Bikes
Hiring a track bike
For any riders planning on riding beginner or intermediate sessions at the velodrome we provide hire track bikes free of charge. These are issued at the beginning of each session and you do not need to book in advance. We have a range of sizes and all the bikes are fitted with toe-clips and straps, meaning you can use almost any shoes with them (they don't need to be cycling shoes). These bikes cannot be used for racing or advanced sessions.
Using your own bike
All racing and training track sessions at Herne Hill Velodrome are carried out on fixed-wheel track bikes. The only exception is the Tuesday night road bike training session, where you may ride a standard road bike.
The rise in popularity of fixed-wheel bikes now means many people may own one for use on the road. To make it track legal it must adhere to certain standards:
- It must have a fixed wheel drivetrain
- Frame must have a bottom bracket height of at least 265mm (from ground to centre) when using 165mm cranks (more if using longer cranks
- If frame has braze-ons or fittings they must be padded and taped over to avoid injury
- It must have no brakes or extraneous parts (this includes the entire brake assembly, bottle cages, lights & brackets etc)
- It must have Drop handlebars
- Handlebars must be fitted with bar-end plugs and bartape or grips
- Tyres must be in good condition and pumped up hard
- Pedals should provide adequate foot retention (clips and straps or clipless pedals set to a high tension)
- Wheel axles should be of the nutted type (no quick-release skewers)
- Gearing should be between 82 and 88 gear inches for novice riders. (48 x 15 (86″) is ideal for adult riders) a slightly higher ratio around 88-90 gear inches is preferred for racing.
- Bikes must be in safe, well maintained and working order. If a member of the coaching staff thinks your bike isn’t safe, you will not be able to ride it on the track.
Season long bike hire
In an effort to bridge the gap between bike hire and owning your own track bike, Herne Hill Velodrome operates a season-long bike reservation scheme. With this, users can have season long, exclusive use from March to October of a Fuji Track bike. This means you will have a bike that fits you every time you train and race, no one will alter the saddle height in between you riding, and you have the opportunity to leave a pair of your own pedals on the bike.
Please contact bikes@hernehillvelodrome.com for a booking form, or any other enquiries about the bikes.
Storing your own bike at the track
If you are a regular user of Herne Hill Velodrome it may be worth storing your track bike in one of our storage containers. For more info contact bikes@hernehillvelodrome.com