velodrome racing gear ratios

Originally Posted by closesupport

well i was there on wednesday just gone, they where on the track on a tandum looked like they where pretty much flying, i was itching to get on the track and give it a whirl, but they had it booked up and i was late for the taster session. but hopefully ill be going back next sunday.

i however am pretty shy, most the time im out on my bike is when others are sleeping or when its raining, so i'm worrying a little about being put with a total stranger who is possily going to rip my entire riding techneque apart and try to learn me another method of cycling, its bad enough being given drop bars, since im so used to riding with scoop, tri bars and flat bars.

but i guess thats all part of the learning curve, so maye you'll be there one day when i go arse over tit and you can jeer,

Originally Posted by wavydavy

The £7 cost taster session at Manchester includes a professional coach and hire of one of their bikes. The 'hire' bikes are all on about 84" gears & come in all sizes. They have Look pedals & you can hire shoes to go with them or use their toeclip adaptors if you don't have shoes with Look cleats. If it's your first time the coach will have you riding around the blue area at the bottom of the banking (cote d'azure) until he's happy you're going fast enough to stay on the banking then he'll get you to go around the black line. By the end of the session you should at least have been able to get up to the blue (stayers) line and it will take 3 or 4 more taster sessions before you can go onto the 'track skills' course, followed by a 2 hour accreditation test. After that you'll be able to ride the SQT's (specialised quality training sessions?) and some of the leagues that require accreditation. The purpose of accreditation is to ensure that you have the skills and confidence to be able to ride safely in a group of other riders. Members of the national team often join in the 'A' SQTs and they're expensive if you break them

The banking does look steep, I'm not sure of the exact minimum speed before you land on your ar$e, depends on equipment, tyres & pressure, centre of gravity, skill, humidity etc etc. but you'll know exactly when you're going too slow because the back wheel will start slipping and the coach will start shouting (they have a lot of paperwork to fill out if there's an accident on one of their sessions ). The thing to remember is that the bankings exactly the same angle of steepness at the bottom as it is at the top, so if you can get around at the bottom then there's no reason (apart from vertigo and confidence) why you can't ride around the top.

More info about the sessions here....

http://www.manchestervelodrome.com/


Good luck closesupport, might see you down there soon

Originally Posted by closesupport

you wasn't there on wednesday just gone was you?

Originally Posted by wavydavy

Nah, not planning on going again until just after the Masters. As they've decided not to rip up Kirkby track until the end of next year I'll be doing some training down there until the weather finally gives out, it's only about 10 miles away as opposed to 35 & £2.20 for as long as you want on a Friday night

The league will be running there next year, also some opens & the divisional champs so get yer ar$e down at some point. Much shallower banking too