The first of many pieces… Building up a track bike. My first time doing a bike from scratch so it seems a good project to document here. And you can all laugh when it goes horribly wrong.
And finally, finished and took it out today for Vets training at Herne Hill. Very nice, very fast. Running 49×15 to start with. Maybe need a bit of tinkering with position but generally pretty comfortable. Love the cloth bar tape, and Vittoria Corsas of course. Made a little error buying 23mm Vittoria Pistas and had forgotten the wheels are slightly wider and run 25mm. But otherwise I don’t seem to have screwed anything up. The wheels took nearly two months from HED, that was the final missing piece. Love their wheels but deeply unimpressed with their service. If I had… Read more »
And here’s the pretty-nearly finished product. With yellow bar tape. Looking pretty good I think. I won’t be turning up to the novice training session with a full disc and 60mm wheel. I’m waiting on a HED Ardennes rear track wheel and some track skewers for the front. My nagging issue is the gap between the head tube and the crown of the forks. I took the fork to the bike shop to get the crown race fitted and they said it wasn’t necessary with an integrated headset. But I’ve looked on the FSA technical specs and they include a… Read more »
Yeah the sealed bearing is sized and profiled to sit on a crown race – OK the actual race is inside the sealed baring but the diameter and profile of the bearing cage is designed to sit on a crown race in any setup I can remember seeing. Without it the bearing will surely rattle on the Steerer – which on a carbon steerer is “not a good thing”. Otherwise very nice. Never used tape myself so can’t comment. Have you ever had one come off? I mean it can’t be worse than riding up a Scottish Glen can it?… Read more »
G’day ChrisO!
Less the spacers and get a stem with 6′- 8′ rise, or flip the stem, with a few spacers out. (Just thinking out loud!)
Otherwise, Look looks fully sick, and if I where half wheeling you (from behind) that rear disc would send me to the Black Hole!
Yeah I haven’t actually done any setup yet – the steerer needs cutting of course. The bars look aggressive but they aren’t that bad. Here’s a shot of them next to my TCR and there’s not a huge amount of difference. I could achieve the same effect I suppose by having a fewer spacers and a level or slightly rising stem but I’ve got it now so maybe later when funds allow. I have another stem lying around but it’s 140mm. As for the disc, it will come out eventually but only when I’m not going to look like I’ve… Read more »
And the frame is here now, waiting when I got back from a work trip.
Plus a bunch of other stuff. The wheel is on its way from the US, and oddly I got everything from Velodrome Store except a chain – you’d think they might have offered a replacement, it’s just a standard chain.
Ah, and there will be a slight delay now I’ve realised I will have to cut the steerer while I procure the appropriate tools.
That’s going to look sweet. Pun intended! Wish I was near a track. We should arrange a “club” session at Calshot. It’s a blast there as it’s one of the smallest tracks in the world so the banking is super steep.
Ooof, she is a looker! (Pun not intended). I’ve been looking at my own fixed/single speed build that I can leave chained up in the city without fretting all day, so I’ll be keeping a keen eye on your progress!
The list is growing… now have: Cinelli bars and tape Selle Italia Flite saddle Deda seatpost Stronglight cranks 49T to start with. 170mm. Bunch of other stuff on the way from the Velodrome Shop… Cinelli Stem, Izumi chain, half-links, sporckets. I went with the shop branded BB – I’d originally planned a full Sugino 75 drive train, but that would have been £400 as opposed to £100 and I decided to put the money into wheels. Rear wheel (Ardennes) on the way from HED. I’m going to use my HED Stinger front wheel for racing and a road wheel for… Read more »
And finally, finished and took it out today for Vets training at Herne Hill. Very nice, very fast. Running 49×15 to start with. Maybe need a bit of tinkering with position but generally pretty comfortable. Love the cloth bar tape, and Vittoria Corsas of course. Made a little error buying 23mm Vittoria Pistas and had forgotten the wheels are slightly wider and run 25mm. But otherwise I don’t seem to have screwed anything up. The wheels took nearly two months from HED, that was the final missing piece. Love their wheels but deeply unimpressed with their service. If I had… Read more »
Sweet. Very.
Daaaaaaang she’s a looker. Good work on the build.
Very nice, indeed!
And here’s the pretty-nearly finished product. With yellow bar tape. Looking pretty good I think. I won’t be turning up to the novice training session with a full disc and 60mm wheel. I’m waiting on a HED Ardennes rear track wheel and some track skewers for the front. My nagging issue is the gap between the head tube and the crown of the forks. I took the fork to the bike shop to get the crown race fitted and they said it wasn’t necessary with an integrated headset. But I’ve looked on the FSA technical specs and they include a… Read more »
Yeah the sealed bearing is sized and profiled to sit on a crown race – OK the actual race is inside the sealed baring but the diameter and profile of the bearing cage is designed to sit on a crown race in any setup I can remember seeing. Without it the bearing will surely rattle on the Steerer – which on a carbon steerer is “not a good thing”. Otherwise very nice. Never used tape myself so can’t comment. Have you ever had one come off? I mean it can’t be worse than riding up a Scottish Glen can it?… Read more »
Never mind the gap between the head tube and the crown of the forks, just channel Danny Clark!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnPp31peaYU
That’s one heck of a finish. The guy who came second must have been gutted to have been caught so close to the line.
Looking like a bike now.
Just need a crown race tool and I can do the headset and steerer.
Couple more bits and bobs. Chain, track axle for the front and my everyday track wheel – I don’t plan on turning up to training with a disc !
Looking Fab – crikey though, those bars look low! Might need to add Pedals to that list though.
G’day ChrisO!
Less the spacers and get a stem with 6′- 8′ rise, or flip the stem, with a few spacers out. (Just thinking out loud!)
Otherwise, Look looks fully sick, and if I where half wheeling you (from behind) that rear disc would send me to the Black Hole!
Yeah I haven’t actually done any setup yet – the steerer needs cutting of course. The bars look aggressive but they aren’t that bad. Here’s a shot of them next to my TCR and there’s not a huge amount of difference. I could achieve the same effect I suppose by having a fewer spacers and a level or slightly rising stem but I’ve got it now so maybe later when funds allow. I have another stem lying around but it’s 140mm. As for the disc, it will come out eventually but only when I’m not going to look like I’ve… Read more »
And the frame is here now, waiting when I got back from a work trip.
Plus a bunch of other stuff. The wheel is on its way from the US, and oddly I got everything from Velodrome Store except a chain – you’d think they might have offered a replacement, it’s just a standard chain.
Ah, and there will be a slight delay now I’ve realised I will have to cut the steerer while I procure the appropriate tools.
Poring through YouTube videos now !
That’s going to look sweet. Pun intended! Wish I was near a track. We should arrange a “club” session at Calshot. It’s a blast there as it’s one of the smallest tracks in the world so the banking is super steep.
Ooof, she is a looker! (Pun not intended). I’ve been looking at my own fixed/single speed build that I can leave chained up in the city without fretting all day, so I’ll be keeping a keen eye on your progress!
Cheers, yes I’ve always wanted a Look and figured a track version was about my budget.
What do you think of yellow bar tape? I have some plain black ready but yellow is the classic Look colour and it could be a nice accent.
Definitely yello. I think the Rules dictate the saddle should also be yellow in that case, but whether you can find one that suits is another matter.
The list is growing… now have: Cinelli bars and tape Selle Italia Flite saddle Deda seatpost Stronglight cranks 49T to start with. 170mm. Bunch of other stuff on the way from the Velodrome Shop… Cinelli Stem, Izumi chain, half-links, sporckets. I went with the shop branded BB – I’d originally planned a full Sugino 75 drive train, but that would have been £400 as opposed to £100 and I decided to put the money into wheels. Rear wheel (Ardennes) on the way from HED. I’m going to use my HED Stinger front wheel for racing and a road wheel for… Read more »
Yeah you are always welcome here, or just to borrow some tools.