Equipment - Aerodynamics and Frame Fit

The other day I saw this article on aerodynamics, a kind of "ramble in font" by Chris Boardman. He explains, in very layman terms, his very layman way of reaching his optimal position on his bikes.

I knew, from his GAN days, that he rode about a 53 cm frame, meaning a frame with a 53 cm seat tube length. Nowadays that doesn't mean much what with compact versus regular frame set ups, seat tubes measured in all sorts of different ways, and of course the fact that the seat tube has nothing to do with length/reach, very little to do with saddle to bar drop, or even very little to do with the saddle height. The basic 53 cm frame size immediately says a few things though - you can expect a top tube length of about 54 cm and a head tube length of maybe 14 cm.

What's surprising on Boardman's regular looking 53 cm track bike (with drop bars) are the other dimensions.

63 cm top tube?!
17 cm stem?!

To look at him on the bike he doesn't look wrong at all - in fact he broke the non-aero hour record astride the machine.

He came to the position using a couple basic principles plus an open mind. He wanted to keep frontal area to a minimum (although this is technically flawed it's better than nothing) and he had to be able to put down reasonable power (i.e. threshold, since, by definition, he'd be making a 60 minute effort).

(Which makes me realize that his threshold lets him ride at over 31 mph. His threshold! I'm so far into the red at 31 mph it's crazy. Jeepers creepers and holy canolies. Wow. Okay, fine, he was a great short distance time trialer, he broke the hour record, but he was, with all due respect, basically nowhere in the big races. Wowsers. Anyway, back to the post...)

He pointed out that he avoided measuring things until after he set up a position that worked for him. He used a powermeter and pedaled at 50% of his threshold, give or take. By not measuring he let himself let go of any preconceived notions of what would or wouldn't work.

(Incidentally if I rode at 50% of my threshold I'd be doing about 100w, which, honestly, I could do in almost any position. I guess he just kept his pedals turning so anything they tried would be somewhat reasonable.)

One thing you'll notice is that if you look at Boardman on the hour record bike versus a road bike (even a TT bike) you'll see that the head tube on the road bike is much shorter. This is because the bottom bracket on a track bike is higher, by about 1.3 cm. Since frame "size", i.e. seat tube length, is measured from the bottom bracket, if you move the bottom bracket up 2 cm then the frame suddenly looks about 2 cm higher.

As an example look at my 50 cm track bike, which, I have to point out, can't do 31 mph for even 3 km:

Note head tube length.

I wonder if a 63 cm top tube would help.

This head tube looks shorter.

Saddle height is the same. 56.5 top tube.

The Riggio has a 16 cm total head tube height, with headset. The Tsunami is 11.5 cm with the headset too. With spare bars on the track bike, the same make/model as the bars on the Tsunami (Mavic 315 bars, crit bend, circa 1997), I need a slight rise to fit the Riggio properly.

I'm veering hard off my original thoughts though, that of Boardman's approach to fit. The most important thing was that he threw out any preconceived notions on what should or shouldn't work. He admits in the article that if he took measurements while changing stuff around he probably would have ended up with a more conservative set up.

That BikeRadar article made me go "hm." Boardman's had a good approach to his fit, unconcerned about staying within his comfort zone, open minded as far as possibilities.

Equipment - Bike Timeline, Part 7 - Non-Road Bikes

Conclusion to the series, almost.

I own all but the first "SR" frame, the 2.8, the Traveller III (sold to a distressed person, i.e. homeless, through shop for $20), and the Dawes (ditto but I sold it for $40 I think).

One track bike which I bought in 1988? I think. Or 1987. Put it together just in time for the first 2 races in 1992, raced again in 2008-2009, and will race it again this year. A Riggio lead pipe frame (7 lbs frame/fork/headset, and it's a 99 gram Omas headset).

Almost current iteration of the track bike.

Mountain bikes:

Trek something sort of free (XTR rear, Avid cantis, 9s?, Manitou fork). I got the latter in exchange for my TT bike.

The frame lived here for literally years.

When I say "lived", I mean "lived". I literally didn't pull it down for years.

One day I did, went for a ride.

After a cold ride.

I used road pedals because I rode on the road. SPD-Rs, and I believe it was the original ride in the winter Sidis I own. Problem is I bought the shoes a size big, but Sidi makes them big so you can wear warm socks. I haven't used the shoes since.

The hats and leg reflector confirm it was very cold out, probably close to dark. No lights though.

I learned (and recalled) some stuff I allegedly knew before. First, the bottle cage rivnut is loose, so no bottles in that cage. Second, the middle ring is so bent the chain won't sit on it. And finally there's a broken spoke in the rear wheel. I just trued it enough so the tire didn't hit the rim.

That's how I've left the bike.

The bike as it was a couple years ago. Note the Keos on there.

When I got the bike I cut down the bars an extra couple inches, put on a longer stem, and put on my pedals. That's the extent of the modifications.

I really like the WTB saddle, and if I could get a light version for the road bike, I would.

Outfitted for road riding in the winter.

Full fenders.

Lots of gear.

Update: ~2015

Finally: The Tsunami.

Riggio - Version 1.2.1.0

Since I didn't go to the track Wednesday...

(Oh, I just checked - races were cancelled last night.. um.. so I really was going to go but the races were cancelled, that's why I didn't go... really... not because I was exhausted and could barely keep my eyes open...)

Riggio, updated.

Before. Note extreme bar/stem combo, old cranks, set-back post, white saddle. I don't know why I didn't use white tape to begin with, but whatever.

I'm proud to announce the Riggio, verision 1.1.2.1

As a refresher:

Version.Functionality.SubFunctionality.Fixes

Since I'm borrowing this from the programming world, I should point out that programmers don't like to admit making mistakes. Therefore they avoid "Fixes" if at all possible. If they actually have a broken line of code, they'll fix it by adding functionality (or subfunctionality). This way their version retains that all-important "0" after the last dot (x.x.x.0).

Of course, although not a programmer, I've been trained in that same way of thinking, so I'm avoiding Fixes as well. So why is the "1" there? Read on.

With that in mind, it's still a Riggio, so it's version 1.x.x.x.

Functionality is a bit different. I'm calling it Dot One (.1) because I changed my position on the bike. The biggest changes were in the stem, bars, and seat post, all of which contribute to making the bike much closer to my Cannondale in terms of fit and feel. The bars are higher and closer to me and the seat is further forward than before. Basically I'm more centered on the bike, and I feel much more at ease in tighter quarters.

Much higher and closer bars.

Titanio saddle, but a heavier Ti railed one. Thomson post, 26.6 mm, no set-back.

I've also updated some Sub-functionality (2 ways): stiffer cranks complete with cartridge bearings in the bottom bracket (1), a 1/8" chain with a master link (2), some other stuff (1/8" chain chainring, which I promptly removed). The cranks are stiffer, the bearings are nicer (the old ones were kind of crunchy), and the crank is designed to accept a single ring.

Most of this is "nicer" but doesn't change anything significant, like fit. For example, the cranks are the same length, I'm using the same chainring as before (and therefore the same gear), and the chain replaces a perfectly good laterally flexible chain.

Blurry SRAM track cranks. Note the recessed fitting for the single chainring bolts.

I reused my 3/32" wide 50T chainring after I learned I can't spin the originally-included-with-the-cranks 48T (it happened to be 1/8" wide) fast enough. In fact, I changed the ring at the track after the Scratch Race. I started unscrewing the chainring bolts even as the Bs were doing the second half of the race - I'd gotten ridden off the back of the group that quickly.

I should point out that I actually made most of the described changes at the bike shop on the way to the track. So Test was at the shop, UAT was a few laps of warm-up, and Prod was the Scratch Race. I immediately updated the gearing after one race.

Hence the Fix.

Regardless, I definitely need more rollers work. I'm also thinking of getting a training wheel, fitted with a 16T or 17T, for both warming up and learning to spin. I could just get another cog, but that would involve figuring out how to undo the lockring (I used a screwdriver and a hammer to tighten it).

I'll have to think about that a bit more.

As far as Fixes goes, if I'd just replaced the cranks, it'd have been a huge bug fix, because the cranks weren't working super well. I admit that the (mismatched to BB) left crank arm loosened up on its own, and I know that. Not only that, when I went to remove the arms, both of them were finger tight - the right one also popped off with just a touch of the crank removal tool.

But, and that's a big But, since I replaced the cranks and bottom bracket as a unit, and I got functionality - a better Q-factor (pedals are closer together left to right) and more stiffness - I'm counting this as an upgrade, not a fix.

That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

And now you know why the newest versions of programs sometimes don't work well - they fix things by introducing something new without admitting any error. But the underlying cause of the new feature is a programmer that made a mistake, and they're just covering things up by introducing a new feature, which, if written by the same programmer/s, will probably have other errors in it.

Anyway, the bike is what it is, Fix and all.

I did notice that the frame feels extremely stiff. I did my "grab the seat and the stem and flex back and forth" thing. I expected a decent amount of movement so I felt pleasantly surprised when my first flex attempt failed pretty miserably. More force got the frame to wiggle some, but nowhere near what I expected. I guess having a 7 pound frame and fork means there's a lot of beef in there.

I was talking to someone about bikes and technology. The guy's son was an Elite level racer (and old enough to be working on a "real" career), and his dad was a framebuilder and racer back before WW2. His track bikes were typically weighed in at 18 pounds.

My bike weighs in at 18 pounds!

Okay, 17.9 according to the digital scale, but I'll call that 18. Progress, right?

So how is the bike now?

At top speed, I don't feel totally comfortable on the sprint line, the line at the base of the track. The bike wants to move up a bit, and I seem to go fastest at the top of the sprint lane. I think a bit more technique will help the most, but I can't help but wonder if moving a bit of weight forward would help, i.e. a bit lower bar, maybe one that's a bit further forward. For now I'll focus on technique because I think I lack a lot in that department.

I definitely have more weight on the rear wheel, with the much shorter bar/stem combination. I don't have the problem where the rear wheel skids and slips under pressure.

I also feel that the front tire bounces a bit on the rougher-than-a-hardwood-floor track. I've even reduced pressure down to about 110 psi, and it still bounces. I may have to go with a softer tire, or reduce pressure even more.

I started writing this post a while ago, intending it to be a follow up to the first day I raced it in its present format. But, like software, I've already gotten newer version/s in testing. Well, beyond "Test" because that's just seeing if the thing still works (wheels turn and stuff like that).

Test happens on the workstand. You just see if the bike works at the most basic level.

UAT ("User Acceptance Testing") happens on the track, the rolling around to see how things feel when I'm riding the bike. It's one step beyond spinning the cranks on the workstand. A "test ride" if you will.

Of course the final testing phase is Prod ("Production"), something an old boss used to say all the time. If this bike was software, Prod would be when the software gets used by the intended end user, i.e. it goes on the market. But since it's a bike, Prod is when I race the bike. Real life stresses typically outweigh any Test or UAT stresses, so that's when I'll know exactly what's what. Then I'll make changes as necessary.

Suffice it to say that, after a couple days of Prod, I've discovered not much has changed. Yes, the bike feels more secure - not having a wiggly left crankarm really helps make it feel, well, more secure. The non-slipping seatpost design helps immensely too (instead of trying to level the saddle while I'm racing, I actually don't worry about the saddle moving).

I've also verified that the nut holding the seat down needs some work, but the bike itself has been slightly more optimized for that nut's riding style.

(For those of you who didn't get it, I'm the nut that holds the seat down.)

Those of you who race at the track know I've already made one significant change, and one guy even knows of a couple Test pieces that need to be UAT'ed and then put into Prod (the pieces never made it more than a couple feet from my car at the track).

And, as I'm learning more about the track, I've realized that I'll want to bring a compact little race kit for trackside use. One required item - a cooler, with water and energy drink. I already did this last week. The other thing would be a minor tool kit - cog (if I had more), lockring tool and chain whip (those two items for changing cogs), allen wrenches for any adjustments, maybe even a couple chainrings for gear changes.

Although separate from the bike, I'm mentioning this because the bike is set up with one gear. Unlike a road bike, where you adjust for a new condition or new event simply by shifting gears, with the track bike you have to mechanically update the bike to get the same effect.

Keep it tuned here for further update reports.

Equipment - Riggio Plans

Recently I updated the Riggio, swapping out the crank and bottom bracket combo.

However, I really feel the need to update the wheels on the bike. My big gear tendencies, along with a poor one to three minute threshold, meant that aero wheels should help a bit. They'd allow me to maintain the same speed at a lower wattage, helping me either stay in the race (first goal) or have the strength to do stuff when it counts (second goal). I also want to replace the heavy front wheel.

Based on my current "inventory", I have a couple choices.

First I can go "light".

I have a nice 32 hole Sun M17 tubular rim (340 grams on the scale, I checked). I'd previously built the wheel and then promptly unlaced it because the pinned seam was so bad. Well, bad for braking. For the track it shouldn't be a problem. I never rebuilt it, so it has about an hour of tension on it, max.

I also have a matching 19mm tubular tire. See, the M17 rim is 17 mm wide, and it was designed for a 19 mm tire. I have such a combination in the rear, and it's working fine. These wheels would be great for the hard accelerations required in races like the Chariot or Match Sprint.

A couple weeks ago I disassembled an old front wheel - Ultegra hub, Araya ADX-4 rim with an extra hole in it the size of a sheet rock screw - to salvage the hub. And with the trio of Japanese standard front track axles I just got, the hub will become a track axle.

Okay, either that one or the Dura Ace hub'ed wheel that is still intact. I haven't decided, but since the DA wheel was rideable and only recently built, I felt kind of bad taking it apart.

But writing this has made up my mind. That DA wheel, as it exists now, will perish soon.

Either way I'll need 300 mm spokes to lace up the M17 rim. I have to check my stash for what I have left, but I'm pretty sure I have either 299s or 300s in there somewhere. I have gobs of spoke nipples so it's just a matter of putting things together.

If I don't have the longer spokes, I'll look into a 2 cross pattern. I don't want to go radial, not with the weak flanges of a first generation Ultegra hub, and one cross seems a bit pointless.

I just have one rear wheel, the aforementioned M17-rimmed wheel. A Suntour Superbe Pro hub sits in the middle, a beautiful hub even in today's standards. Except for possibly relacing the wheel with 2.0 Revolution spokes (to reduce weight) and possibly tying the spokes together (to increase stiffness, which, on the bumpy track may be counterproductive), I'm happy with the wheel.

The other way I can go is "aero".

And I have everything for that, both front and rear wheels. The front is a circa 1994 Specialized TriSpoke wheel, threaded for a freewheel. These are the ones that can be converted to a front wheel easily, needing only a normal front axle set for a Suzue cartridge bearing hub. Luckily I have that set up, and with the addition of the second of the trio of track axles, the TriSpoke will be reborn a track wheel. I'll need to glue a tire (a take-off Conti that's too lumpy for the road will be fine) and voila, instant aero track wheel.

For the back I have a circa-1995 Specialized TriSpoke rear freehub wheel. These cannot be converted to a front wheel, but, hopefully, they can be converted to a track wheel. I bought a conversion kit made by Surly, and if it works out, I should be golden.

If not, I'll be looking to either unload the kit or find a hub that works with it. For example, if the conversion kit makes the wheel sit off center in the frame, I can't use it. On a spoked wheel I could just re-dish the thing, but with a TriSpoke I lose that option (it's a rigid three spoke wheel).

For now I've decided to stick with the 50x15 big monster gear. It suits me for now, and I'll eventually get a spare wheel with a much larger cog for warming up and working on my spin.

Of course, I could always work on, say, smoothing out my pedal stroke or even (gasp!) working on fitness.

For pedal stroke stuff, I figure I'll get a bigger cog, maybe a 16T, maybe even a 17T. I'll stick that on a wheel for warming up, focusing on crazy spinning. I want to figure out how to get the bike stable on the trainer (it wobbles like crazy) and how to shorten the wheelbase on the Kreitler rollers (the front axle is about an inch behind the roller axle). That'll give me the option of riding the track bike on a day other than Wednesday evenings in New Hampshire. I also do much better with technique experimentation while riding indoors in a controlled environment. I have a feeling I'll need to lower my saddle some, and I want to confirm this in some kind of semi-controlled manner.

I'll also be working on specific efforts, namely the ones that make me falter in a race. These include doing smooth, steady efforts after a jump (like chasing down a break), high level 1-3 minute efforts (2-6 lap efforts), and, of course, maximizing my top speed.

The latter I want to do "just because". It's the thing I least need to work on but it's a whole lot of fun going 100% on the track. I just want to zing the speedometer and see what it hits.

The first two efforts will take some doing, especially motivating myself mentally, but I think I have a good idea: I'll helmet-cam a day of racing and use the resulting video as a timer for my efforts.

I also want to install a cyclometer with cadence because it'll give me an idea of what works for me and what doesn't. If I hit the same top speed in a 48x15 as a 50x15, but I can acclerate faster, I'll know to use a 48x15. If my top speed drops dramatically, I'll know not to do so.

Finally I want to do some more sprints while at the race. Not just in races, but in the "between" periods. Being able to wind out the Riggio is a lot of fun, and "saving" myself for just the races limits me to perhaps one or two sprints a night. By blasting out 6 or 7 sprints during warm up and warm down, I can get in a much more intense evening of riding. I learn a lot about myself and how I interact with the track each time I go, and I don't want to dwaddle during the evening and let some precious potential lessons fritter themselves away.

Hm.

Maybe I can get some of that stuff done tonight. Equipment stuff, not the training stuff.

Equipment - Riggio Track Bike, Numbers

I'm a bit tired but I ran some numbers to satisfy my own curiosity. They are rough but reasonably accurate.

Measured Item Riggio Cannondale
Seat tube, c-c 50 cm 48 cm (it's a "52 cm")
Top tube, c-c 52 cm 52 cm (it's a "53.5 cm")
Head tube length 11.7 cm, 16 w/hdst 12 cm
Chainstay length 38.5 cm min, 39.5 cm 40.5 cm
Saddle-BB height 67.8 cm 67.7 cm
Stem length 14 cm 13 cm
Stem drop, approx 2.5 cm 0 cm
Bar width, c-c 39 cm 40 cm
Bar drop, approx 18 cm 15.5 cm
Front center (BB-hub) 56 cm 57 cm
Crankarm 170 mm 170 mm
BB drop, approx 5.2 cm 6.5 cm
Wheelbase 95.5 cm 97 cm
Seat-bar drop, approx 28 cm 25 cm
Seat center to drops 82 cm 77 cm

Some of the values are approximate since I don't have a super accurate way of measuring certain things. One measurement is variable - the track bike's chainstay length (BB to rear hub) differs based on chain length and gearing (you move the axle to take up chain slack). Currently it's 39.5 cm. If I went to a 52x15, I'd shorten it by 0.5 cm. A 53x16 may not fit, or it would put me at my minimum 38.5 cm (and make it virtually impossible to get the wheel in).

The huge differences are in the "aggressiveness" numbers - wheelbase length, chainstay length, BB drop (or lack thereof), short front center, and big saddle-bar drop. All are different by a centimeter or more, unusual for such critical frame specs. However the difference between track riding and crit riding is also different by such magnitudes, and the bikes simply reflect what works for what.

Interestingly enough the Cannondale is a very conservative race bike. It's equally at home on long rides, steady climbs, and harrowing descents. My first (racing) road bike had a much shorter chainstay, I think in the 38.x cm range, the same length as the minimum on the Riggio.

This means the Riggio is also a conservatively designed bike. Although it has some steep angles (long ago I used a protractor and convinced myself I had a bike with a 74 degree head tube angle and a 75 degree seat tube angle, but I think this is about as accurate as a day dream) it's otherwise a very forgiving and easy riding bike. My ham-fisted handling of the bike never put me in the pavement nor did it ever freak out on me. The only thing I wish it would do is turn faster in a full sprint.

For now though, like all the problems I have with the Riggio, the main issue is the nut that holds the seat down.

Once I get that working reasonably well I should be all set.

Equipment - Riggio Track Bike, Part 2

Yay! The bike and its career earnings. Note the SPD-R pedals now on the bike.

To quote Hans: "Is this rideable?" 140 mm track stem (1" quill, not sure of make), with a 3ttt track bar (40 cm). Whenever I look at the bike I think the fork is bent back, but when I check it out, it's okay. Looks bent here.

An illustration of the drop. It doesn't seem to bad when you're on the bike, kind of like skiing down a slope - it's much better to just get going, instead of thinking of "will I flip over". Fork looks straight here. Note horrible tape job - the end is just ridiculously messy. Good thing is I cut one strip of tape in half, so I have another strip for a re-tape job.

I fitted the bar before I left for the shop. I actually did a double take on the massive drop but figured, well, the races aren't that long. Note the old cranks on the bike.

I always thought of the very tough track racers as wearing long finger gloves. So I brought my black car mechanic gloves with the additional excuse that, "Well, it's got to be colder in New Hampshire."

Okay, so it's a SR Suntour Superbe crank, not a 105. I don't know where I got 105 from. I don't know what "SR Suntour Superbe" really means (cold forged? heat forged?), but it has a "hidden" fifth chainring bolt 'a la Record'. I used my four remaining blue bolts where they would be visible. Note the third chainring bolt mounting points.

I didn't notice the big bug on the back of the cap when I got it.

Equipment - Riggio Track Bike, Part 1

I've mentioned on rare occasion that I actually own a track bike. I've alluded that I've raced it. And, in the near future, I hope to be able to have the track bike whole once again and even get to race it. It's called a Riggio.

What it's called. Pretty brown, right? I should race for UPS.

I took a picture of the frame decal but it didn't come out. It's basically a chrome color sticker with something like "special tubing" on it in some foreign looking language. It's nothing special.

Superbe Pro rear hub, with the heaviest spokes known to mankind connecting it to the Sun M17 rim. I don't know why I used those spokes.

I had a Fiamme Gold Label front wheel but it got lost somewhere. Or maybe it was the rear wheel and I relaced it. Either way, the Gold Label is gone.

The other side. Note the dust accumulation. I've basically stored this bike for 15+ years.

As a testament to how old it is, I had just clipped the harness for an Avocet 45 computer. For those of you that don't know Avocet computers, consider yourself lucky. For many years a certain Greg Lemond rode with an Avocet on his bars. However, I doubt it worked because for many years, every single Avocet computer would go blank. Usually this happened in the middle of that century you were doing and now you had no idea how many miles you had left.

The 45 was one of the Avocets that actually worked, and I relagated it to the track bike when I became a big Cateye fan. So the 45 harness was a NOS harness (I have a spare, still in the bag, just in case). I saw the 45 computer during the move but it's gone for now. So I will get by with a yellow Cateye that I won last year.

No rear brake. The rear tire is new, been on rollers a couple times. Lots of dust. I took the tire I had on it originally to use it on one of my race wheels.

Fork crown to tire clearance is minimal. No brake hole either. Note Aerolite pedal.

Superbe Pro crankset, with a broken Aerolite pedal frozen in the crank.

I need new cranks. I lost one of my blue chainring bolts (BMX pieces from the fab 80s) so there's a normal one in there. I also don't have a 15 mm thinwall socket wrench anymore so I can't get the stupid crank off. Grr. I do like the "UDrillM" super light chainring. Combine a bike racer with more chainrings than he knows what to do with, a drill press, and lots of time allocated to "making my bike better" and you end up with a number of drilled out chainrings. Unfortunately only one came out right.

The left side. Not as pretty as the right side.

Bike in its glory.

It's a 51 cm although the headtube looks more appropriate for a 54 cm. Level top tube track bikes do that for some reason, I think this is because the top tubes are usually shorter, the front end (front hub to BB distance) is shorter due to steep head tube angle.

The front wheel is a new one, got it yesterday as I can't find my track axle for my TriSpoke. I also put on an uncut Michelin Pro2 tire on it since I figure I won't see too much glass on the track. I even went and looked for a short valve stem tube so I don't use a precious long valve tube on a box section wheel.

The bike, with "race wheels", weighed 17 pounds back in the day. When I finish it up I'll see how it is now. The front wheel, I have to tell you, is an anchor - no blowing around on that thing.