On Wed, May 28, 2008 at 12:24 PM, Matteo Brandi <bees.bfg@tin.it> wrote:
> Trackstars
>
> Im trying to mess around with a track bike.and im using Mr.
> Gradi's bike(size is 56 ctc) and,apparently,it fits me well.Now,for a
> beginner like me,what do you guys suggest?the chainring is a 51 teeth
> (im not home now,so i dont know how many teeth in the cog)Should i go
> smaller?It felt kinda hard.I ready to listen to youse all...
>
Are you going to ride on a track or road? If track, what kind of surface? If on a track, are you going to ride with others in a paceline or by yourself?
If you're riding on the road I'd use a 42/17 equivalent gear--51/21 or 51/20 in your case--to develop spin and smoothness. This is/was (?) the standard spin coach fixed gear for roadies in my day. I still like it eve thoug it's low and I can get dropped by folks on bigger gears. But if I use a bigger gear on the road I lose my spin even if I'm faster.
If you're on a track by yourself with tarmac or other rougher surface the same gear will work great for getting used to what's going on or you can go higher for more speed if that seems too twiddly.
If you're on the track riding with a group in a paceline, then find out what gear they're riding and ride that even if you're a beginner. You can go a little lower but not much lower than the others in the group or else it'll be harder to learn what's going on.
A good starting place for group pacelining on the track is a 51/16. A 52/16 or 49/15 was pretty standard for outdoor track racing and training for amateur ordinary massed start events. Higher for indoor or smoother tracks (but not higher if there were really steep bankings or bad transitions).
Mitch Harris
Little Rock Canyon, Utah, USA