a gear that was too big. I can't remember all the ratios, but I think I ended up with about an 88 inch gear (46 X 14), but this was for racing, not for training, so I often needed to accelerate quickly; you can't "wind up" in the middle of a race. I wouldn't be too concerned with gears because you can change a cog with a chain-whip in about one minute.

There's a long held belief that track riders should use shorter cranks, usually 165mm, but don't be too scared to be a heritic
I was talking to a fromer world record holder, who said he could've gone faster on longer cranks, but he's 6'4".

Most fixed geared bikes have high flange hubs for rigidity.

 

[OLMO]

thanks for the advice, i will look into the Reynolds frame.

i've been using my buddy's KHS track fixie for a while now, so i'm used to the non-stop pedalling.