Heat and Fixed Gear Glory: King Of Track by Ryan
By Ryan Kim
Hello everyone! Here is finally another write-up from Ryan, who stayed under the blazing sun of Seoul during the latest edition of King Of Track! If you’d like to submit your guest articles, don't hesitate to use the contact page to get in touch!
Enjoy the read!
Post-COVID, Korea’s fixed gear scene sis hit a recession, major importers decided shut down, used market prices spiked, and the number of rider dwindled down compared to the mid-2010s. Yet amid this slowdown, one organization has stood firm, working tirelessly to revive the culture. Putting events every year, to keep the spirit of fixed gear racing like we know it. This, is King of Track, right here, is South Korea.
King of Track (KOT) is a road and track criterium race, and being now at its 23rd iteration, calling it “successful” would be an understatement. This year alone, King of Track drew a record-breaking 700+ applicants, the highest number in the past decade since the event began.
This major success can be credited to its strong focus on inclusivity and the support of its sponsors. The event featured a wide range of leagues, from 8–13-year-olds, to middle school League A & B (created to accommodate the large number of applicants), to men’s and women’s over and under 18 categories for both road and track. To further encourage participation in road races, sponsors joined forces to provide bikes to racers, and prizes that were equally impressive, including limited-edition Engine11 framesets, Arma wheels, helmets, and Rapha jersey kits. Together, these efforts created an experience that was truly outstanding and memorable for everyone.
However, race day brought far from ideal conditions. Under a blistering sun, temperatures soared past 100°F (38°C). With no shade and not even a breeze to offer relief, the heat was relentless. I was drenched in sweat and ended up with a brutal sunburn from wearing a short-sleeve shirt… Yep… Rookie mistake.
To protect participants, organizers cut the race distances: the men’s race dropped from 25 to 20 laps, and the women’s from 15 to 10. But even with the sudden changes, riders gave it everything they had. And as you can see, there were quite a few cool bikes brought out on and off track. Here are some photos.
Now, onto the camera talk!
This was only my second time shooting a race, and the track was a whole different beast compared to my previous experience at Formula Fixed, bigger, brighter, and more challenging. I was working with my new-to-me Nikon 80–200mm f/2.8, an absolute cannon of a lens, but panning while manually focusing proved tricky. The layout had more straight-line sprints, which meant faster laps and less time to nail the shot.
With the track being outdoors and drenched in sunlight, I was already hitting 1/1000s at f/8, leaving little room to play with my preferred settings. I hate to admit it, but a good chunk of my shots ended up overexposed because of it.
Overall, I had a great time shooting KOT 23, experimenting with my new lens cranked all the way to 200 mm, and connecting with so many people from the community who came out. The electric atmosphere of these races is something I’ll always cherish, and to me, KOT is a perfect example of what can happen when sponsors and riders come together to create something truly unique.
✍️: @ryanleokim
📸: @ryanleokim
🎞: Fuji Color 400
📷: Nikon F3
📍: Seoul