Winter Project - Track bikes - ?s for those with experience

Who are you (no off-topic talk please)

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BmanX
Posts: 3841
Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2005 5:31 pm

by BmanX

That is great. Way to go Dad. I bought my son a BMX from Chain Reaction 3 months ago and it has been sitting under the stairs hidden until Christmas and it is killing me not to build it up and give it too him. I am going to WW it a bit for him and instead of baseball he wants to start racing BMX next summer. The bike will be fine for now and it was 50% off during Chain Reactions big BMX sale so picked up a $400 bike shipped to Canada for $200 including shipping.

I think it is great when a father that loves bikes can pass on the passion by showing their child the joys and love of cycling while not pushing it on them. Great work TED.
BIG DADDY B FLOW
AERO & LIGHT is RIGHT for 2 decades

by Weenie


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xnavalav8r
Posts: 2594
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:09 pm

by xnavalav8r

Thanks. Let me know if you need any tips on the BMX project. I have become an expert. Mini-Mini-Me is just starting to learn to ride and will start BMX next year. It has been a blast sharing the bikes with my older son. I'm looking forward to my little one joining us.

BmanX
Posts: 3841
Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2005 5:31 pm

by BmanX

I used to race ages ago and he is so pumped up about racing instead of baseball. He is currently on an 18" wheeled bike but I have him on a 20" now. He is incredibly strong on the bike and has been jumping and bunny hopping very well so now it is just more about technic and learning how to ride the course fast. He is 7 but will be 8 when racing starts. We have a lot of clubs around the are with a very large club about 30 minutes away so that is who we will contact and I want to take him out to their track and have him go around while I ride my MTB. Just want him to see what he is getting into. I will also get him a MTB soon set up as a 1 X 9 and have him do longer rides with me.
BIG DADDY B FLOW
AERO & LIGHT is RIGHT for 2 decades

xnavalav8r
Posts: 2594
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:09 pm

by xnavalav8r

Biggest lesson I learned was to keep the cranks short so my son could learn to actually turn the pedals instead of mash them. Too many little kids ride mini or junior BMX bikes with 160mm cranks... which are often standard on smaller bikes.

As for the mtn bike, we found it was good to have 2 rings in front if only to have a bailout when the going gets really tough. However, shifting from the granny to the "big" ring can be hard for little hands.

xnavalav8r
Posts: 2594
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:09 pm

by xnavalav8r

Mini-me finally got to take his bike out to the track. We still have some adjustments to make, but he really enjoyed it. He was out there for 2 hours.

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justdank
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:24 pm

by justdank

I'd wish I got into track/road racing when I was a kid instead of doing barspins and rails on my bmx. Great build dad!

xnavalav8r
Posts: 2594
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:09 pm

by xnavalav8r

Thanks guys. Nitto track bars just turned up in the mail. So now we can finalize his position. He is super-excited. The parts for mine have arrived as well. I only need a stem to build it up. Stay tuned...

xnavalav8r
Posts: 2594
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:09 pm

by xnavalav8r

The track bars had a slightly deeper drop than the road bars, but he really likes the feel of them. So we inverted the stem and all is good. I am leaving some extra steerer to allow for future growth. Back to the track tomorrow. More photos to follow.

xnavalav8r
Posts: 2594
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:09 pm

by xnavalav8r

Thanks. Just got back from another training session. My son was a bit frustrated riding with older and faster kids. I put him on restricted gearing per national regulations but it seems I am the only parent to have done so. Most kids were running HUGE gears. I asked the coaches about it, but they said it doesn't matter if it isn't a sanctioned race. I'm torn as to whether or not to leave him on the restricted gear or let him run the tallest gear he can turn.

vdrey
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Dec 05, 2013 3:37 am

by vdrey

Since you have a flip flop hub, you could have a junior legal cog on one side and a larger one on the other.

Or, you could get a cheap rear wheel that has bigger gears for training and keep Jr. Legal gears on the nice deep wheel.

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LeePaton
Posts: 220
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2012 6:34 pm

by LeePaton

Leave him on the legal ones, soon he'll be able to catch them by spinning like mad then just think of the results when he gets a big ol' gear!

xnavalav8r
Posts: 2594
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:09 pm

by xnavalav8r

vdrey wrote:Since you have a flip flop hub, you could have a junior legal cog on one side and a larger one on the other.

Or, you could get a cheap rear wheel that has bigger gears for training and keep Jr. Legal gears on the nice deep wheel.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


That's brilliant! And I am an idiot for not thinking of it. hahahaha

xnavalav8r
Posts: 2594
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:09 pm

by xnavalav8r

Built up my bike today. Discovered my aero seatpost was too long. (Humbug!) So assembled it with a generic alloy seatpost. Still need to throw on a chain and some pedals. But I should be able to take it for a first ride tomorrow night.

My only complaint... the fork has a matte finish and I was expecting gloss. I didn't notice in the photo when I purchased it and only unwrapped the fork today. Oh well, no biggie. Photos to follow.

xnavalav8r
Posts: 2594
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:09 pm

by xnavalav8r

Any recommendations on gearing for my bike? The cranks came with a 48t chainring. Right now I have a 14t cog on the back. I honestly have no idea what is appropriate for me on a velodrome, but the 48 seems pretty small. Suggestions?

by Weenie


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vdrey
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Dec 05, 2013 3:37 am

by vdrey

xnavalav8r wrote:Any recommendations on gearing for my bike? The cranks came with a 48t chainring. Right now I have a 14t cog on the back. I honestly have no idea what is appropriate for me on a velodrome, but the 48 seems pretty small. Suggestions?


You should probably buy a couple of cheap cogs and chainrings and try different combinations until you find the best one.

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