How can you skid / How to do skids / skidding

people want things so easy!

basically it's called practice, like anything. all the things you wrote in your post are true, those are ways to stop, now practice...in a few months, maybe years you will be able to brake effectively with just your legs. you can't expect to just get on a track bike for the first time and be able to control it like you used to control a freewheel!

1+ squillion, when I first ride fixed I expected everything to come to me easily, like how people buy mid-pro digital SLR and expected themselves to shoot like Ansel Adams.

Yeah but taking shit photos is different to ending up under a car.
It's SMART to ask questions and learn shit before EPIC BRAKE FAIL.
It's smarter, of course, to do this research yourself with handy features like search. :P

Yeah but taking shit photos is different to ending up under a car.
It's SMART to ask questions and learn shit before EPIC BRAKE FAIL.

of course but the logic still the same thought, learn how to take photos you might end up taking decent photos, learn how to ride a fixed wheel bicycles and you might end up being a decent fixed wheel cyclist.

Without instructions you might never work out how to turn your DSLR on, what then? :P

Nope, this isn't about my smack habit.

Can we have have a thread about your smack habit?

Can we have have a thread about your smack habit?

At least we've not covered this 100x before ;)

I think a thread about smack is a perfect antidote to a overblown christmas day with my parents and no bike to escape on!

why'd you change photo. i seem to recall you're a giant, no? did the denim crotch photo thing just not do it for you, or something?

Jeez...

this must be the longest one ever.

You have have missed the uber hip craze of fixie wheeled bicycling by a year and a half.

If you wish to keep your bicycle to use as transport be sensible and use brakes, (front more important than rear)

And note importantly, that leaning forward will in now way assist in decelleration nor is it a good idea when faced by Bus/HGV/Ped/wet descent

why'd you change photo. i seem to recall you're a giant, no? did the denim crotch photo thing just not do it for you, or something?

I'd get a front brake for the sake of having one. Better to have one and not use it often than to not have one and realise your face is inches away from the arse end of a London Bus when it's too late...

I've not been riding fixed long, six months maybe. I still have my front brake, I ride 50/17 and don't ride with clips. On most journeys I don't use the brake at all because I'm quite happy cruising around within my own means... but some days, I'm either in a hurry or genuinely cannot be fucked to slow down with my feet.

There we go, Merry Christmas.

go to trixie dix - that was where i learned to skid

I'd get a front brake for the sake of having one. Better to have one and not use it often than to not have one and realise your face is inches away from the arse end of a London Bus when it's too late...

I've not been riding fixed long, six months maybe. I still have my front brake, I ride 50/17 and don't ride with clips. On most journeys I don't use the brake at all because I'm quite happy cruising around within my own means... but some days, I'm either in a hurry or genuinely cannot be fucked to slow down with my feet.

that's why you cannot be fucked to slow down, understandably so cause it is a bitch to slow down at that gear ratios (50-17).

put a 21t cog, and you'll be surprised by how much easier everything has become, first couple weeks will be spinny but best to spin really, easier to slow down than high gearing while spinning despite going at lighting speed.

i dont think i'd ever ride brakeless on the london streets. just doesn't make any sense, why put yourself at risk for the sake of fashion? ive been riding fixed for a little less than 6 months and can stop perfectly without brakes, but someone put it really well in a post a few months back (who it was and what thread eludes me) - it doesn't matter if you can stop without brakes when everythings going right, its when shit's going wrong and an emergency stop based on reactions is required that it matters. frankly i just feel comforted knowing that my front brake is there if all else fails!

ive got a 52-18, and works fine for me just more chances of braking your knees thats all

( so dont listen to me, listen to the smart things others said above :)

that's why you cannot be fucked to slow down, understandably so cause it is a bitch to slow down at that gear ratios (50-17).

put a 21t cog, and you'll be surprised by how much easier everything has become, first couple weeks will be spinny but best to spin really, easier to slow down than high gearing while spinning despite going at lighting speed.

I used to ride 50-19 but found it too spinny. I live in Cambridge, most likely one of the most perfect cities for riding fixed as far as ease of riding. It's absolutely flat across most of the city and the road traffic is used to dealing with roads saturated with cyclists. I can still slow down with my feet, just not when I'm going flat out.

I've got a flat right now so I left my bike behind over Christmas whilst visiting my parents. I thought spending some time on this message board would ease the withdrawl but fuck I miss my bike.

ive got a 52-18, and works fine for me just more chances of braking your knees thats all

( so dont listen to me, listen to the smart things others said above :)

I like your style ;)

take the bike back and get a refund

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!

go back to the shop and punch that twat, then get him to fit a brake to the front. Hand him a P45 pre made up with the relavant boxes ticked etc... then walk out.

Ok, I'll spend some more time browsing. But it appears that 95% of the threads are dominated by discussions of whether it's sensible to forgo a brake for aesthetics or which bit of a tyre gets worn down by stopping.
But, indeed, I should spend some more time looking around.

forget about aestethics and fit a proper front break and a not to high gear ratio. I am riding fixed for about 3 years and still wouldn't go breakless. I even wear a helmet which is probably very uncool. but who cares.

A front brake is the most important, a rear is pretty much pointless on a fixed. When decelerating, your mass goes forward, ie, over the front wheel, which means it has a stupid amount of grip, so slamming on the front brake is gonna stop you 1000000x quicker than a rear brake, so just go for a front.

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.

You were right, a back break is almost useless, since your weight will be over the front wheel when slowing down. Plus you can slow the rear with your legs (with practice). Take a look at fixed gear gallery and you won't see any with just a back break.

I used Evans when I was starting out, but after learning a bit a bout bikes I value a good LBS much more. The guy at my LBS is knowledgeable, has a stock of obscure parts, doesn't try to sell me unsuitable/expensive items. When you go to get your free service (or before) get them to change your back break for a front. They should do this, because it was a mistake to give you one.

EDIT; apologies, repeat post.

If you have a front and a rear brake and apply them both to stop roughly 80% of the actual braking is delivered by the front brake.

When riding fixed you can supply the remaining 20% with your legs just by resisting the movement of the pedals.

If the chap from Evans prevailed upon you to fit the brake to the rear go back and swap it to the front, keep it on, and as has been said above go to Tixie Dix on a Tuesday and learn to skid with the other reprobates.

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.

A front brake, however is more important than anything on a fixed gear.

The proper ratios of braking in the dry are about 70% on the front and 30% rear (and thats not for fixed bikes, just noormal road bikes). If you elimenate those 70% dependace from your braking your putting all 100% braking on pedaling backwards. Now as i said earlier if youll want to do an evergency stop, it can blow your fecking knee caps out no problem, so i really dont recomend that. An emergency stop really becomes one then.

A front brake will help you spread out those percentages of braking, depending on things like how far forwards you're leaning and how much skidding you want to do. If you are riding in the wet the braking should be used about 50/50% so there will be your chance to cranck it up to 20/80% for skidding.
But remember that you will always have a front brake (even if you dont use it) there to stop you, in an emergency just like airbags in a car.

I thought Fuji Tracks weren't drilled for rear brakes?