track bike purchase advice please

I have been riding the hire bikes at Glasgow Velodrome since getting accredited earlier this year and reckon I’d like to have my own – will be unlikley to race track league, but weekly drop in rides are good for fitness and fun 🙂

So I have a budget of £700 max and so far looking at Moda Forte/Fresco. The hire bikes are 48/15 so I’d probably be looking for a 48 ring and both 14 and 15 sprockets. Now I have no knowledge of spannering fixies – I guess I need a chain whip (which I have) and some spanners for the bolts – anything else ?

and any deals out there on bikes – I’ve been trawling the net and found a few – looking at full bike, in a 54cm frame

Thanks

do dolan do anything in your price range? they are proper track bikes not bandwagon fixie prick bikes for riding to the cafe. 🙂

Make sure you buy a proper fixie with a high enough bottom bracket.Some of the ones that you have to wear daps and your sisters jeans to ride may not be fit for purpose

Planet X are worth a look, I think they have track bikes in they price range.

Thread Hijack!

I was just thinking of getting rid of my medium Giant Omnium – with Mavic Ellipse, Miche Primato Chainset, D/A sprockets and Deda bar/stem.

MSG me for details if youre interested

I used to ride at Newport and now Ive changed jobs its just not getting used anymore.

/Thread Hijack

Evans have some pretty good deals on at the moment:
http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/bikes/track-bikes

Make absolutely certain that the bike you’re buying is a proper track racing bike, not some poncy fixie for riding round town. Glasgow should be able to supply you with a spec sheet for track bikes. The spec sheet for Manchester is here:
http://www.nationalcyclingcentre.com/track/safety-information/

(scroll down)

Dolan are far and away the biggest/most popular track bike brand in the UK and Planet X do some good track bikes too.
Argon18, Moda, Cinelli, Fuji and Felt are the other brands that spring to mind (the Felt bikes are lovely, I looked at getting one for ages but at the time there were none in my size).

And the Velodrome Shop:
http://www.velodromeshop.net/
is probably worth bookmarking, it’s a track-specialist online bike store.

many thanks all. I have been looking at the Dolan Precursa online and although same as the hire bikes, can be specced out to suit.

techsmechs – YGM

Try and go for the Dolan Track Champion:
http://www.dolan-bikes.com/dolan-track-bikes/track-bikes.html

It’s a significant step up from the PreCursa, feels much better to ride. The PreCursa is designed to be very stable but the downside is that while it’s a great bike for beginners, it’s a very “dead” feeling ride, there’s no snap or jump to the bike at all.

Dolan Pre Cursa has same geometry as my Kona Paddy Wagon. Great road handling (and is sold as the FXE) but as said, a little tame for the track. That being said, I rode the Intermediate track at Herne Hill on my PW. I’d go for the Track Champion for track use only. Moda is also a fine bike and on offer at the moment in your budget.

You’ll need a lockring spanner as well as a chain whip. A decent 15 mm spanner is needed to tension the chain as well. 48/14 for sprinting.

thanks all, think I am going to go for Dolan, just deciding between the 2 – at 47 yrs of age the Pre Cursa has some advantages, as well as being £150 cheaper.

any discounts around ?

cheers

(do I need to use a chainwhip when it’s fixed wheel ? probs daft question)

What’s all the hate for poncy fixies for riding to the cafe for a Lartay wearing one’s sister’s pedal pushers?? I’ll have you know pedal pushers fit me very well, and people normally give me admiring glances as I ride by, mouthing “good show old chap” (I can’t hear them because I have my iphone earphones in as I ride)

Yes you do. The cog is tightened onto the hub as you pedal. The lockring is reverse threaded. Use a good one. I snapped the chain off mine!

EDIT: and don’t use a flip flop hub (threaded both sides). If you do, you will be asked to remove the unused sprocket/freewheel.

TiRed – excellent, that clarifies, cheers

I can get the Dolan PreCursa at £500 vs Moda Fresco at £650, and the Dolan has a carbon Fork..

Can’t find the Moda geometry, but I’d be looking for a head angle of 74 degrees for track feel. Dolan is 73 degrees and you’ve already ridden one. Fine bikes, but you may want something a little sharper handling on the banking. If not, go for the Dolan.

thanks TiRed. I managed to find a 2013 Moda Forte down from £1000 to £750, but the spec isn’t any better than the Dolan at £500, so fairly decided on the Dolan for now. Will sleep on it !

Pre cursa ordered, many thanks to all for advice

Good choice.

Thanks, I went for 49 x 15 to be a little larger than the hire bikes which can spin out, plus narrower bars and some white bits on a blue frame. Superb value 🙂

Dolans are fine rode one at Newport last week ,much better than the old Pinarellos they had

Edric – they seem a bit like the Mondeo’s of the track, but having ridden hire ones for 8 months and spent hrs online looking at specs and prices I can’t see anything to beat it for my needs

waaayhaaay 🙂

Shiny red PreCursa just arrived at work in a big box 😆

will unpack and take some pics tomorrow, wipe down teh tyres and then its 8pm tomorrow at the Velodrome 😛

the final article, thanks for all the advice. Had its first outing on the Velodrome last night, and just had a wee fettle over lunch, changed the tubes for short valve ones and tweaked a few bits and pieces. Loving it 🙂

Looks nice.

Thanks flatfish. I can’t fault it for the money and it’s a lot nicer to ride than the hire bikes

Useful post ian. I too have been doing my accreditation at glasgow. Going for the 3rd one this week..and I was looking at purchasing a bike.. where did you get yours from if you dont mind me asking?

turbo1397 – I spent ages looking around and bought the Dolan direct from them online. There are good deals on Moda’s in Evans and Billy Bisland at the moment, but you still end up paying £750 for no more bike than the Dolan. The other benefit is you can select whatever changes to the default components you want – I upped the ring from 48 which is on the hire bikes to 49, and it felt a lot less spinny last night. I also went for narrower bars. I stayed with the PreCursa as I know it and am used to it. A mate, who I was with last night, has the next frame up, the Track Champion, but he has ridden both and there’s little if anything in it, other that £150.

I was getting fed up with the Glasgow hire bikes as they are getting pretty tired and clunky. It was like night and day getting on a new one. Also, the hire ones are downspecced on pretty much all the components, to hit a price point, so are more flexy and heavier.

Having compared them in the flesh, I don’t think there is anything sub 1K that is any better than the Dolan, and mine as above came in at £525 all in, delivered

I take it you knew what size frame, stem length etc you were after ? The whole sprocket, chainring size etc is a bit of a minefield to me to be honest.. I suppose the velo staff where helpful in this respect? P.s- is it yourself that has got something to do with gmbc?

Turbo, yes, I had tried both 54 and 56 hire bikes, with a variety of stems, so had a good idea. I didn’t ask the staff much in way of advice, but have a look on glasgowfixedgear forum, which has a whole section about the velodrome, bikes and track gears.

GMBC, yes that’s me. I have ridden with the club for years and used to be on committee. We’ve got quite a busy velodrome contingent too, with 5 plus in most Friday evenings 🙂

Thanks for the info.. will have a look at that site. Been thinking of joining gmbc for a while.. my riding buddy of old has moved due to a job change so not getting out as much.. apologies for diversion in thread!

Turbo, come along on at Tue at 7 or a wed at 745, Stewart St car park, milngavie, and see how you like it for a few rides first. If you do you can then join up – good bunch of folk and lots of fun, with local rides, away stuff, velodrome etc, plus discounts etc, along with post rides tea and bike wash at the Hall.

Cool. At velo on tue evening so will try pop along wed.. is it a long ride.. lights a necessity?

Looks good, first one i’ve seen in red.

last time i was at a friday night drop the pace in the string was about 25mph+ for the hour, the D races in the track league are not much faster than that (obviously there are surges faster than this but the races are also only about 20-30 laps) so if you or anyone else in GMBC fancy giving it a go i’d recommend it.

Turbo – yeah, need lights now, dark by 8.

Omar – a few of the club guys are doing track league, however Wednesday is club MTB night, sacrosanct 🙂

The Fri night string is quite fast indeed… I struggled on the hire bike gearing but a bit easier on a 49.

Aye, red seems rare 🙂