Braking, how to?

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  • nimhbus 'brake'

    it's fucking spelt 'brake', for fucks sake

    Thanks nimhbus, noted, and dyslexics around London thank you for your kind and sympathetic support. ;)

  • nimhbus 'brake'
    it's fucking spelt 'brake', for fucks sake

    Yes and "it's" should be capitalised and it's "spelled" and isn't it "for fuck's sake"?
    I also would have thrown in some ?!?! action just to highlight how truly offensive the original was.

    Besides if we teach everyone to spell stuff correctly, how will we know if we are talking to a genius (like ourselves) or just someone who's be given a bollocking for their grammar on the forum? ;)

  • well, it is a cycling forum - being able to spell one of the major components seems pretty basic, but i apologise to any dyslexics i may have upset, the lzay cnuts

  • When learning I found it easier to use the front break just to start the skid going. Also easier to learn with lower gears, gets you fit as well.

  • look on youtube.

  • Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and help, it really was how to stop my bike in as quick as time as possible so I'll tighten the front brake and keep practicing the skids just for fun.

  • atomic.a When learning I found it easier to use the front break just to start the skid going. Also easier to learn with lower gears, gets you fit as well.

    your bike is broken at the front which starts the skid?

    i'm sorry, i just don't understand

  • i don't want to spoil your fun or anything but skidding is 1 thing, stopping quickly is another.

    an emergency stop should involve moving your weight back, this allows you to use more front brake (which does most of the work) and helps to keep the back wheel on the ground (which helps). if you ride fixed you've got the nearest thing to ABS braking that a (simple) bike can have, make the most of that. using your legs to control your speed on steep descents will help you develop the muscles for this (and skidding).

    weight forward skidding is fun, trendy and profitable for tyre manufacturers. and a hop-skid can allow you to change direction quickly (like a hand brake turn), but locking your rear wheel is a stunt that is best to avoid (if you can) in an emergency situation. not least because if you end up side-ways in heavy traffic you will increase you chances of being hit from behind.

    my personal experience is that i can stop my fixed (with street gears) quicker than a road bike (with similar tyres) because it's easy to lock the back of a road bike even when you don't want to. the only times i blatantly use skidding is when i end up off road and there's not enough front tyre to stop it from locking up and/or it's quite steep - obviously, it's better to lock the back than the front but still move the weight back if you genuinely want to stop or control speed.

  • nimhbus [quote]atomic.a When learning I found it easier to use the front break just to start the skid going. Also easier to learn with lower gears, gets you fit as well.

    your bike is broken at the front which starts the skid?

    i'm sorry, i just don't understand[/quote]

    atomica is saying that he/she uses his/her front breake while leaning forward to unweight the rear wheel, and then skidds

  • dr.oblong i don't want to spoil your fun or anything but skidding is 1 thing, stopping quickly is another.

    an emergency stop should involve moving your weight back, this allows you to use more front brake (which does most of the work) and helps to keep the back wheel on the ground (which helps). if you ride fixed you've got the nearest thing to ABS braking that a (simple) bike can have, make the most of that. using your legs to control your speed on steep descents will help you develop the muscles for this (and skidding).

    weight forward skidding is fun, trendy and profitable for tyre manufacturers. and a hop-skid can allow you to change direction quickly (like a hand brake turn), but locking your rear wheel is a stunt that is best to avoid (if you can) in an emergency situation. not least because if you end up side-ways in heavy traffic you will increase you chances of being hit from behind.
    .

    I tend to agree with this, mostly.

    front brake + weight back + resisting with legs will stop you just about as quickly as it's possible to stop any bike.

    In real emergencies I've endo-ed a bit and when the rear wheel goes back down you stay stopped.

    Brakeless riders don't and can't emergency stop like this, they ride in a way so as to avoid rather than run into, obviously this depends on the skill of the rider, and the ability to bail safely if something really unavoidable occurs

  • nimhbus 'brake'

    it's fucking spelt 'brake', for fucks sake

    you been watching 'dead poets society' and drinking too much sunny delight again nimhbus?

  • Well, I mean, to say, what?

  • If you're finding it very difficult to brake with the rear wheel, you might be geared too high. What chain/cog combo do you have?

    (edit to say - someone's already mentioned it. they had a point too!)

  • mashton I'm not sure whether you would ever apply the front brake and skid the rear at the same time - I certainly don't.

    Skidding is easier with the front brake applied, i find. However, I dunno if it actually makes you stop any quicker, or if it's a good idea at all (in terms of losing control), but i haven't died yet!

  • if your weight if forward and you pull on the break you will lift your back wheel a bit and that makes skidding easier

  • Ricky Sorry should have said I have a front break, I'm not a total loon.

    Are you calling me a loon? :) (ok ok, i do actually have a front brake on my current fixie)

    Ricky
    Thanks for the tips they seem to be generally to lean further forward, get some of the weight off the back wheel and get some bigger balls and go a bit faster. I'll read the other threads too.
    I don't ride faster than I can reasonably stop it's just in case some fool in a 4x4 pulls out in front with no warning.

    What gearing are you using? I try to keep mine at around 69 gear-inches, which i find to be a nice compromise between speed and ability to (skid)stop.
    You could try going for something a bit lower at first, like 65 inches.

  • i just push back with rear foot and lift up with front

  • I just stop pedaling.. then the bike stops moving :) it's magic! :)

  • chris crash suggests riding with a Kit-Kat for maximum safety - is it the comfort of the chocolatey goodness or the reflective power of the foil wrapping? Taken from his blog:

    "Be safe ride with a break unless you are an experienced rider."

    :p

  • Sorry to dig this post out of the grave, but...

    Is it possible to do the equivalent of locking the pedals without toe clips/cleats? Can one skid with normal pedals ? I tried on some ice and it was possible, but couldn't on normal road...
    any tricks?

    thanks

  • 'jamaican skid' - place your front foot under the forward pedal and pull up, whilst pressing down with the back foot (back-pressure). google for a video clip etc.
    EDIT - weight forward as usual! try and 'catch' the forward pedal rather than slamming your foot under it. (It can hurt if you try this at speed.)

  • Sorry to dig this post out of the grave, but... Is it possible to do the equivalent of locking the pedals without toe clips/cleats? Can one skid with normal pedals ?

    You can but riding a fixed bike without clips and straps, or clipless is crazy.

    It you really can't get on with either, get a set of flat BMX pedals and these.

    Oh, and a brake.

  • I should have added - This should not be your only means of slowing down!!
    Having your feet attached to the pedals is much easier once you get up to speed.
    My fixed-bike with flat pedals is a shopping / station / pub / polo MTB with 2 brakes and low gearing.

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Braking, how to?

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