Korean Job Discussion Forums

[thomas pars]

live near the track in olympic village. wondering how to get into velodrome racing. i know it will be expensive. first things first : where do i find the bike? I am not looking for some corny hipster tight pants wearing bike. but a real machine. prepared to go as high as 2000 grand. but i think i probably can't touch a decent machine what with the import tax here huh? thanks.

[Crockpot2001]

When my wife and I moved here we thought we were gonna be racing track too. Sorry. Track racing here is more about betting, like Japan with Keirin (sp?) racing. I've had the great pleasure of being a guest at the Olympic training center and can say that they take if F'n serious. However, foreigners need not apply. It is my understanding that others have been politly told "no, you can't ride here". I recommend contacting Storck Bicycles in Hannam for further clearification on that.

Now, getting a new bike sent here can also be a bitch due to import duties and shipping costs. If you can fit a bike <55cm you can likely find one here. I ride a 64 so no dice for me.

The good news is that the local Storck distributor, located in Hannam-Dong and mentioned earlier, has started a rental program. Not junky road bikes but FULL carbon Storck bikes up to 57 cm. Storck bikes run VERY large. I am comfy on a 59 but can still ride a 57. Prices are about $10 for one hour and $20 for 4 hours. English flows like beer in Austria in that shop and all have racing experience. Their two teams have racers that have competed in track, road, and MTB and field weykooks too.

Cheers,
Stan

[thomas pars]

thanks bro. i will check it out.

as for the riding. I have seen a lot of shall we say amatuer at best both korean and waygookin riding on the drome. they are riding in jeans and riding their homemade fixies. so i imagine if you show up on a stork rental you'll look a tad more serious than the rest of them.

[Crockpot2001]

[nosmallplans]

Interesting, when I contacted the velodrome they told me only qualified gyungryung racers were allowed to use the facility.

If it's really open for public use then I'm gonna have to brush off my individual pursuit rig.

Do you guys know if they run clinics and amateur-level racing? I was doing Cat 4 racing before I left for Korea and would like to start up regular competitive riding again.

[thomas pars]

so where can i buy the bike? i've looked at Dossa( corearoadbike.com) and the president corex bikes pop up now and then. but they never sen to be in my size. Any other ideas where to turn to find a decently priced track racer?

[CeleryMan]

I'm a huge fan of these guys, I've gotten most of my carbon high end and track stuff from them; most recently a Bianchi Pista frame

www.cycle4less.com