How can you skid / How to do skids / skidding

High gearing, schmigh gearing. Htfu. I've never had a problem stopping on my Track, and I ride like an idiot.

If you want some real help, I only ever used my front brake for about 2 months. Then when pissed one day I thought I'd try skidding on ice and it worked really well. So in one foul swoop I learned the basics of skidding. I can't skid every single time but the process of attempting it slows me down quicker. Plus if you read Sheldon he recommends leaning forward enough to the point of minimum contact between rear wheel and ground.

All this braking was new to me anyway, I'd ridden brakeless BMX for too many years!

Same hence why my front brake lasted about 4 days before it actually annoyed me, cut my thumb going over a pothole, so I took it off, and it felt much more normal :)
I think the rudeness of alot of these responses to this guy is a bit over the top though, I know it may all seem normal and funny to anyone who frequents this forum regularly, but it's a bit harsh to react to someone like that who we don't know, and who is genuinely asking for our help about something fixed gear bike related.
I think we should put up a sticky Fixed gear FAQ post in the general forum, it would stop alot of these posts cluttering up the board, and stop a lot of people like this guy from feeling stupid and embarassed just for asking a basic question, just because they have never owned a fixed gear bike before, it would also limit the amount of time that a lot of you guys spend acting like overly superior arseholes, and belittling people, because you know more about something than they do.

I used to ride 50-19 but found it too spinny.

all it take is getting used to it, I used to ride 52-16 for 6 months on the Peugeot, now 48-19.

fucking spinny the first months, but now, it's all spin FTW.

For everybody telling him to fit a brake: he already did! Read the OP...

2819 - IMO you should change the rear cog to something with more teeth. What are you on now? 48x16? Change to 48x19. This will make it easier to stop. It is fine to use a combination of brake and resisting the pedals. With a gear change, you may find that you can stop by resisting the pedals without skidding (good because it saves rubber). With the new gear, you will find it a lot easier to learn how to skid. Wet grass is good to practice on.

it would also limit the amount of time that a lot of you guys spend acting like overly superior arseholes, and belittling people, because you know more about something than they do.

Agreed, but what would they do instead? ;)

For everybody telling him to fit a brake: he already did! Read the OP...

2819 - IMO you should change the rear cog to something with more teeth. What are you on now? 48x16? Change to 48x19. This will make it easier to stop. It is fine to use a combination of brake and resisting the pedals. With a gear change, you may find that you can stop by resisting the pedals without skidding (good because it saves rubber). With the new gear, you will find it a lot easier to learn how to skid. Wet grass is good to practice on.

19t FTW.

easier to accelerate, slow down, speed up, trackstand, wheelie...

Sorry for being so uncool but is someone going to tell me what FTW stands for? I figured it was fuck the world but that makes no sense.

For the win

An enthusiastic emphasis to the end of a comment, message, or post. Sometimes genuine, but often sarcastic.

Originated from the game show Hollywood Squares where the result of the player's response is expected to win the game.

lolz

VB, are you somehow able to stop Ed saying 'FTW'??

:)

VB, are you somehow able to stop Ed saying 'FTW'??

:)

fuck the world!

on a serious note, a rear brake is to no use on a fixed - you can stop your wheel by pedaling backwards, thats one of the reasons why you went fixed, so dont ruin it with a rear brake.

Of course a rear brake can be very useful, this is more noticeable on long rides with long descents.

Let's see.. first reply was me piss taking.. second reply was..

Front brake and feet attached to pedals ffs.
Now use the search button up the top for fun words like "skid" "stopping" "skip" "brakes" and read the results.

If you have to ask.. don't ride brakeless.

Thanks for all the replies.
Yep, I ended up getting a front brake instead of rear.
I don't know what the current cog is but, yep, I think I'll go and get a 48x19 fitted on the other side. Where would be the cheapest place to buy and fit it in London (central or east-ish), I wonder?

Thanks again for all remarks. I do realise that there's no better solution than experience etc and that these things take time. I've been browsing past threads, too.

Rather than just be a parasite with questions, I might as well add on an unconnected note that the Smart Superflash is awesome. I've a Dinotte rear light [which is unbelievably bright] but the Superflash is very, very impressive and given that it's about a sixth of the price is in my limited experience well worth getting. I don't understand why some people eschew having lights, but however, that's something for another thread I guess....

They are super bright but how long do the batts last compared to the normal Smart light (which I have).

Loads of peeps east could help with fitting cogs. Go to East drinks. Cogs can be found Tour de Ville, online, Condor, BLB, etc

I've got a flat right now so I left my bike behind over Christmas whilst visiting my parents.

Do you not have a spare tube?

They are super bright but how long do the batts last compared to the normal Smart light (which I have).

Loads of peeps east could help with fitting cogs. Go to East drinks. Cogs can be found Tour de Ville, online, Condor, BLB, etc

Cheers. Battery life on the Superflash claims to be 190 hours on flash mode and 30 hours on constant. No idea how accurate that is, though.

dont bother changing gearing or getting cogs. The best advice I got was just htfu. Its easier to skid when ur goin faster. Also I didnt really realize that I had to pull up with one leg as opposed to just pushing down with the back leg. Trying to shove ur back wheel out to the side helps to. You might just skip the wheel for the first while but it'll eventually become a skid. I really learned how to stop when i went out in the pissing rain and spent hours skidding around

Cheers. Battery life on the Superflash claims to be 190 hours on flash mode and 30 hours on constant. No idea how accurate that is, though.

Sit and watch? 8D

dont bother changing gearing or getting cogs. The best advice I got was just htfu. Its easier to skid when ur goin faster. Also I didnt really realize that I had to pull up with one leg as opposed to just pushing down with the back leg. Trying to shove ur back wheel out to the side helps to. You might just skip the wheel for the first while but it'll eventually become a skid. I really learned how to stop when i went out in the pissing rain and spent hours skidding around

to be honest I was told that 2 years ago, didn´t really helped much, it was the cog change that helped dramatically.

Thanks for all the replies.
Yep, I ended up getting a front brake instead of rear.
I don't know what the current cog is but, yep, I think I'll go and get a 48x19 fitted on the other side. Where would be the cheapest place to buy and fit it in London (central or east-ish), I wonder? ...

I think that the Fuji Track is a flip-flop hub (one side free, one side fixed), so you really don't want to put a fixed cog on the other side.

Do you not have a spare tube?

Not at the time.

I have to dab my front brake and lean my weight forward slightly in order to pull a skid.

I prefer swinging to the right, than the left, when I skid.

Am I normal?

Are you new here?

Been skulking for a while, posted occasional bits. Hi.

I prefer to ride my bike all day and then go to the pub?

Braking is the last on my mind as it slows me down?

Am I normal?