Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - joined the ranks of clipless and brakeless...

no problems yet. skipping feels kind of weird--pulling up with the front foot doesn't seem right. a badckwards swipe feels better, but doesn't lock up the rear as well. still figuring it out, but god, it's good, and the "clipping out while stopping" fear seems to be pretty unreasonable. and i'm using a friend's beat up old spds till my beat up old spds get shipped from idaho...so they're not even all that fancy a system.

Cool beans...I can remember when it was all just an alcohol-induced dream of yours!

Now you have but to learn backward circles, and your training is complete, young padwan.

i love clipless, feel more connected.
even though you are connected, i have always unclipped when i have crashed.
not even a concious thing either, just happens.
can't recomend time atacs enough, if you upgrade one day.
i had spd's at first, but after using atacs i wouldn't go back to spd's.
Have fun.

I had to skweez my frontie today twice 'cuz I couldnt keep up
with the pedals on two MONSTER downhills....
You guys who can ride brakeless have Godzilla Balls :eek: !!
..................................................................http://deephousepage.com/smilies/praise2.gif

or no brains. heh. nah, i'm just used to the downhills i go down on a regular basis, and can keep speed in control...it's just a matter of muscle. wasn't easy at first without skipping. but there's half the battle right there, maintaining speed. the other thing i do is just to watch cars and anticipate stupid moves they'll make. 9 times out of 10, i've been able to slow down or plan alternate routes to stay out of their paths. so far, it doesn't look like clipless will make that any harder...and, oh, the power transfer...so beautiful it brings a tear to my eye.

the "clipping out while stopping" fear seems to be pretty unreasonable.

Don't get too cocky. When I started with clipless (a few weeks ago), I thought the same thing. Luckily when I did fall over, I had a Chrome bag full of soft crap on my back because I fell back-first into the curb. That could've really hurt, but since it didn't, I just lay on the ground laughing at my dumb ass for a few seconds. It's especially funny because the harder you try to unclip while falling, the harder it is. Then you hit the ground and just pop right out. Anyway, good luck and I hope it doesn't happen to you.

heh. i was referring to the fear of clipping out while skidding or skipping. when i first went to clipless a while back on a road bike, i practiced stopping and clipping out on a quiet street for a while before going anywhere, and learned all about doing that.

i don't skip or skid much except just for the hell of it, or when panicking, so i don't expect that to be a problem. i just can't seem to pull straight up.

man i fell over while trying to do a backwards circle clipped in. that moment as i was falling and my instincts could not get my feet off the pedals was horrible.

okay. now that will probably happen. a couple of times i've lost trackstands just by psyching myself out about falling over while clipped in.

maaaaan
clipless is hardcore

Clipless is nothing compared to brakeless on platforms. Sometimes I zip around town with street shoes and my clipless pedals still attached. To skid, you just loop your foot under the leading pedal and pull up. It's pretty exciting to say the least.

i've thought about doing that. the fixed bikes for local bike polo have much lower gears, and skidding on platforms is ****ing easy in those gears. i've thought about having a low-gear fixed for downtown-changing-speeds-a-lot-and-skidding-all-over riding. which...i usually don't ride like that, but i'd feel required to with a bike like that.

i just can't seem to pull straight up.

what do you mean by that? do you come unclipped when you pull up?

man, i can not wait until i can buy a clipless setup! i've been saving forever and unforseen expenses just keep getting in the way (hooray for college).

nah. it just didn't seem to do much, or feel right. and the wrong twist of the foot probably would have caused me to pull out. i'm still actually relearning skipping and skidding (sucky, although i haven't used either in almost a month now), but it seems swiping my foot backwards at the top of the rotation--just as you normally would at the bottom--is the most effective method. like actually pedaling backwards, as opposed to just reverse pressure.

oh man. going clipless has changed my LIFE! and i'm never going back.
high five for clipless!

yeah, i know there are plenty of threads about the glories of clipless...but that's because for day-to-day riding (read: not skid competitions), they're great.

main point of this thread, since as we all know, there are many, is that i'm relearning some skills i had before and may have to work into again while using clipless.

i'm just waiting for someone to steal my brakes someday.
thats why I always leave em' unlocked :)

I came real close to trying clipless again this weekend. REI had a great price on Eggbeaters during their big sale. I ended up with some unicorn skin tires instead. I'm nervous based on my past experiences with SPDs.

clipless brakeless is ****ing zen.

I can't remember what pedals and straps feel like anymore.


Also, what's real fun is riding bmx platforms, with no straps and no clips. Real real fun, not too too hard to slow down at all, but hard as **** to stop on a dime.

isabella is the sh*t. Board track bars!

hey, thanks dude...those are sort of my default bars nowadays, followed by a pair of flat bars. then the track drops, then the risers. those aren't my only bars, just my main ones.

as far as the zen thing, i dunno. maybe, but i don't think of it like that. still, an awful lot of thought goes into brakeless riding, with or without clipless.

You'll be amazed at the monster bunny hops you can do with a clipless set-up if that's your sort of thing.

what do you mean by that? do you come unclipped when you pull up?

man, i can not wait until i can buy a clipless setup! i've been saving forever and unforseen expenses just keep getting in the way (hooray for college).

just wait for the right deal... I'm waiting on these that i picked up on ebay for 50 bucks plus shipping... just a few days now, sweeeeeet.

^^^ flex city

oh man. going clipless has changed my LIFE! and i'm never going back.
high five for clipless!

It really did!

I didn't think a whole nother thread was needed on this...today at the LBS I got some sweet Shimano mountain shoes and eggbeaters for $100 or so...worth every dang penny. I wasn't quite convinced that this would improve my riding, but its like a while new level for me. Definitely feel in tune with my bike. I thought there would be quite a learning curve since ive never ridden clipless before, but it was far easier than I thought. The few times I goofed and forgot to clip out, I kind of freaked out but the beaters let me out when I needed them to.

The guy there, who is really cool, was trying to sell me some Shimano pedals which looked great and all, but I've just heard so much good about the eggbeaters, and they weren't too much more. "We dont sell much of those" he said. I'm glad I got them though, I really enjoy supporting companies who make great products and support their customers, and it seems that Crank Bros. definitely does that.

Skidding is pretty intuitive compared to using straps, and bunny hopping is funner than crap. I was not sure if I would want to have to deal with needing special shoes and all that, but it is well, well worth the slight inconvenience. These shoes are actually just fine for wearing all day anyways.

Anyways even though theres tons of support for them already, I just wanted to say that these are some awesome high quality pedals, very easy to get in and out of and great for city riding, and I highly recommend them to anyone interested in getting into clipless. I would say unless all you do is short very casual rides, you could definitely benefit from going clipless. Thanks for readin my semi-intoxicated rave (its my birthday and all)

I unclipped for the first time yesterday, braking hard at a short yellow light that I was sprinting to make. But ATACs are so easy to engage that after one goofy one-legged pedal rotation, I was back in and finished my deceleration.

Try that when your straps break! :D

Mentioned upthread but I'll restate for all the kids at home:

Fixed + brakeless + flats = ****ed.


But yeah, clipless ist rad.

yeah, i keep thinking about running a brake now. i may anyway, if only so i can bomb hills faster without worries.

Riding brakeless shouldn't be about forcing yourself to feel comfortable and safe.
If you are having any sort of second thoughts or reservations, just put the brake back on.

yeah...i actually feel perfectly fine, which is why i haven't put a brake on yet. i just wonder if i'd feel even better than i already do, or if i've forgotten what to do with brakes (last time i rode a freewheel bike, i had for sure). might as well do it, i guess.