I have a new trick for you guys – I watched a guy use it to slow himself down the bridge this morning. He was also riding a fixed gear, and I passed him on the way up the bridge, but he was clearly a stronger and more experienced rider. He drafted me on the way up, and passed me after the zenith. As he neared the end of the bridge (where bikers have to pull a tight u-turn), he lifted his right foot off of the pedal and brought it behind him to the top of his rear wheel right behind the seat stay, planting his heel down on the wheel and slowing himself.
I tried it on the way home and it’s absurdly easy, and more effective than resisting the pedals. I use my left foot, since I start with my right and have an easier time getting my left foot back into the clips. I would say it’s about the same stopping power as the front brake, maybe a little less, but using the front brake and the heel brake at the same time is comperable to front and rear brakes. In any case, I spent the whole evening riding that way, and found that I didn’t need my front brake at all. You learn the right spot to hit quickly, and it becomes second nature in no time. Of course, the catch is that you can’t do it with fenders, which I think both the RedLine and the One Way have! If you guys feel up to stripping the rear fender, give it a shot, otherwise, no big deal since y’all both have front AND rear brakes on those bikes. One day I’ll get the hang of the skid, but in the meantime, this is a great technique, and I can’t believe I never figured it out for myself. I think it’s easier on the tire too – rubbing against the soles of my Pumas vs. scraping against the concrete.
“I feel like I have a lot more control on a fixie”
uh huh. you just keep telling yourself that Mr. Cool guy! Track bikes belong on the track. Skidding reduces maneuverability. period. The ‘test’ showing the coaster brake stopping slower than the fixie was obviously faked. The guy on the coaster brake bike HAD A FRONT BRAKE, and for good reason too. Having front brakes is the safest way to stop ANY VEHICLE.
Your coolness is a danger to those around you- which really just makes you another asshole.
I’ve seen riders on brakeless track bikes with more control in traffic than I have, but I like having a front brake. Knowing that it’s there lets me go faster.
Finger, your generalization is quite ridiculous. I started riding the Raleigh One Way with a fixed gear. Did I think I was cool? Was I dangerous to myself and others? I hardly think so. First of all, most people don’t know what a fixed gear is, second of all, you can’t tell who’s riding a fixed gear unless your REALLY pay attention. A careless rider is a dangerous to anyone no matter what bike he/she rides. Also, the One Way AND the 9-2-5 are hardly track bikes. Do fixed gear bikes belong on the track? I, as a rider, will decide for myself.
Ah, then he/she is mistaken. The subject of the video is a chick not a dude. I was not able to tell that the chick is riding a track bike to tell you the truth. I know that the geometry is quite different, but to me a fixie is a fixed gear bike, track or not.
Moe: Yeah, it’s a containment hierarchy, like squares to rectangles. All track bikes are fixed-gear, but not all fixed-gear are track bikes. Technically, a track bike has a more vertical angle on the seat tube, no brakes or braze-ons, a shorter wheelbase and drop handlebars, but to most people, a fixed gear bike without brakes is a “track bike.”
[...] -The most popular post was the video featuring the comparison of a brakeless fixed gear bike and a bike with a coaster brake. “Finger” commented on his dislike for the video and calling ‘Cool Fixie Riders’ a-holes. Ouch. [...]
I guess the “coolness factor” of not wanting a front brake is about as dangerous as …….oh say talking on a cell phone while driving? or drafting 2″ away from the wheel in front of you in a road group.
When a fixie goes down in the city everyone points a finger at the fact that he doesn’t have brakes…….but when 30 guys go down hard in a crit….oh well thats just cool.
I live in Rotterdam and I just removed my front brake basically to point the “finger” at the way these idiots drive. By the way, in holland you can be going the wrong way down a one way street, with no lights at night (lights are required), get hit by a car and its the car’s (driver) fault.
Fixed gears are for dumbasses. It’s funny how fixies justifies riding their bikes because of little maintenance. How many skids can you do before you have to replace your rear tire? You probably have to change your tire more often than your brake pads. And what’s easier, replacing a tire or a pair of brake pads? What costs more, tire or a pair of brake pads? And I disagree with the narrator. Coaster brakes are not on most adult bikes; coaster brakes are only on coaster bikes, hence the name. Most bikes have hand operated brakes and were invented for a reason, stopping power.
Now that bike in the background is your ideal city bike: the touring bike. Takes the load of your back with panniers, it’s fast, geared, efficient and has caliper brakes. Let’s see which can stop faster, a fixed gear bike or a touring bike. I’ll bet you a 1000 bucks that the touring bike will kick ass.
this is a ridiculous discussion. isn’t the point that this girl got charged with not being able to stop when the video clearly shows that she can stop? i mean isn’t that the point? the girl knows how to skid to a stop if need be so why does she deserve a ticket? she doesn’t. the social drama about fixed gear bikes is not the issue. she can stop. rad. move on.
I think most posters here understand the issue, but it should be pointed out explicitly that any bike with only a rear brake, whether that means a fixie a coaster or anything else, is inherently less safe. It takes several times as long to stop using a rear brake compared to a front brake.
Obviously, if the law allows a coaster brake with no front brake, there is little justification for outlawing fixies. Riding any bike without a front brake is stupid, and I tend to agree it should be illegal as it endangers people other than the operator quite unnecessarily.
I was riding into work a couple weeks ago and passed some brakeless wonder down interstate hill. The light turned red and my 230lbs of 20 year old 10-speed, fat assed body and panny full of books stopped before the intersection. This fixie, I’d just passed, skidded from behind me, a full 10 yards past into a police van, which fortunately had stopped cause the cop saw this fool skidded towards him.
i’m no bike genius, and my bike has crappy old brakes. but I stopped safely >30 ft sooner then this skidding fool. That guy would have been paste if it wasn’t for the vigilance of the cops.
If you are on public roads, then get and use brakes. Not having brakes is simple vanity. It endangers everybody on the road unnecessarily. The video is bs because the guy with the brakes skidded them and didn’t have to.
So is there a concensus forming here? Brakes are good. Fixies have their place. Hills can be real scary as they throw any discussion of stopping distances out of the window and that Holland is plain odd, but can’t be worse than Canada for daft road laws for pedestrians.
My personal suggestion is to stick it to the bad drivers of the world by being considerate and have fun on two wheels irrespective of style.
Peter, not Peter me, but the one before. Even coaster brakes are better than brakeless fixie. Coasters don’t have to skin. Rolling friction is much better than skidding friction for stopping your bike. If that guy with the coasters decided not to skid, he would have stopped shorter, plus he doesn’t have to unweight the rear wheel to start hard braking.
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I have a new trick for you guys – I watched a guy use it to slow himself down the bridge this morning. He was also riding a fixed gear, and I passed him on the way up the bridge, but he was clearly a stronger and more experienced rider. He drafted me on the way up, and passed me after the zenith. As he neared the end of the bridge (where bikers have to pull a tight u-turn), he lifted his right foot off of the pedal and brought it behind him to the top of his rear wheel right behind the seat stay, planting his heel down on the wheel and slowing himself.
I tried it on the way home and it’s absurdly easy, and more effective than resisting the pedals. I use my left foot, since I start with my right and have an easier time getting my left foot back into the clips. I would say it’s about the same stopping power as the front brake, maybe a little less, but using the front brake and the heel brake at the same time is comperable to front and rear brakes. In any case, I spent the whole evening riding that way, and found that I didn’t need my front brake at all. You learn the right spot to hit quickly, and it becomes second nature in no time. Of course, the catch is that you can’t do it with fenders, which I think both the RedLine and the One Way have! If you guys feel up to stripping the rear fender, give it a shot, otherwise, no big deal since y’all both have front AND rear brakes on those bikes. One day I’ll get the hang of the skid, but in the meantime, this is a great technique, and I can’t believe I never figured it out for myself. I think it’s easier on the tire too – rubbing against the soles of my Pumas vs. scraping against the concrete.
patently absurd.
“I feel like I have a lot more control on a fixie”
uh huh. you just keep telling yourself that Mr. Cool guy! Track bikes belong on the track. Skidding reduces maneuverability. period. The ‘test’ showing the coaster brake stopping slower than the fixie was obviously faked. The guy on the coaster brake bike HAD A FRONT BRAKE, and for good reason too. Having front brakes is the safest way to stop ANY VEHICLE.
Your coolness is a danger to those around you- which really just makes you another asshole.
Dang someone’s bitter…
[...] Ok back to the subject. We had a person named “finger” make a comment on a recent posting about fixies and coaster brakes. [...]
I’ve seen riders on brakeless track bikes with more control in traffic than I have, but I like having a front brake. Knowing that it’s there lets me go faster.
Finger, your generalization is quite ridiculous. I started riding the Raleigh One Way with a fixed gear. Did I think I was cool? Was I dangerous to myself and others? I hardly think so. First of all, most people don’t know what a fixed gear is, second of all, you can’t tell who’s riding a fixed gear unless your REALLY pay attention. A careless rider is a dangerous to anyone no matter what bike he/she rides. Also, the One Way AND the 9-2-5 are hardly track bikes. Do fixed gear bikes belong on the track? I, as a rider, will decide for myself.
Well, to be fair, I think Finger was referring to the subject of the video, who does ride a track bike, and not to fixed-gear bikes in general.
Ah, then he/she is mistaken. The subject of the video is a chick not a dude. I was not able to tell that the chick is riding a track bike to tell you the truth. I know that the geometry is quite different, but to me a fixie is a fixed gear bike, track or not.
Moe: Yeah, it’s a containment hierarchy, like squares to rectangles. All track bikes are fixed-gear, but not all fixed-gear are track bikes. Technically, a track bike has a more vertical angle on the seat tube, no brakes or braze-ons, a shorter wheelbase and drop handlebars, but to most people, a fixed gear bike without brakes is a “track bike.”
[...] -The most popular post was the video featuring the comparison of a brakeless fixed gear bike and a bike with a coaster brake. “Finger” commented on his dislike for the video and calling ‘Cool Fixie Riders’ a-holes. Ouch. [...]
I guess the “coolness factor” of not wanting a front brake is about as dangerous as …….oh say talking on a cell phone while driving? or drafting 2″ away from the wheel in front of you in a road group.
When a fixie goes down in the city everyone points a finger at the fact that he doesn’t have brakes…….but when 30 guys go down hard in a crit….oh well thats just cool.
get over it
I live in Rotterdam and I just removed my front brake basically to point the “finger” at the way these idiots drive. By the way, in holland you can be going the wrong way down a one way street, with no lights at night (lights are required), get hit by a car and its the car’s (driver) fault.
Gotta love it you whining losers
i make poop
Hey Now!
yess, i make big stinky on geared bike, fixed is the only way.
Fixed gears are for dumbasses. It’s funny how fixies justifies riding their bikes because of little maintenance. How many skids can you do before you have to replace your rear tire? You probably have to change your tire more often than your brake pads. And what’s easier, replacing a tire or a pair of brake pads? What costs more, tire or a pair of brake pads? And I disagree with the narrator. Coaster brakes are not on most adult bikes; coaster brakes are only on coaster bikes, hence the name. Most bikes have hand operated brakes and were invented for a reason, stopping power.
Now that bike in the background is your ideal city bike: the touring bike. Takes the load of your back with panniers, it’s fast, geared, efficient and has caliper brakes. Let’s see which can stop faster, a fixed gear bike or a touring bike. I’ll bet you a 1000 bucks that the touring bike will kick ass.
the due above me is an idiot i bet he eats his own poop.
this is a ridiculous discussion. isn’t the point that this girl got charged with not being able to stop when the video clearly shows that she can stop? i mean isn’t that the point? the girl knows how to skid to a stop if need be so why does she deserve a ticket? she doesn’t. the social drama about fixed gear bikes is not the issue. she can stop. rad. move on.
no shit brother!!!!
I think most posters here understand the issue, but it should be pointed out explicitly that any bike with only a rear brake, whether that means a fixie a coaster or anything else, is inherently less safe. It takes several times as long to stop using a rear brake compared to a front brake.
Obviously, if the law allows a coaster brake with no front brake, there is little justification for outlawing fixies. Riding any bike without a front brake is stupid, and I tend to agree it should be illegal as it endangers people other than the operator quite unnecessarily.
make poop on man above
I was riding into work a couple weeks ago and passed some brakeless wonder down interstate hill. The light turned red and my 230lbs of 20 year old 10-speed, fat assed body and panny full of books stopped before the intersection. This fixie, I’d just passed, skidded from behind me, a full 10 yards past into a police van, which fortunately had stopped cause the cop saw this fool skidded towards him.
i’m no bike genius, and my bike has crappy old brakes. but I stopped safely >30 ft sooner then this skidding fool. That guy would have been paste if it wasn’t for the vigilance of the cops.
If you are on public roads, then get and use brakes. Not having brakes is simple vanity. It endangers everybody on the road unnecessarily. The video is bs because the guy with the brakes skidded them and didn’t have to.
YO DAWG HEARD YOU LIKE BIKES, SO WE PUT A BIKE IN YO BIKE, SO YOU CAN RIDE WHILE YOU RIDE.
So is there a concensus forming here? Brakes are good. Fixies have their place. Hills can be real scary as they throw any discussion of stopping distances out of the window and that Holland is plain odd, but can’t be worse than Canada for daft road laws for pedestrians.
My personal suggestion is to stick it to the bad drivers of the world by being considerate and have fun on two wheels irrespective of style.
THE UNIVERSE….WHAT A GREAT CONCEPT.
Peter, not Peter me, but the one before. Even coaster brakes are better than brakeless fixie. Coasters don’t have to skin. Rolling friction is much better than skidding friction for stopping your bike. If that guy with the coasters decided not to skid, he would have stopped shorter, plus he doesn’t have to unweight the rear wheel to start hard braking.
TRU DAT……..BUT……..CAN YOU VULCANIZE MY TIRES WHILE I WAIT?
SPAGHETT!
I ride fixies and coasters. If your a good safe rider you are if not your not. It’s that SIMPLE.GOODDAY
can’t we just all get along?
OOH MAMA!
“ride a fixy because of the control” … yea right because it’s “trendy and cool” that’s why! it’s way more dangerous than a regular bike.
i make poop on janet
what about a fixie with front and rear brakes?
Seems that brakes at both ends would make it stop as fast as any other bike with brakes, and much faster than any brakeless fixed gear bike.