Why are track cyclists fixed-gear anyway?

[Techno Destructo]

Is there some kind of benefit?

Or is it a forced kinda-handicap?

[dunk]

Firstly tradition,track cycling has been around since the beginning of racing when there were no derailleurs or freewheels, and secondly it's safer to ride a fixed gear on the track than a freewheel and brakes.

[crabapple hitz]

How is it safer? is it to do with the everyone travelling at the same pace or something like that.

[Binaural]

How is it safer? is it to do with the everyone travelling at the same pace or something like that.

Is it to do with the fact is is harder to speed up and slow down on a fixie? Just speculating, I have no idea really.

[dunk]

Ride in a bunch of tightly packed riders at high speed a few centimeters apart and see what happens if you hit the brakes:D By keeping more consistant speeds, and preventing sudden decelerations it helps prevent collisions.

[dunk]

Is it to do with the fact is is harder to speed up and slow down on a fixie? Just speculating, I have no idea really.

I reckon it's much easy to accelerate on a fixed gear than a freewheel

[climbo]

tight tracks also mean tight (i.e. shoulder to shoulder) racing, all those extra bits hanging off road bikes get caught in spokes/frames/feet/legs. Way too dangerous to think if anyone had a bad mechanical failure or dropped a chain and had to stop suddenly.

Track bikes accelerate very well, especially when you can use the banking to your advantage, no need for gears.

[thecat]

Wouldn't the bike also be fractionally lighter with no free wheel mech and the axle stronger?

[dunk]

Weight isn't a great issue, stiffness is though. I had a Jock Bullen track bike in 1986 or so, modelled after the East German sprint bikes, that was so stiff it was uncomfortable to ride on Camperdown velodrome for more than 10km at a time. Forget about doing 25k point scores on it. You could easily build a track bike under the UCI limit, but you can have a real stiff bike on the limit, after all there aren't any hills to get up:D

dunk
who is hoping to race at Tempe tonight (fingers crossed)

[McBain]

Wouldn't the bike also be fractionally lighterDoesn't really matter, as the UCI have a strict lower weight limit (6.8kg) which is pretty easy to get to on track bikes.

The stupid thing is that it is the same limit regardless of the rider size - so you see smaller women having to add weight to their bikes (chains dropped down the seat tube for example) to bring them up to 6.8kg.

Tradition is a biggie, I reckon - remember, the people that oversee these things are pretty stuck in the dark ages. Want to change bike position (ala Obree's superman)? Noooo, can't do that!

But fixed is certainly safer. Even with out brakes, at high speeds, if the person in front stops pedaling and coasts with a freewheel, even for half a pedalstroke, they'd slow down pretty quick.

[Turner_rider]

Even with out brakes, at high speeds, if the person in front stops pedaling and coasts with a freewheel, even for half a pedalstroke, they'd slow down pretty quick.

Not sure about that one, on the track when some guys take the pressure off the pedals and sit up slightly they slow up just as quick as freewheeling on the SS roadie. I've nearly been caught out a few times when people have backed off a bit when I didn't expect them to.

[idesa]

Simplicity. Two wheels, two cogs and a chain, and a lite frame thing in the middle to hold it all together. The last thing a racer would want to think about when screaming around the velo at the speeds they do, is "'mmm I wonder if I'm in the right gear and is it goin to stay there when I gas it up?' It's ok to plan your gears ahead when you're out on the road or bush, but I reckon not on the track. -------zoom------->

[miko]

Because it's so much fun!!

There is nothing like being tightly packed in a bunch, going at a reasonable speed, and all you can hear is tyres rolling on the boards... :)

Ah the memories ;)

[Samy]

Cycling Central did a story on this yesterday.

I was amazed to see how many people and couriers ride the streets on a fixed wheel!

They seem to be very confident on their braking technique and the guy doing the skids was unreal!