It goes without saying that mountain biking is very different from road cycling, but what about road cycling and track cycling? Both of these forms of bicycling are done on hard surfaces and both use lighter-weight bikes than what you would ever use for mountain biking. Still, road cycling and track cycling are very different sports, with different equipment needs, different strategies, and different benefits. In the most accurate descriptions, track cycling is viewed as an entirely different sport than road cycling?just as road cycling and mountain biking are different pursuits.
What Is Track Cycling?
Before we move on to comparing road cycling and track cycling, let's take a closer look at track cycling. Specifically, let's talk about the qualities that define this type of bicycling. The first thing to know about track cycling is that it is, by definition, a racing sport. Many cyclists will take up mountain biking or road biking as a leisurely activity. They'll go for long solo rides on the roads near their house for their daily exercise, or take off into the wilderness as a means of testing their physical strength and endurance.
Track cycling is a pursuit that you will only get into if you are interested in competition. As a result, it's a rarer form of cycling than either of the others. The explicitly competitive nature of track cycling is not the only reason that it is less common than road cycling or mountain biking. Another reason is the need for facilities. With both road biking and mountain biking, all you need to get involved with the sport is a helmet, the appropriate type of bicycle, and the great outdoors. Track cycling is normally done at indoor facilities with tracks that were built specifically for bicycle racing. These facilities are called velodromes and they feature banked