Genesis flyer owners

PS. May i inquire how many people who do run a brakeless track bike with 90 gi on the road you have berated for doing so this year? Just out of curiosity.

actually i do know someone who does this, and he's perfectly capable of stopping.

Am i meant to get a hard on for you coz u ride 90 gi on the track or something?
I'm sure theres plenty of novice riders take the front brake off their freewheel bikes to make their bikes look more like fixed wheel bikes and thusly have a total lack of control of their bikes
However, were i one of those riders would i have freely posted that i ride freewheel flat pedal or would i have left you guessing if it was fixed and made up a story about why i didn't have toeclips fitted in the pic?
Would i have told you that i run 180mm cranks or would i have hoped that noone noticed my cranks weren't 165mm?
The reason i replied with "Why not? Its my bike." was because i don't go around jumping down the throats of those that do ride fixed brakeless with silly gi on the road. I don't tell people who ride fixed - or freewheel - & 2 brakes that they are pussys for doing it. We may slag off some bikes on the anti-porn thread but thats in good humour. Feel free to post my bike in there if you want, i can take it. Just don't come moaning about how i run my bike and expect me to be apologetic about it.

I sometimes get drunk and drive because I like it. I feel safe doing so and have yet to cause anyone injury, so it must be OK.

Am i meant to get a hard on for you coz u ride 90 gi on the track or something?

it was a response to your comment about what i ride on the track, not some kind of boast.

you're not making much sense, frankly.

but enjoy your riding, however and whatever your ride.

Am i meant to get a hard on for you coz u ride 90 gi on the track or something?

Maybe you weren't meant to but I know I did. I had to think about a Unipak to make it go down.

Maybe you weren't meant to but I know I did. I had to think about a Unipak to make it go down.

don't go wasting those blue pills.

not at your age..

I sometimes get drunk and drive because I like it. I feel safe doing so and have yet to cause anyone injury, so it must be OK.

Fatalities in the UK in 2007 related to drink driving = 460
Deaths caused by cyclists worldwide = approximately 1 every 2 years

Fatalities in the UK in 2007 related to drink driving = 460
Deaths caused by cyclists worldwide =** approximately 1 every 2 year**s

See, we're just not trying hard enough.

Fatalities in the UK in 2007 related to drink driving = 460
Deaths caused by cyclists worldwide = approximately 1 every 2 years

Oh, there is much worse stuff going on, so that makes it OK.

See, we're just not trying hard enough.

They're not counting cyclists who record offending motorists number plate, track them down to their home and kill them while they sleep.

mechanical_vandal,

i don't really want to get into a big bunfight over this but i just can't see why you'd do it other than to make a bike look like a fixed?

yes of course it's your bike and you can run it how you want but i just don't understand the logic of your "why not?" argument. it's not like we're talking about some kerrazy modification that has other benefits to performance at the detriment of safety. all taking the front brake of a ss does is make it worse at stopping. that's it. it's like cutting the seatbelts off or disabling three of the four brakes on yr car. why not? it's your car? the only thing the modification does is make you significantly more likely to get hurt or hurt others.

i can understand riding a track bike on the road because that's the way they exist, sans brake and most* people who do ride without brakes are capable of stopping and controlling their bikes with their drive train and only do so when they are sure of this. personally i'd feel vulnerable without a front brake.

*obviously there are some people who blatantly should not not be riding brakeless. as there are some people who should not be riding full stop.

i can also understand taking the back brake off a fixed gear road bike as it's pretty much redundant if you're able to control the braking of the back wheel with your drive train plus you've got the front brake for added back-up and for subtly adjusting weight distribution.

what i can't understand is actively removing the already existing back brake from a freewheel bike leaving you with no control over braking yr back wheel. it just makes no sense to me.

as far as i understand it with fixed brakeless in an braking emergency you're going to be able to brake hard/skid and steer the back of the bike with your legs while at the same time steering with the front to avoid trouble. with a front brake only fixed you're able to do all of the above plus the extra security and control of a front brake.

but with a front brake only and no means of arresting that back wheel your only option in an emergency is yank the front brake and quite likely go face-first over the handlebars.

to be fair from your other posts i see you ride brakeless bmx so i'm sure you've got pretty decent bike control and may well be able to avoid that fate but still... i don't get why you wouldn't just leave the back brake on?!

sorry to go on - but your grumpy persistance in arguing your point (along the lines of "why not") has made me wonder what's really going on here.

dooks.

it's anarchy. pure and unadulterated anarchy.

ride an illegal bike, jump a light or two, knock a coppers hat off, scrumpin apples and back home in time for tea.

Brake threads.. the RLJ/H_lm_t debates of the fixed gear world.

You're so UNFAIR!

oh fuck i know.

i've been avoiding it for so long too. maybe i'd been bottling it up too long.

i see a lot of ss front brake only running flats. there's an mtb with this set up outside my office now in fact. been there every day for weeks. i usually just raise an eyebrow and walk on by but today... oh dear. i seem to have spaffed self righteousness all over this thread.

no more internets for me today.

I dinny really want a bunfight either.
I suppose if i explain my reasons for running just a front brake better it might help.
The first bike i used with only a front brake was a bmx. My bmx originally had 2 brakes and i tried using a gyro so i could do barspins etc but didn't like the performance. I realised i din't really use the rear brake for much (certainly not for any tricks) so i took it off. I found i could stop my bike just as well using a front brake alone and so i ran with this set up for a while.

Around this time i converted a road bike to s/s and as it had crap side pull calipers on it i removed these and fitted a more modern, more functional front brake to it.
I only fitted a front brake as i liked the simple look of having only the 1 short cable (note i didn't even know about fix wheel bikes/fix culture at this time) and because it meant that my 2 bikes were set up very similarly.
I like my bikes to look really simple. When i buy a bmx frame i generally cut the brake lugs and cable guides off before i even build it. It is for this simple look that i stick to steel frames, traditional double triangle frames and simple colours.

I rode both my bikes with a front brake for a long while and as far as i was concerned i was able to control my bike well and have never - even on the shorter wheelbased bmx - had any problems keeping the back wheel on the ground never mind going over the bars.

Since then i progressed to or decided upon riding brakeless on my bmx.
I converted several other road bikes and mountain bikes - for road use -to s/s and kept the set up the same, front brake only and i still have never had a problem with rear wheel lift.

I have not removed the rear brake from the Genesis as i built it from a frame set.
I am aware that now that fixed wheel bikes are in fashion people may presume i am pretending or jumping on a bandwagon but i can assure you that is not the case.

By the way, i also ride a motorbike and i am aware that i do about 80-90% of braking with the front brake.

I converted several other road bikes and mountain bikes - for road use -to s/s and kept the set up the same, front brake only and i still have never had a problem with rear wheel lift.

Clearly you're not riding fast enough then...
;-D

fair enough. if all that's true then you're a pretty unusual case and i apologise for the acres of sanctimonious finger-pointing.

i still think it's pretty silly though

runs away

I get rear wheel lift even on a fixed, sometimes in emergency stops. :( It's f*cking scary.

Hi All,

I ride a Genesis Flyer and am planning some upgrades. Thinking about changing to short flat handlebars and I also need some new rims as mine are getting fragile under my 17.5 stone frame (ain't nothing like a fat man going up hill).

Any suggestions for handlebar upgrades?

http://mtbnews.net/people/mehukatti/flyer_3264.jpg

Received the bike and it feels nice and fast. And the 58cm size is perfect (184cm/88cm inseam).

where did you get the multi speed fixed hub, also one for other users:
will shortly be the happy owner of a flyer, but want to make the hubs more secure than the current bolt arrangement can anyone recomend hubs that can be used with the multi key security system? cheers i advance

Apologies for bringing the thread back on track - no pun intended - but I think the 09 flyer green is horrid, not sure what they were doing there. If you like it/ride it fair enough though.

Hi, been lurking for a while but just signed up - first post.

After riding my old Specialized hardrock mountain bike in one gear on the road for the past few months, I finally bit the bullet and have bought a Genesis Flyer (2008 white one) so I'm now just waiting for it to show up...

I love mine.