Convert any Fixed-Gear to a Tracklocross shredder.
There are enough articles on this website to prove that the Parallax is by far, one of my favorite track bike to be mass-produced. A tight geometry good for the city and everything that stays on “paved roads”.
Where some saw and experienced the potential of the Parallax on asphalt, others went for the Mash work that was releasing around the same time, which has a wider range of applications.
But with tracklocross growing more into it's own thing everyday, it can sometimes be frustrating to build an entire different bike just for that one weekend. But rest assured, my friend that I am here to prove you that you're still going to be able to get muddy at your next Tracklocross event! Even if you think your trusty aluminum steeds won’t be of any use in the dirt, let me show you on how to take it off the beaten path.
This blog post applies to basically everyone that owns a track bike from the past 10 years that isn't designed for large tire clearance. (Aluminium Mash, Dolan Precursa, Skream Magnum and all the other ones.) You'll see that you don't need much to get a totally different experience out of your daily. So realistically, what do you need?
First, you need to know that the UCI limit for cyclocross is 33c. Seems extremely narrow by today’s gravel standard, but if the pros do it, you can probably do it as well.
Now that we have a baseline, you’ll see that most track frames will allow for 32 to 35c tires if you pull that wheel all the way back in the dropouts.
Your real problem will come from the front. Most track forks will not allow for more than 28c tires, and even that is pushing it sometimes. What we have here, are two Parallaxes with two different approach, but basically the same end goal. Increasing that front clearance. Melo used a Carbon gravel for on his, and Hayato had a steel one custom-made. Both allowing for bigger tires where it really matters: The front of your bike!
As much as you’re limited by your rear clearance, it’s really what you can fit in your fork that makes a difference. A wider front tire will do 80% of the job of helping you not wipe-out when the terrain gets a bit slippery. To top it off, finding a used gravel or CX fork on a budget is a much easier and affordable thing that getting a whole new bike.
Plus, you get to be “that guy” that does everything with his one bike. Damn, what a cool dude!
A few more personal observations: As much as the steel for is cool looking, you might want to avoid mixing steel for an aluminum frame for that kind of application. Carbon with take impacts in a way that your frame will suffer less “unhealthy” vibrations and shocks, that could lead to a crack in your head tube. They are also lighter, which is exactly what you want for tracklocross. So you can rule out the FGFS forks right now, these are exactly what you don’t want in that scenario. Finally, if you’re playing the millimeter clearance game for your rear wheel, you might want to try different wheels/tire combo to squeeze every bit of rubber you can put in your frame. Wider rims usually help flatten the profile of a tire allowing you to push wide tires into a ‘track frame’, usually comes down to a bit of luck as well.
Thank you to Melo and Hayato for letting me photograph their bike. You can find both of them on their IG page: @ray_aka_m3lo and @hayato.bb.bicycle
No need for a new bike right?….Right?
🎞: Kodak Gold 200
📷: Nikon F100
📍: Somewhere in Japan
