THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF TRACK RACING THAT TRANSFER TO THE ROAD
By John Campo
I admit that I was aghast when my father first told me of bikes without brakes. But step back and think of the first 20-inch bike you rode and the ‘push backwards brake’ it had. Not a very safe way to get around and, believe it or not, at 12 years old I would regularly go to Bear Mountain on the 26-inch version. I got my first track bike in 1977 and fell in love with its simplicity. I’d been told that pro road riders put fixed cogs on their road bikes in the winter to get more power on the climbs and spin on the descents. As I started to race road and track I slowly learned the ropes.
The problem was, CRCA Central Park races, with their uphill finishes, were not easy for me and wins were very hard to come by. Floyd Bennett was a great fill-in but still offered only one finish a night. If you missed your chance you were out. Rolling along in a pack of 60 riders isn’t even that helpful for learning bike handling skills. Riding in traffic or CP when it’s crowded is more taxing.
Follow the leader: Campocat in action.
That’s where the track comes in. Track racing offers many chances in one meet to win or do well, combining points races, sprints drags, and miss and outs all in one night. Instead of stewing over that missed opportunity for a week, you can be back racing in ten minutes. And the camaraderie and fun of a track meet is contagious. Putting you skills under a microscope builds lung capacity. After the first track meet of the year even the most seasoned racer is coughing uncontrollably, suffering the effects of high intensity efforts in a very short period, or ‘lung burn’.
Phil Liggett will state time and time again: many pro riders in the grand tours have all been track riders at one time or another and still probably maintain those disciplines. When I first met Greg Lemond he was riding a track bike in Central Park and I have pictures of him doing six-day races in Europe. Magnus Backstedt is amazing. Mike McCarthy won the Pursuit World Championship to the surprise of the event holders – they had already made the winning jersey to fit Boardman! Mike was one of the best locals we have ever produced. I encouraged Mike to write an article for CRCA’s newsletter in support of my efforts to bring more riders around to the track disciplines. You can still read that article on the CRCA.net. Mike Lyach, another great track racer, is one of the greatest riders to grace the New York area. He’s coached all the contemporary legends, including Lemond.
@##=#<1,L>@##=#Many in the US Pro division, such as Eric Saunders, Christian VandeVelde, Mike Creed, John Eustice, Frankie Andreu, and George Hincapie, all benefited from track discipline. I see riders all around the local peleton today that have benefited from track riding; Leon Moser, Eugene Boronow, Charles Issendorf, Daniel Byrne, John Loehner, Gerry Martinez, Catherine Powers, Carol Gale, George Suter, Nanci Modica, just to mention a few.
The long term effects of road racing and the abuse it causes in one’s joints and back (not to mention the boredom) can all be alleviated through spinning fixed gear bikes. Bike handling improves from close quarter high speed racing and fast thinking. A freewheel bike is like running in the sand compared to the centrifuge the track bike becomes when underway at 30 miles an hour. Learning not to press down on the pedals and use the full rotation of the crank is simplified with the track crank. This muscle memory reapplies itself when transferred to the road bike. Smaller gears can be used, making lactic acid buildup a thing of the past, leaving your body to perform at its maximum power. Hill repeats are still a must for road racing but as Lance proved in his six tour wins, the one who spins is the one who wins.
But you didn’t hear it from me! Keep it under your hat….
Campocat
While you’re surfin’ away, check out Campocat’s mysteries.
Hey Campocat,
I’m a fairly newbie rodie and have been lured by the track from day one.
So here’s my question: What gear to get? Where to bike in the NYC?
I’m with Carlitos. Given the typical format of the Wednesday night series, what is the typical gear ratio setup?
>Does everyone ride there? Take the train?
>What do you do in between heats? Sit around or ride?
>Also, I’ve ridden out to the track on the weekend but the gate was locked – can we jump it?
>Finally, I just want to do derny races, can you create a field for that? (there must be a few of fat, mustachioed Belgians in the city with applicable experience)
man that was quick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Carlitos – gearing is a personal thing. I suggest you come to the Saturday coaching and we will see what is going on with you. Or Thurs night grand army plaza entrance to Prospect Park 10pm. I’ll be there for question and answers. To Generalize pick the 14 or 15 cog and find you self between either 86inches to 90inches which translates to 48×15 49×15 50×15 —— 45×14 46×14 47×14
This is only for racing now… I ride 42×18 on the street.
Sprinter and riders in the pro cat section ride 92inches to 96inches.
K – Mcshizack
Start the season in 88inches and go to 90inches as the season progress. There are trends in track racing. You will see some years small gears are used- like Vince Oliver used 45×14 and won the championship at Kissena for years. He also got a national championship. The last few years the young riders coming out of Pennsyltucky are riding large gears. I was in FLA. with the US team and they were doing team sprints in a 52×13. The trend this year is 90inches to 92inches and more. What a rider rolls out in is usually a secret. Not many will be candid with what they are riding. The reason being is – when you know what a rider is using you can figure out his riding style. Learn the advantages of each and every gear and what gear is good for you. I started with 47×14 and rode it for years. Except for the 200m time trial which I used to use 53×14. I’m not going to tell you what I ride now…but it is inbetween there somewhere. You will get good at recognizing – just by looking at it – what gear a person rolls out with. Unless he has a strange pitch crank.
Yes people ride to the track. I personally take the F train.
Between heats I rest, keep my legs loose and smooze. The track is like a pool or Gymnastic event where you can talk to people and hangout.
Please do. Most tracks are locked because of vandals.
It is the only way to protect the facility.
The gate is fragile and the lock was bought by me to assure the fence and surface stays intact for another season. It won’t be locked when something is happening out there, only when unattended.
We have a Scooter. I run motor paced races all the time and they have been documented on this web and others. I also train with the motor when I’m there. Unfortunately, I am not the promoter anymore on Wednesday nights. So the races are put together by the promoter. No matter who the promoter is someone is not going to like what races are run. There is only so much time in a night series. I had an organic system that I tried to run certain race at different times of year. The complaint about that was that riders said that they never knew what race was going to be run from week to week.
THAT WAS THE POINT!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t care for the same riders winning the same races year after year.
I like to run things that are crowd pleasers like motor paced and team events and crazy points races like the unknown snowball or the black jack points race.
I’m about promoting track racing.
Whatever it takes…..
Do you remember the first Queen album cover?
If you like motorpace – promote a night of just that?
I’ll help you…
Hey this is great folks.
Ask me anything
What music do I listen too? I like the best of the mitzfamobile…
Don’t most track bikes come with the old 49 x 15? I know my Bianchi Pista came that way.
schmaltz, yes sir
great gear – I had Moses on 48 x 15 up and down 9w this weekend with a little off road to boot. He seemed to handle it, but I’m going to get him a 44 ring for the winter.
49 x15 is 88inches and just fine for racing.
later in the season though you might want to go with the 50 ring, but that is up to the individual rider. It is always better to spin a smaller gear, making a living on the power gear is not a good thing. Save it for special races.
Build up to a 90 slowly and use the bigger stuff for special times. Like setting the record in the 10 mile.
The old timers used, and my bike from Sty bike or A bike shop now – came with a 52 x 16. I guess that ring was used on road bikes and it was easy for the shops to stock.
The new entry level track bike’s have a mt bike crank
which is not machined to rotate without a derailier. So the chain gets tight and slack in one rotation which causes the chain to come off. The Bianchi pista’s we bought for the track came with a 48 x 15 and I put a 14 on the other side incase people wanted to step it up. 110 mt bike bolt patterns make it hard to find a full compliment of rings, you can do it, but it is hard. Also the 3/32 chain is a pain. The GT’s were not as good a bike as the bianchi but they came with Sugino cranks that anyone could give you a ring for, because it matches Campy 144. On some of my Bianchi’s I have changed the cranks and the others I just put on a 1/8th chain so getting a normal cog on the back would be easier. Once winter I took off my free wheel on my road bike and put on a fixed cog strung the chain on the inside ring and went to the bike shop. Edlin said that that couldn’t be done. I rode it all winter.
42 x 16
Campocat – great feedback. I spent the majority of the winters in my early racing years on the fixed gear, many on an ad hoc setup similar to what you describe. I threw a 15 cog (Suntour!) on a freewheel hub with no threads left over for a lock ring. In defiance of the guys in my shop, I opted for a series of dead-start uphill sprints to secure it – no loctite. I rode the wheel for years, on and off-road, until everything but that beefy forged cog failed.
I’m psyched to hear about your fondness for motorpacing. My suggestion for derny racing was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but the chance to get behind a moto again would be fantastic.
One more question. Do most trackies go down a bar size (narrower)? Or are 42’s standard despite your size? I’m a 46 on the road. Merci!
K-Mc
That is the truth – pedal uphill until the cog locks tight.
Lock rings are not used on the track any longer anyway.
Oh, I thought you could teach me some new motor paced adventure.
We love to motor, it has taken me many years to get a smooth track with a fence and a storage container and a motor, amoung other things. I’m in heaven – seriously – you can only progress so far without it, it is a must.
Following the motor for the good part of an hour at 30mph is a bit much on the kidneys. You have to learn how to hover on the seat and you need a good driver. Sprinting the motor is fun also. There was this guy years ago who made out of bike parts and a lawnmower engine a derny.
You had to see this thing, I think Coach Charlie has it now. You could pedal or throtle it. The smoke must have kept away the bugs away.
I’m not sure the sizing question? If you mean do you get a frame one size smaller the answer is yes but check the fit all bikes are different in triangle dimentions.
thanks, I’m loving the questions. No musical questions? Moveable stacked fourths or incidental flatted second chords? No…
Cat
Moto on a track would be new to me. Before I knew better – about a lot of things, and Eddie B’s book was the only reference – myself and a few friends would get behind my girlfriend’s Hyundai (manual!) with the trunk roped up, and ride for hours on the shoulder of a 55mph parkway! The sprints were insane, and bumping elbows to fight for space behind that puddle-jumper made the transition to Pro-1-2 crits a lot easier. When we reflect on what we did today, it sends chills down our 30 something spines. Ignorance is bliss.
My question on size has to do with handlebar width. I ride 46s (width) on the road. Back in the days, guys would go down a bar size for crits to “fit through the holes” better, I chose brute force myself. I’m just wondering if your track bar width is the same a your road bar, or if the rule is to always go as narrow as possible.
Thanks
k-mc
got you,
I’m old school also – I was the last person in the peloton to get clipless pedals. New-be’s would say to me that something was hanging off my foot when it was just the leather strap waving in the breeze. I guess some guys never saw toe straps before?
I like to use 40’s on the track and I use (get this) crit bars on the road and they are 40’s also. I hope they don’t break, I’ll never find them anywhere again. I like the new Deda track setup. It goes fat to slim into the drops. The US postal Deda Zero stem is great. I have it on my road and track bike. I don’t know if they sell it any more? I’d like to get another. I’d go as narrow as possible. If you see the turns on a wood velo you’ll see bunch ups are common in turn four. With the road you need a lever to get you up the mt. when on the track you risk the possibility of getting hit on those out-riggers and going down. Hey, to start use what you have until you can get your rig together. If you look at all the point racers in the Olympics they are using road bars. I like the clearence track bars give for your wrist, and the deep drop gives you a more areo position. And yes, fitting through holes is a plus with smaller bars.
You are right, the Eddy B book was the bible. You don’t here many people say that any more. I see violations of the ‘ten comandments’ according to Eddy B, all the time. I guess that’s what make us coaches being around the block a few more times then your average whanker.
When I went to the meeting of Velodrome directors in FLA last year. I was so happy to see people just like me with the same problems as I had running a track in a major city. Pat laughed at me; “You thought you were the only whanker running a losing proposition, now you see you are part of the national whanker club”.
Afterwards, try pushing your wife around a parking lot in the car, this way you kill two birds with one stone, and you can termiate you gym subscription. It has been done…
I’ll be at the track tomorrow SAT/29.
I’m sorry,correction:
It was Shaun Wallace not Boardman.
See, that is what you get for getting old.
The say the mind is the first thing to go.
I think they missed by three feet.