I've had the good fortune to be able to race at the National Sports Center track in Blaine, Minnesota. It's outdoors, but the wood that's used actually can withstand repeated snow coverings year in and year out.
It's 250m and banked at 43.5 degrees, and built by the Schermann (sp?) brothers out of Germany.
Let me tell you, it's a kick when you're on the boards, chatting with your buddy, who's uptrack from you on your right, (we go counter-clockwise), and when you look directly to your right, his hip is staring you in your face!
We have hosted a bunch of national caliber events like the senior nationals and the Olympic trials. One year Marty Nothstein wanted to try for a world record in the flying 500m, so 25 of us locals gathered to watch. The excitement built as he made several warm-up laps. When he felt that the time was right, he gave the signal, and went for it. He beat the old record by a decent margin, but because there was only one UCI official there, it only counted as a US record.
I honestly feel that there is *virtually* no difference in performance (in most track events) between a 50 year-old vintage track bike and most of the new track bikes available for sale today.
John Barron
Minneapolis
http://www.velostuf.com