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@benjamin1750
Nope, this isn't about my smack habit.
I got a Fuji Track [thanks for the advice and threads I searched about this before making my purchase -- a 58 and it seems to fit great.]
On the basis of other threads, I got a Shimano 105 on it. The guy at Evans was very pleasant and enthusiastic but reckoned that if I was going to get one brake I should put it on the back, but I sort of thought that was wrong.
I cycled it from Spitalfields home and it was an interesting first experience riding fixed. No zen thing going on, of course, but however.
But... um, how was I supposed to stop?
A daft question, perhaps, but searching the forum I didn't find any information for an absolute newbie like myself. Yes, I could ride for three days in the Cotswolds and find out how to stop, but I'm looking for some tips that'll let me survive the first 20-odd hours of riding my new bike.
I rode about ten miles an hour on my short trip and tried to use a combination of braking and sort of pushing back on the pedals to stop. I wasn't properly secured by the straps since I thought that might spell disaster. But maybe I should have, and rely more on pulling up on the pedals than I was?
I think the Fuji Track has quite a high gearing. Would I find brakeless stopping much easier if I got the gearing changed to something lower? Is it just that it takes a little while to get the right muscles up to scratch?
I'm a little confused by the fact that if I'm using the front brake I should shift my weight back with the whole thing about somehow shifting my weight forward if I want to use the pedals to brake.
Do I have to pretty much decide between a) a brake stop or b) leaning forward and locking the back wheel.
And the whole thing of locking the back wheel is unclear. Does one lock one's legs? I understand from other threads [and, yes, I really, I have done a search] that I want my legs at 3 o'clock/9 o'clock, but how do I lock my legs like that!?
If it's a toss-up between braking and pedal-stopping [sic?], what's the maximum speed I can do the former at?
I know that all this will come with time, but I'm hoping to get some information about it all before going under a bus. Maybe it's the case that you can't stop within 20 metres before riding for a certain length of time, but if there are any tips or links that'd be great.
Sorry for such a possibly ridiculous-sounding query, but in my little journey the other day I just found it impossible to stop in a shortish stretch despite going slowly.
What, also, out of interest, will be the best I can hope for after time? Say you're going along at 18mph or so, is it simply the case that you can't stop within a given distance?
Looking forward to the sarcastic remarks as well as, hopefully, some helpful pointers,
Ben