Track bike on the road and vice versa?

kenbaxter

Excuse me if this is an obvious answer! Wanting a fixed for winter road training and have also started track riding. Is there a difference between track and fixed road frames (steeper angles etc?) and could you ride a road fixed on the track - I know you can't use brakes so am thinking here of simply swapping out handlebars and removing front brake, easy to do in minutes - or do road tyres not suit a wooden track (I know most track riders use tubs)?

Thanks.

andyp

Most track frames have steeper angles to allow for quick handling but there's no reason whatsoever why you can't ride a track frame on the road. My commuting come hack bike is a Bianchi Pista.

You can ride road going fixed bikes on some tracks but for the shorter, indoor tracks like Manchester and Newport the bottom bracket needs to be raised to prevent pedal strike on the banking (this is not an issue on big outdoor tracks like Herne Hill).

A couple of things to watch for;

- a lot of track frames do not have the front fork drilled for a brake. You can buy clamp on brakes from people like Diacompe but they aren't really up to day to day riding.
- some track specific bottom brackets and hubs aren't sealed so will allow water to ingress into the bearings.

kenbaxter

Excellent. Thanks. Are fixed wheels for the road also suitable for the track - I'm assuming braking surfaces on wheels are irrelevant but what about tyres?

andyp

Having a machined brake surface is irrelevant to safety, which is the paramount concern of those organising track racing.

The main reason a lot of track riders still use tubs is because in the event of a puncture you are able to retain a semblance of control of the bike, i.e. enough to get you into the track middle, on a deflating tyre.

Lots of people at Herne Hill use clinchers with road tyres but it's an outdoor track so the surface isn't as smooth as an indoor track. I think the high end (and expensive) track specific tubs are aimed mainly at high level racers (and those with disposable income). I'm not sure if there are any rules at either Manchester or Newport about using road tyres on their wooden track though.

oldwelshman

I tend to use hp's for outdoor track and tubs for newport but have used hp's when too late to change wheels.
Not a huge difference tbh.

Pete Beer

I ride 2 track bikes on the road, no problems. The hire bikes at the Newport Velo are Rubino pro slick clinchers

torin

im not sure but ive heard that peple have been pulled over by the police for riding a track bike on the road because of the no brakes issue
also my track bike is an agressive racing geometry frame so has wheel overlap not good for tight corners
i would say you should just buy two bikes

Pete Beer

My commute bike has masses of toe overlap, you just get used to it. I actually end up riding it most days despite having a comfier more sensible fixed as well. It's just sooo light and quick

velodromeorguk

i use the dolan precursa - http://www.velodromeshop.org.uk/index.p ... 8&parent=8 which is perfect for both the road and track

2tired2ride

I use to ride my old track bike on the roads, it was fine, it had front and rear brakes.

The toe over lap is fine as said befor you will get used to it.

oldwelshman

Just finished puttin a 105 brake on the fron of Chris Hoy's old bike which I am going to go out on road on
I just put on a 49 x 16 so will see which routes I can use it on as I have a chice of many

Blonde

At Manchester velodrome you need soft tyres for good grip on the wood. They can be tubs or clinchers, but must be a soft type. You must wipe them with white spirit or similar before riding the track if you use them on the road - but you must not bring flints from the road onto the track on your tyres, as this increases the liklihood of punctures (and makes the track dirty) which will not make you popular with the coaches or other riders (or the people who clean the track)! You must not have a flip-flop (double sided) hub or any chain tug/s attached or they won't let you ride on the wood - if you crash, the jagged edges will rip up the wooden track and cause a lot of damage. Other than that you could ride a road bike - simply remove anything that is not allowed on the track.

Eddy S

Blonde wrote:

You must wipe them with white spirit or similar before riding the track if you use them on the road.

The secret ‘ingredient’ for cleaning tyres used on the track is white vinegar...

Blonde

Yes, that's it - I was told that nail varnish remover is also good.

Eddy S

Blonde wrote:

Yes, that's it - I was told that nail varnish remover is also good.

I’d be very, very wary of using acetone to clean the tyres – I use it for cleaning and prepping rims for gluing tubs. I think that it might be a bit too strong and could damage certain rubber/nylon compounds.

Even white vinegar, which seems innocuous enough, accelerates wear of the tyres if used often enough.