Ted, So what is the story with the bikes in that photo? You're correct that those wheels are smaller than 26" and you're comments made me take a few more glances at the photo. I'm now pretty certain that, for reasons unknown, those are normal track frames with special forks to allow the use of small front wheels. I'm no expert on frame geometry but it might be that the smaller wheel affects the steering in such a manner that the "reversed" fork is necessary to restore a normal feel to the handling. As for your advice about "going over the top" vs. going underneath (i.e. "Dumb! Go under and go like hell!") you might be amused by my recent exploits of the USCF District 20 Track Championships. By the way, there were lots of great classic and KOF bikes there, including list member Pete Czapiewski's old Cinelli (Virginia Silver Medal), my team mate James's old Masi and my own classic looking Waterford. Anyway, as I wrote to my team mates: "In the sprints, you have to believe that one way or another you can win or you might as well stay off the track. So I figured that if I kept Paul up near the rail, I would have a chance to take the race. Well, that's easier said than done and he dove underneath me, sprinted away and took the win.
In the repechage/consolation round I really felt like I should win. Nevertheless, I once again figured to keep the other racers up on the rail since I thought that by then I had figured out the technique. Well, in the immortal words of Homer Simpson, "Doh". I screwed it up again. This time, though, my chasing wasn't for naught. After spinning like mad, I took the repechage by about 6 inches. Due to the small field, that earned me the Virginia Bronze Medal in 50+ Masters!" So you - and geometry - are so right about going over the top or passing on the outside. You can actually see that you're going faster but you gain ground just inches at a time. But everyone already knows that... Regards, Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia, USA