Toast, the fact is that the rule varies from track to track. Most places don’t check for it, even if there is a rule, and some places actively discourage you from using a lockring. My track disc (not some janky conversion, mind you) doesn’t even have a provision for a lockring, and it’s never been an issue at any of the velodromes I’ve visited. They’re pretty happy if you just get your number pinned on straight.[/quote]
Are you familiar with what a spring race can look like?
even if the hopping around did loosen up the cog (i doubt it) i’m sure it would tighten as soon as they start the sprint. sure that might cause it to slip a centimeter or something, but they don’t have to worry about longevity, just finishing the race.[/quote]
I’m saying, on a slanted track if you plan on pulling any kind of maneuvers like this, It might be safe to have a lockring just in case. But since you aren’t, fuck it.[/quote]
just some slight backpressure to slow down a tad, say to draft, is what i’d imagine the most is they’d use.
i haven’t been on the track, i’m not sure. i know a few people who race, and one who is quite knowledgeable, i’ll ask some of them.
You don’t even use backpressure. You just kind of stop applying pressure to the pedals, like letting your legs go limp in a sense. Only in the shittiest of situations will you need to apply any sort of backpressure(even then, very little) but it’s not kosher, hence no brakes. They don’t want people slowing down dramatically in a 30mph paceline riding a few inches apart.
oh, right, i do that on hills a lot, or when other times when, on a road bike, i’d be coasting but not hitting brakes.
i have heard of a messenger going on the track and leading a paceline, only to come up too close to another rider and follow his first instinct to skid and causing a pileup with the whole paceline crashing on top of him.
yeah, if your doing match sprints id say use a lockring. for individual races you should be ok without one.
team pursuit seems like youd need a lockring, or at least a bottom bracket ring if your using the freewheel side.
I witnessed this nearly happen on an open track day. A bunch of doofuses with riser bars cut to Oury-width (posengers, by all measures) joined our paceline. They were polite and asked first, but they were definitely not able to keep up the speed. When it came time for one of them to pull, he went about half a lab and then inexplicably decided to skip his bike to slow down at the front of the pack. Everyone nearly rammed into each other, and the paceline blew apart. The guy who ran the track watched the whole thing, and his head nearly exploded with rage. Later, one of the guys skidded to a stop on the apron and he lost his head again
Most velodromes don’t even HAVE a match sprint, and hardly anyone (no one?) in North America track stands during it due to the length of the velodromes. Further, you will NOT be doing a match sprint until you’re racing as a 1/2, which for most of you is never.
what velodrome? it’d be funny if it were the same people.
unless they were clearly posengers, cuz the person telling me this was an ex-messenger who brought in some of her work buddies, and probably a handful of years ago.
Major Taylor. It’s definitely not the same people. These are just your standard bunch of 19-year-old fixed gear riders with Chrome bags and Kilo TTs. I’m sure that anyone who spends time at any velodrome can tell you the same story.
ha i’m barely comfortable riding in a paceline, let alone racing yet.
out of curiousity, how far behind a rider can you be in order to still get a drafting advantage? last time i was up (friday), i was with some friends… i didn’t get in a formal paceline but was maybe 10 or 15 feet behind a guy’s wheel for a few laps and it felt noticeably easier.
I’m not sure how close you need to be, but ten or fifteen feet is a HUGE gap and I really doubt there’d be any advantage at that distance. I usually try to be within one wheel-length. Any greater than that and people start shouting “CLOSE THE GAP!”
Yeah I’d attribute that easier feeling to simply keeping pace with someone.
God, I’m in the level 2 classes for this season right now and there’s this dude on a newer Schwinn(Madison I reckon) and I swear he’s gonna bust some stupid move. Last class we were doing a 10 lap burnout and I was stuck behind him the whole time. I gave him a generous amount of room even if it meant sacrificing a little more effort on my part. He was squirrely to say the least.
Any time you feel a disturbance in the smooth flow of air around you, you’re getting an advantage. I get a big advantage by riding 10’-15’ behind motorbikes on my commute. Granted, they’re not the same as lycra’d, aero, skinny cyclists, but you may still get something. Of course, it’ll only be 10% of what you would get if you were within a foot of the last wheel.
[quote=bonechilling]
Most velodromes don’t even HAVE a match sprint, and hardly anyone (no one?) in North America track stands during it due to the length of the velodromes. Further, you will NOT be doing a match sprint until you’re racing as a 1/2, which for most of you is never.[/quote]
Hmm, wasn’t aware that most velodromes in America didn’t do match sprints. Anyways, at Alpenrose (where toa3t is riding), you can start doing match sprints after you become a cat 4. In any case, if you show up to a cat 5 race and there’s not enough people to fill the minimum for a field, they’ll probably end up having the people already registered match sprint each other as well, although that’s rare.