Dennis Young wrote:
>I made a trip over to Maebashi City in Gunma Prefecture. There are two race
>tracks there. The older one is now mainly used by the high school clubs for
>their training and races. They had planned to tear it down, before so many
>of the current and former racers around raised a big stink about it. The
>newer track is completely indoors, and as is usual over here, is operated by
>the local municipal government.
>
I understand that this is the site of the 1990 World Champs velodrome- a
333m board track was built over the top of the 400m? keirin track.
>When checking out a used pista frame, where are you
>likely to see heavy use damage occur? Are stress cracks around the bb shell
>a likelihood, and possibly are internal and not so easily recognized on the
>outside? Perhaps I need invest in a used xray machine? Can anyone advise
>as to the likely areas of damage?
>
In years of velodrome lurking, I don't ever recall seeing a track frame
that had broken as a result of fatigue. I guess that keirin pros could
be the exception.
The typical failure mode for track frames involves a major impact. Look for crash damagelike dented tubes, ripples behind the head lugs etc.
Enjoy,
DB
Auckland, NZ