[geared to perfection]

I'm pretty new to this whole track thing but i have been around 'street fixed' or whatever the hell you darn hipsters are calling it these days.
Ive been itching to build up a relativley cheap track racing bike for my local velodrome and hopefully get out there this summer and race.
My budget is going to probably be in the range of 950 to 1200. This includes track fees and registration so keep that in mind.
Links would also be a help, thanks

 

[FatTireFred]

ok, so what are the track fees and registration?

 

[geared to perfection]

track registration is 60$
30$ for bike certification
and 10$ evertytime you visit

 

[mushroomking]

I would start out on craigslist and find yourself a cheap vintage bike with a frame worthy of building. If you cant find someone selling a frame with horizontal dropouts(fixed frame) then it needs to be semi-horizontal.

I find this to be the easiest way so if it has some parts worthy of using you can save a little $$$ and not have to buy everything new.

 

[m_s]

I don't think an old road frame is a good idea at all. I know very little about track racing, but bicycles used for it have very different geometry. A conversion would likely be too sluggish handling, or have too low a bottom bracket, or both.

 

[mendo]

The Van Dessel track frame jumped to mind.

Scratch that. It's $1K.

 

[mushroomking]

I don't think an old road frame is a good idea at all. I know very little about track racing, but bicycles used for it have very different geometry. A conversion would likely be too sluggish handling, or have too low a bottom bracket, or both.

Well he said that he is just starting out. I built up my first fixed gear for around $500 with an early '90s schwinn frame and bag of new parts. I dont have a problem sprinting with guys on road bikes.
And besides that for around 1k I would buy complete. You can get a fair amount of bike for that price.

 

[JaeP]

Bikes direct has a sweet deal on a Motobecane track bike (rebadged Fuji Pro?). Can be be bought complete ($795) or frame/fork ($350).

Leader Bikes have some good value on track frames as well (I raced one for two years on my local velodrome).

 

[filtersweep]

How is a road frame going to be certified for the track? It won't happen.

I believe the challenge here is that all the trendy kids are riding fixed gear bikes that lack track geometry have shaped recent trends in geometry and design--- and the key issue will likely be the BB drop. I recommend checking up on the regulations what the velodrome expects (given its design), and go from there. You really do not want a bike designed for street use.

Well he said that he is just starting out. I built up my first fixed gear for around $500 with an early '90s schwinn frame and bag of new parts. I dont have a problem sprinting with guys on road bikes.
And besides that for around 1k I would buy complete. You can get a fair amount of bike for that price.

 

[waldo425]

With that budget you should be able to get a good bike. Problem is that you need to actually get a real track bike. Theres no way you would be able to get away with using a conversion bike and a lot of the frames out there are basically road frames with track drops on the back.

 

[Sherpa23]

If you're going to race on an actual velodrome, you cannot use a converted road bike.

Your profile says you're from Fullerton. If that's Fullerton, CA, the three tracks local to you are Encino, which a 250m concrete, ADT, which is a 250m wood, and San Diego, which is 333 concrete. There is no way anything other than a track bike will clear the banking on ADT on Encino. Also, road geometry doesn't always work so well on the track.

You should get something with a BB drop of no more than 5 cm for now.

There are plenty of good used track bikes around. Plenty of them are custom. Heck, I have my old pursuit bike in my basement collecting dust. Parts are easy to get. Look on eBay for cranks and wheels. You can easily do the whole thing for $1k. The problem is getting a collection of chainrings and cogs. That is where things start to get spendy.

 

[Sherpa23]

I built up my first fixed gear for around $500 with an early '90s schwinn frame and bag of new parts. I dont have a problem sprinting with guys on road bikes.

When was the last time you were "sprinting with guys on road bikes" on a velodrome?

 

[mushroomking]

When was the last time you were "sprinting with guys on road bikes" on a velodrome?

Not in a velodrome, when I'm going on a local group ride. But however scratch what I said I wasnt aware certain places had rules about geometry. Mine lets us ride whatever as long as its fixed(and we wear a helmet).

 

[Sherpa23]

Not in a velodrome, when I'm going on a local group ride. But however scratch what I said I wasnt aware certain places had rules about geometry. Mine lets us ride whatever as long as its fixed(and we wear a helmet).

No worries.

Most tracks don't make rules about geometry. They figure that physics has its own rules and has a better way of enforcing them.

Try riding a track with a decent banking with a bike with a road bb drop. The problems get sorted pretty quickly.

 

[wim]

Ive been itching to build up a relativley cheap track racing bike for my local velodrome and hopefully get out there this summer and race

As said, the road frame is a no go. I'd contact the tracks you want to race and get their hard-and-fast equipment rules. For most tracks, they are only
- fixed gear
- lock ring
- rear-facing rear fork ends ("dropouts")
- nutted axles (no quick-releases).
Some added thoughts:
- A high bottom bracket only matters in events potentially putting you up on the banks and/or travelling at slow speeds. If you only do track time trials (kilo, for example), BB height really doesn't matter much.
- The $600 or so Bianchi Pista is not a bad entry-level bike. It even has a relatively high BB. Because there are so many out there, you might find a good used one.

 

[yo mamma]

If you live relatively near a velodrome and therefore have lot's of trackies in your area, you may very likely find a complete, albeit used, track bike that is waay more than suitable for your needs for $600 or less. Beginner quality track bikes, especially used ones, are crazy cheap.

 

[wim]

Clarification.

If you live relatively near a velodrome and therefore have lot's of trackies in your area, you may very likely find a complete, albeit used, track bike that is waay more than suitable for your needs for $600 or less. Beginner quality track bikes, especially used ones, are crazy cheap.

Agree with that. I didn't mean to imply that the OP should spend $600 on a new Pista—I was trying to distinguish the $600 Pista from the Concept Pista and muddied the waters.

 

[FatTireFred]

If you live relatively near a velodrome and therefore have lot's of trackies in your area, you may very likely find a complete, albeit used, track bike that is waay more than suitable for your needs for $600 or less. Beginner quality track bikes, especially used ones, are crazy cheap.

or he could rent, if available, until he figures out what he wants/needs... sounds like he hasn't even been to the track yet, so may not even like it in the end

 

[cxwrench]

As said, the road frame is a no go. I'd contact the tracks you want to race and get their hard-and-fast equipment rules. For most tracks, they are only
- fixed gear
- lock ring
- rear-facing rear fork ends ("dropouts")
- nutted axles (no quick-releases).
Some added thoughts:
- A high bottom bracket only matters in events potentially putting you up on the banks and/or travelling at slow speeds. If you only do track time trials (kilo, for example), BB height really doesn't matter much.
- The $600 or so Bianchi Pista is not a bad entry-level bike. It even has a relatively high BB. Because there are so many out there, you might find a good used one.

i've never seen anyone use a lockring at any track i've ever been to..yours may be different, but i doubt it.

the bianchi pista is an excellent bike for someone on a budget, they're probably raced at every track in the country. upgrade the wheels in the future and get yourself some cogs and chainrings and you're all set.

 

[RedRider93]

you might be able to find a Specialized Langster comp like an 07, or 06 for pretty cheap at some shops