other than the obvious, fixed hub, pedals and sans brakes, horiz drop-outs are there subtle diffs in geometry or other components?
The rear axle spacing is different (120), and the bottom bracket is generally higher to avoid hitting the outside pedal on the banked track.
The geometry is different as well, although I’ll leave it to Bunny or someone who has a better grasp on how a specific geometry affects handling to explain that.
Track handlebars are a little different, too -not entirely like the crit bars of old (more rounded and swoopy).
Trackies often run tyres that we would never run on the road, as they have very little puncture resistance - but for this tradeoff they get a much more supple tyre, which gives them a better feel for the track. They will also run very high tyre pressures (~180)
Oh yeah - if you don’t have legs like tree trunks, a pure track bike will reject you! 
I have wondered about this before, so I shall take the opportunity to bump this back to the top for further discussion.
Can anyone reccomend a mail order site for track bike equipement and general track info. In addition what track bike to you think is a good starter. I have rented the bikes at the local Drome and they all are beat up.
cyclingnews.com has a section on track racing where they explain all the different track events and all that. Pretty interesting. As far as track bike specifics, don’t know. But I have seen track bikes for sale at R & A. If you’re looking for more info than that, I don’t know. But from what I’ve seen of track racing, it looks like it would be exciting to watch. I wish OLN would cover some of the big track races. Those guys are fast, fast, fast. I’d like to ride in a drome just to say I’ve done it, but I don’t think I’d be interested in racing on a track. My legs are too skinny.
Speaking of the track, reckon when anyone will challenge the hour record again?
The Bianchi Pista is a good started bike. You can get the entire bike for under $600.
Oops, forgot the link. Here is lots of links to various track info and suppliers. http://www.stanford.edu/~roadman/Bike_Racing/NCVA/links.shtml
schwabcycles.com has track gear. So can the track newbie turn a road a road frame into a track rig ? how bout 650 wheels? rules rules rules?
Hey spaceman,
Are we riding this weekend?
-nick
Most road bikes are illegal for track use. That has to do with the bottom bracket height. It needs to be higher to avoid hitting the outside pedal on the bank during turns which is a very, very bad thing to do. And no, you cannot coast with the inside pedal up.
You also need horizontal dropouts to tension the rear wheel correctly. I have an old road frame done up as a fixed gear that I use for commuting to work. But it wouldnt work on the track.
KR
schwabcycles.com has track gear. So can the track newbie turn a road a road frame into a track rig ? how bout 650 wheels? rules rules rules?
If you have an older frame with (semi-) horizontal rear dropouts, you can run a fixed gear. Most newer frames have vertical dropouts that will not allow you to slide the rear wheel forward or back to adjust chain tension. I have an '80s Peugeot that I’ve converted into a fixed gear road bike.
I believe there would be no issue riding 650 wheels on the track as long as it was fixed gear, uses bolt on axles instead of quick release, both wheels were the same size, and there were no brakes. You might have problems with pedal clearance, though. Best to check with your local track. FWIW, I’ve not yet ridden on the track but am planning on taking a beginner class later this summer.
Oh, and their called track fork ends if they point to the rear and horizontal dropouts if they point to the front.
Businesscycles.com in Fla has one of the best track retail sites out there. Fixedgearfever.com is another good starting place. Track bikes vary in geometry for different events and road bike geometry track bikes are getting popular. As far as geometry my two track bikes are as this.
Both have 74 seat angles, one has a 76 head angle and the other 74.5 the steep track bike has 32 offset on the fork the other 35 ish but I put an aero road fork on it for TTs. Steep one has a 1cm shorter top tube than my road bike which is normal because the stem has a huge drop. Maybe a 65 degree? The steeper front end bike has a lot of toeoverlap like in inches. It rides very harsh and is uncomfortable for rides over 2 hours. My second track bike is built for a road use bike and the drop of the bb is 70mm like a road frame (the other is 55mm drop). The real track bike runs 165mm cranks and has never hit the track, whereas the roadish track bike has 170s and except for on the bottom of the track it would hit the pedals a lot, so it stays on the road.
If you live near a track you should check out track riding, it is like bike riding on meth, wow things happen so fast. I can’t even come close to describing the difference in speed they have. I know a bunch of triguys like to put licks on the roadies, but I promise there is not one guy on this forum that would be able to go to a steep velodrome and come out alive in a points race or miss and out at a cat 2 level. It would be like running 100m intervals with the NCAA Division I boys. If you don’t live near a track get a fixie bike and ride it some, they are so much fun they should be a crime.( Without brakes they may be in some places) always use a front brake. G
I used to race some track about 10+ years ago in Australia where it is pretty popular. I would use the midweek night races for interval training (totally lacking a sprint I would get completely shelled) and it was great fun. It is certainly super fast and super competetive. We would have handicap races of say 5-8K where we would be arranged at intervals around the track with the slowest riders having the advantage. I had one of my best seasons ever from that track experience.
True track racers (especially sprinters) are a completely different breed. I remember watching Gary Neiwand (former match sprint world champ) warming up on rollers. In a matter of seconds he would go from ticking over at a cadence of 90-100 to 160+ cadence and those rollers were screaming. Absolutely amazing!