Gear ratio effect on stopping/skidding

It is, to be honest, sheer bloody-mindedness that has seen me keeping that gear- I always used to rock around on 48/18.

In a way it's a nice challenge trying to control the bike with a bigish GI, especially as I am really just learning to skid etc- my theory is that if I learn on this then anything else will be easy.

Yeah but trying to continually skid/skip stop/whatever on that kind of GI is going to be really really harsh on your knees, you only get one set of knees!

A drop to 66-68GI will allow you to still hit close to 30mph relatively comfortably, but still give you so much more bike control than you have now, making stopping etc require far less effort.

Cunningly I am almost five weeks into my weight loss plan- 71.2 kilo's according to the scales this morning, so I am trying to stop much less mass than before (82 kilo's on forum second birthday).

Eating soup is cheaper than getting a new sprocket and chain- plus Jimbilly has not let me know that the new one's have arrived, so I presume he has forgotten.

I do this.

Spotted..... doing it

sorry if its a re-re-re-post but some good snakey skids on here, good tune for this time of night too, enjoy,.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh5Pr1k7I34

WOHWOH
chill mate i am epileptic so allow taking the piss.
i do have a front brake that i mainly use.

that's the thing, you said you're afraid of going over the bar with the front brake, my advice is to learn how to slow down as quickly as possible in an emergency first before you learn how to control your speed with a fixed wheel.

deadly fanny pack: I think you missed backward pedalling.

But honestly, skidding with a fixed bike is just as childish and pointless as with a freewheel bike.

maybe, but whats wrong with being childish ;)

Rely on brakes for stopping, its a no brainer. Youll figure out stopping/slowing using legs by riding more, but best to always keep a brake on there.

good advice, if you can't slow/stop properly without brakes then you shouldn't have taken them off in the first place.

What happens on a long descent where you cant keep up with the spinning, or want to slow because there is poor grip (rain drains etc) you gonna do skids every few metres?

On long descents, yes unfortunately you have to do a few big skids to scrub speed off, if there is poor grip then on any kind of flat ground then you shouldn't be riding too fast for the conditions in the first place no matter how many or how few brakes you've got!

Its not very hard to engage a skid even if your going really fast and the road is dry and grippy, but if you are going fast and it is a downhill. Do not expect to stop, do expect to ruin tyres and potentially be thrown from the bike depending on how prepared you were.

You can certainly expect to get through tyres if you are bombing hills on a regular basis, but as for getting thrown from the bike.....I don't know how that would happen unless you fucked something up pretty majorly!

What happens when you are going too fast round a corner afraid of pedal strike/slipping on drain. If you try to skid while turning sharply you will easily spin out.

Why on earth would you skid mid-corner? Seriously? If you do something that stupid then you deserve to come off, (I know some people do it for fun but thats a different subject), just resist the pedals to adjust your speed, simples :)

What happens when you are stuck in traffic and have to continually accellerate and stop abruptly - very tiring without a brake.

Not really..... I do it every single day 7 days a week through central London, as do many many other people, HTFU!

What happens in any true 'emergency stop' ? how many long time experienced brakeless riders can say they could stop suddenly for something they really werent expecting (with two brakes, or one brake + fixed wheel, stopping is very fast & controlled)

You stop as quick as you can....thats generally what happens during an emergency stop, on many occasions I have had to stop suddenly for stupid pedestrians, cab drivers doing unplanned u-turns etc.
This is London my friend, and I ride through its centre every day.

What happens when you get a rear flat when going at speed?

The same as on any other bike, you attempt to come to a stop as gently as you can without sliding out and crashing, i've had two rear flats in the last 8 months on my bike and neither have caused me to crash.

And a big one, what happens if your chain snaps?

Again, this has happened to me twice in the last 6 months (i'm quite hard on my bike and they were shit quality chains), both times I just jammed my foot in the back wheel, skidded to a halt and dismounted the bike, years of brakeless bmxing FTW ;)

You (the OP) should know that riding without brakes for fashion/style is stupid. And that for even very experienced, skilled cyclists who have a lot of confidence in traffic. Riding brakeless fixed is still much more dangerous than having a braking function for each wheel.

IMO its not more dangerous than riding with a rear brake on its own, but yes you do have more stopping power if you also have a front brake, however I haven't owned a bike with a front brake since I was 12, and I haven't ridden a bike with brakes since I was 15.

yup thats precisely what i do

on a fixed wheel? bullshit. fucking troll.

IMO its not more dangerous than riding with a rear brake on its own, but yes you do have more stopping power if you also have a front brake, however I haven't owned a bike with a front brake since I was 12, and I haven't ridden a bike with brakes since I was 15.

Only the first sentence was aimed at you crazyjames, the rest at the OP. Who seemed to be someone with very little experience of riding a bike, and jumped a brakeless fixed with ridiculously high gearing on the busy streets of our fair capital.

sorry if its a re-re-re-post but some good snakey skids on here, good tune for this time of night too, enjoy,.
YouTube - Hutchinson Tires Urban Video 2008

some skillful riding there, and great camera work!

that's the thing, you said you're afraid of going over the bar with the front brake, .

Recently I had to brake real hard (or hit a car turning right) and I pulled as hard as I could on both levers (geared bike). At no time did I feel like I would go over the bars. Only time I've ever gone over the bars was many years ago as an young teenager when a plastic front mudguard came adrift and mangled itself into the gap under the front brake causing instant deceleration and spontaneous faceplant.

fucking love that bit betweenthebuses,.......
bus strokes are the new skidding

Only the first sentence was aimed at you crazyjames, the rest at the OP. Who seemed to be someone with very little experience of riding a bike, and jumped a brakeless fixed with ridiculously high gearing on the busy streets of our fair capital.

Yeah i'm in agreement with you man, i'm not defending the OP's decision at all, I think he's being very stupid, I just like a good debate is all ;)

fucking love that bit betweenthebuses,.......
bus strokes are the new skidding

Yeah thats one of my favourite shots, fantastic camera work as well.

I just bought myself my first fixed gear bike.
And i'm having trouble braking.
I've tried locking my legs but i cant get the wheels to stop turning.
They just force my legs around.
Any ideas why ?

Thanks

You need to lean forward and take the weight off the rear. Even if you are not skidding, you should be able to slow down just by resisting. Also, you should probably get a front brake if you don't have one. No matter what anyone tells you, braking on the front is far more efficient than breaking on the rear. Break on the front until the rear starts to lift, then modulate. Skids are not a very good way to stop in an emergency...

Cunningly I am almost five weeks into my weight loss plan- 71.2 kilo's according to the scales this morning, so I am trying to stop much less mass than before (82 kilo's on forum second birthday).

Dude, you're nearly down to my weight and you're nearly a foot taller than me.

Cunningly I am almost five weeks into my weight loss plan- 71.2 kilo's according to the scales this morning, so I am trying to stop much less mass than before (82 kilo's on forum second birthday).

Eating soup is cheaper than getting a new sprocket and chain- plus Jimbilly has not let me know that the new one's have arrived, so I presume he has forgotten.

Why the weight loss? It makes me sad when people lose weight, sacrificing real food and good health. Unless you have problems with obesity, dont do it my friend! Ride your high gear, sprint from stops but eat big and watch your muscles grow!

Why the weight loss? It makes me sad when people lose weight, sacrificing real food and good health. Unless you have problems with obesity, dont do it my friend! Ride your high gear, sprint from stops but eat big and watch your muscles grow!

I don't think it was through choice, he smashed up his jaw after some dickhead knocked him off whilst stationary at a set of lights, and hasn't been able to eat solid food for weeks.

I don't think it was through choice, he smashed up his jaw after some dickhead knocked him off whilst stationary at a set of lights, and hasn't been able to eat solid food for weeks.

Sorry to hear that... but great thread btw

1:43 shows my old bridge commute in the mid ground!

this thread is hilarious.

skids are for kids. I know it's going to piss alot of people off here, but really:

a) a skid is not a trick, it's a skid.. its something that will slow you down but also costs you money in tyres, and gives you less control than resisting or braking in a normal way and is generally dangerous in/around traffic unless you're a very experienced and technically accomplished cyclist

b) if you want to do 'tricks' on your bike, don't do it on a 700c wheeled track frame. It's stupid, they're not designed for that..if you want to bar spin, ride banks, hop etc ride a bmx or a 24" singlespeed street/jump bike, with proper rims and with tubes/geometry that can take it.

sorry, I know thats probably a really taboo thing to say here, but I grew up riding mountain bikes and bmx (still do when I have time), so the whole fixed-freestyle thing really makes me cringe.

Just go ride your bike mate and stop worrying about whether you're stopping in the right way.

what other ways are there to stop brakeless

Why do you seem so keen to go brakeless? It seems a little nuts to me. In my opinion, to ride brakeless you have to be very confident and know what your doing. If you are grinding your shoes on your wheel to slow down, you obviously do not know what you are doing. You probably would die if you went brakeless. So get a brake, and use it.

@iro_dan I wouldn't say it's taboo at all to say stuff like that here..

There are a number of 'fixed freestylers' on the forum but I wouldn't say they're in the majority. I will say though that they can do what they like on whatever bike they like

@iro_dan I wouldn't say it's taboo at all to say stuff like that here..

There are a number of 'fixed freestylers' on the forum but I wouldn't say they're in the majority. I will say though that they can do what they like on whatever bike they like

yes, true! I'm not a bike fascist! Just tools for the job you know.... Track bikes don't have the right geom and the wheels aren't strong enough to really any of that stuff.
Why make it harder for yourself?

Unless it's just to look cool? ;)

increasingly I think 'track' bikes are being designed around tricks riders.. stronger tubing/wheels etc

perhaps it is subconsciously about looking cool but should any of us really care? these people are having fun on bikes and feel like they're part of something.. trying to fit in and/or impress is the human condition

You forget one factor- it's fun to skid to a stop. Yes, I am a child.

It's the only reason I do it- when I want to slow down in a hurry I use the brake.