# Can you race a Mercier Kilo TT Pro on the track?



## Rhino4Five (Nov 5, 2009)

Hey all,

I'm looking to get a commuter that I can take on the track once in a while. I know the Mercier has a track geometry, but is it actually worthy of the track? 

I'd like to keep the bike for at least a couple of years before any major upgrading. I also don't want to have the most newb bike out there.

Thanks in advance.


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## jammincakes (Apr 5, 2012)

This is just me speaking, but I don't think that the Kilo tt (or pro) has a good track geo. I would recommend a full track build if you want to be "legit". (I feel the wheels would have to be upgraded as well). But, then again, most things can be raced on the track, it just depends how well it does.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

You will have a noob bike. But nobody will care. Not really. All people care about is whether you ride straight and safe. 

Does your track rent out bikes? 

Hellyer Velodrome has an awesome rental fleet, including a few Look 494s (much nicer than my Motobecane Team Track). Hellyer rents out bikes for $5/day. At that rate, you would be better off renting at the track and buying a dedicated commuter. 

Food for thought.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

I had this conversation with my mechanic recently. I was considering the Mercier Kilo for myself. His advice was to get the catalog track bike with the most "track" geometry, and go racing. My local velodrome doesn't have particularly steep banking, though - it's a 400m track with a 27 degree bank angle. So that could have colored his opinion, it doesn't take a particularly elevated bottom bracket to clear that bank.

Anyway, I bumped into a purpose-built track bike on Craig's List, so I bought that. Haven't done my track class yet, let alone raced it, but I'm just as happy not to wonder if I'm missing some crucial thing in my equipment. Other than the ginormous power output, at least.

So, three main points - you can probably race the Kilo, you might give your local Craig's List some time to come up with something for you, and consider the source (me) in evaluating all the above.


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