Track Bicycle

A track bicycle is a bicycle built specifically for racing on a velodrome, distinguished from an ordinary road bicycle by a fixed-gear drivetrain with no freewheel mechanism, meaning the pedals turn continuously whenever the rear wheel is moving, and typically no brakes at all, since the closed, banked oval of a velodrome allows a rider to slow down by resisting the pedals rather than needing a separate braking system. Built with a stiff, lightweight frame and steep geometry optimized purely for speed and low-speed maneuvering rather than for comfort or all-purpose riding, the track bicycle is used in Olympic and world championship track cycling disciplines such as the sprint, pursuit and keirin, and its fixed-gear mechanical simplicity later influenced the popularity of fixed-gear bicycles built for ordinary road use.