Track Frame Geometry

[Cossie Phil]

Gday All,

Having zero track experience...please excuse a possibly dumb question!

Guys, is there a difference between road frame geometry and track frame geometry? I have learned so far the rear drop outs are clearly rearward facing...that's about as intelligent as I am at present!

Cheers,

Phil.

[DoogleDave]

This might be interesting reading for you...

Dave

[brentono]

Hi Phil
One of the key differences between a road frame and a track one,
would be the bottom bracket drop (look it up). This can be up to
2-3cm less than on a road bike. And this can be an average when
using 165cm cranks, and need to reduced even more when using
longer cranks. Along with seatbar angle changes, to bring the rear
wheels further in, under the rider. These changes will alter the
geometry. The bottom bracket drop change will naturally reduce
the seatbar length required, between a road and track frame, for
the same individual. This is from my dated experience.
Hope that helps.
Cheers

[Cossie Phil]

Thanks for the info guys...Im slowly being educated!!

On crank length...if I ride a 175mm crank set on the road, would I use the same for track?

Cheers,

Phil.

[Derny Driver]

Thanks for the info guys...Im slowly being educated!!

On crank length...if I ride a 175mm crank set on the road, would I use the same for track?

Cheers,

Phil.

No. Standard track cranks are 165. My son rides 175 on the road and 167.5 on the track. Shorter facilitates better cadence (and better track clearance).

[brentono]

Phil
D.D. is spot on, again, and probably much more in touch with whats happening today.
But the basic premise of shorter cranks for better cadence on the Track, still stands.
You need to stick at it, and by the sounds of it, you should work on 167.5 to begin with.
If you come in under 180cm height, you may later even look at the 165cm cranks, if
you wish to go all the way "cadence" based. Still see it has relevance in many Track events.
All the best

[Cossie Phil]

Thanks Gents,

Im 6' 1.5" so sounds like I should be on a 58cm frame with 167.5mm crankset.

On my roadie I run a 100mm stem, is that a good place to start?

Cheers,

Phil.

[brentono]

Phil
The geometry has been reduced, so you would be looking at a longer stem (relative)
And usually deeper down in angle, is used on Track bikes/ along with Track bars.
You will need the final Track frame you decide on, to work out the required stem length.
This is all subjective, and a guide to assist you, hope it helps.
Cheers

[foo on patrol]

Seat tube length is dependant on your in seam of legs.

Foo

[brawlo]

The best place to start is to mimmick your road bike setup. This is kind of the rule of thumb for endurance track riders. To ride those longer points and scratch style races you need to be comfortable, and your road setup is a good start. If you lean towards sprinting, you will likely stretch out a tad with a longer stem and also lower the bars. Outside of getting the wrong frame size to start with, the riding position is easy to manipulate and massage as you work out what you want.

[brentono]

Phil
brawlo makes some basic points, but there may be some more in it.
Your positioning on the Track will be heavily influenced by aerodynamics,
whatever event you ride, and even less so in the Sprint, and maybe moreso
in endurance events, on the Track, from my experience.
A rider closely follows, they draft or slipstream another,
because the leading rider pushes air around themselves and any rider
closely following has to push out less air than the lead rider and
thus can travel at the same speed with less effort.
Also as a tactic, the more aerodynamic your position, the less relief you
offer to the following rider, so causing them to use more effort.
Most endurance events, I found it was best to conserve as much energy
as possible, so you were as fresh as possible for the finish (the Sprint)
So you may want to find the best possible aerodynamic position suitable
to you, if you wish to be competitive. This may all be a bit premature,
but something you may wish to consider, for later.
Cheers

[Rob74]

Thread dredge

2007_09 Article on Track Bike Geometry
Prt1
Prt2
Prt3

Rob

PS No affiliation with olevnabrU magazine.