Road Fixie

Hiroshi san over at C-Speed is kind of my mirror image. I’m a bit older and he’s definitely alot more hip – but we both share the same tastes in bikes – especially track / fixed and well pedigreed road bikes. One of our projects over here at the Roadfixie Shop is building up custom wheelsets based on solid components sourced from our favorite fabs.  For Track / Fixed wheels I’m a bit of a Bauhaus nut and prefer the solid, functional look of a heavily laced wheel with a broad rim and, classic hub and no nonsense spokes.

Well, I saw the Yobi Hubs and couldn’t resist. These are the real deal. Made by another track freak AND combining the Eastern European ‘Good Looks’ that I personally admire and respect. We are taking these amazingly handcrafted hubs and melding them to a superlight , deep carbon rim from our favorite fab along with proven Sapim Race spokes to create ‘The Real Track’.

Now some of you might snivel and complain about this or that – but until you ride these on a REAL TRACK, hold your breath! They are responsive, sprint well and aero-enuff to handle the gusty conditions we get blowing over the stands at Tachikawa or Kawasaki without pushing you onto the fence. Plus, they just plain LOOK SICK!

If you want to snag some of these you’ll have to ask the master himself, Hiroshi san, cause he’s the last word when these get shipped out!

http://cspeed.jp/products/wheel/c-speed-tetsu-cyunen-real-track-wheel/

Thanks to our good friend, Hiroshi san of C-Speed, we were able to visit again to the Kawasaki Keirin Velodrome for a day of training and riding on the famous track! It’s very hard to get to ride casually on a Japanese velodrome – and especially on one that is used for professional Keirin events. Hiroshi san is well connected to the Keiring and Japan Cycling  associations, so with his special favor, we could enjoy this amazing facility.

Today was a lucky day for two of my friends who got the chance to ride for the first time on a Velodrome! It’s kinda tradition for a little ‘hazing’ -  so Andy should wear the ‘Learner’s Permit’ on his Jersey. This is really intended for motorist-in-training, but it works for the track, too!

Inside the Velodrome you can see the ready room for bike preparation and impound. There is also machines for testing the bikes, and of course the rollers for warmup and training.

On the track – we ride some casual pacelines with other riders. Since this is a training day, it’s not uncommon to ride with Keirin pros. You can get a feel for the power and precision these Japanese professional riders have.

Then finally we run some tests of our own. Nothing beats the track for determining your real power and technique. We tried the 1000m TT and also some 200m sprints. By the end of the day I was completely tapped out!

Can’t wait for another day at the track! It should be said that we were allowed to ride non-NJS bikes, but most people who participated brought an NJS approved bike. Track rules are very strict in Japan and there is alot of attention paid to using the most appropriate and professional equipment.