Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Track bikes & the law

I have a question for all the american guys (and girls), something which is puzzling me for quite some time now.
Are track bikes (brakeless, of course) illegal in the united states? Everywhere? Does it depend on the state your living in?
I am asking, because in Germany, track bikes are completely illegal. The German law clearly states that all bikes have to have two brakes, which can be operated independently. Bikes also need:

1.) a bell
2.) lights (battery operated ones are NOT legal.),
3.) reflectors in the front and the rear
4) spoke reflectors
5.) pedal reflectors

(Of course my track bike is completely legal ;) )

And the german police is actually enforcing it. If you are in the wrong place at the wrong time and the police gets a hold of you (and the officers have a bad day), your bike will be checked, you will be registerd and forced to repair/add the missing features. I know of people who where forced to add the missing reflectors on their bikes. If your caught with no brakes, you have to pay a nice fee and add brakes to your bike. If that is not possible you have to prove that you have destroyed the bike.

So let me know about the situation in the states.

the brake laws vary depending on state. funnily enough, a lot of places require that you be able to skid your rear wheel on level dry pavement (which, obviously, you can do with no brakes).

all the other laws you mentioned are basically the same here. it's totally up to the cops' discretion whether or not to enforce them. i'm in dc, and usually in big cities they don't mess with cyclists unless you give them reason to.

That what I wanted to know. Thanks a lot.

I looked it up. here the city law is:
Helmets if under 18.
State law:
front lights at night,
rear red reflector,
one brake that works in good condition,
two abreast is okay.
Only Ut students have to register bikes if they are used for the campus.

"A person may not operate a bicycle unless the bicycle is equipped with a brake capable of making a braked wheel skid on dry, level, clean pavement. " ambigoussss

Law regulating bikes in the United States are based on the state and city/municipality in which you live.

Illinois requires: 1) front white light visible for 500 feet, rear red reflector visible for 600 feet; 2) no siren; 3) a brake to "adequately control movement of and stop" the bike.

Take a look at Chicago and Illinois bike law (http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalDeptCategoryAction.do?BV_EngineID=ccccaddhjjdkjifcefecelldffhdfhg.0&deptCategoryOID=-536887813&contentType=COC_EDITORIAL&topChannelName=SubAgency&entityName=Chicago+Bike+Program&deptMainCategoryOID=-536887813)

illinois requires you NOT to have a siren?

And the german police is actually enforcing it. If you are in the wrong place at the wrong time and the police gets a hold of you (and the officers have a bad day), your bike will be checked, you will be registerd and forced to repair/add the missing features. I know of people who where forced to add the missing reflectors on their bikes. If your caught with no brakes, you have to pay a nice fee and add brakes to your bike. If that is not possible you have to prove that you have destroyed the bike.



That reminds me of the difference between Heaven and Hell.

In heaven:

Your car is German
The police are British
Your lover is Italian
The cook is French
The Government is Swiss
Your boss is Irish
The roads are American

In Hell:

Your car is French
The Police are German
Your lover is Swiss
The cook is British
The government is Italian
Your boss is American
The roads are Irish

I find the law about having a light not powered by batteries to be pretty odd. Do you possibly know when those laws were enacted?

I've never been hassled here (Liverpool) nor in Illinois for bike laws, and I'm primarily in the streets.

In some states you are required by law to wear a helmet. The only other law I know of is that if you get hit by a car at night w/o lights it is your fault, not the drivers. I had a friend who got denied insurance because her light wasnt bright ENOUGH. Pretty bull****.

Yea what's up with a battery operated light being illegal in Germany?

in switerland you need all that crap that you need in germany,
...unless your bike weighs less than 10 kilograms, then you only
need the brakes and lights (at night). oh, plus you need a sticker
that registers your bike for liability insurance.

Here in the Bay Area it depends on the cops. A couple Friday's ago a group of us (10 guys on track bikes) were on a ride in the East Bay. We had a few beers and such. I was the only one in the group with lights, a helmet, and a front brake. The rest of them were all brakeless, helmetless, and lightless. We were riding in a couple of groups, with about half of the group a hundred yards ahead of the rest of us. We were riding on a four lane street (San Pablo, two lanes each direction), but it wasn't busy since it was around midnight, so we were taking up much of the entire right lane. Anyway, a cop passes the second group that I was in (with my lights) and pulls over the first group. We all stopped. My friend, who was drunk, was trying to track stand while we waited and crashed right into me. Another cop car saw that and pulled over. I thought they were going to ticket us all with DUIs or something, but instead they just asked if my friend who crashed was ok, where we were coming from and heading, and if we had been drinking ("of course not ociffer"). Then they said that since I was the only legal one in the bunch, I just needed to make sure that we all stayed together in one group. Then they sent us on our merry ways.

yeah the cops are pretty strict about bicycle safety in Germany. the logic goes something like this, if youre cycling (moving, why would you be on a road and not be moving?) a generator is going to provide enough energy for the light, a battery needs to be charged and to a decent level, which it may or may not be. for what its worth the cops where i was staying only checked the lights if you were riding at night. it was for safety not fines, unlike some police...

He guys, thanks for sharing your insight.

@MrCjolsen

This joke is so full of prejedices and soo true. I am not too sure about the swiss goverment though.

@Travsi

We have the same 10 kg rule here in Germany, but I am not too sure, if my trackbike is light enough, although not even the german police would be nazi enough to actually weigh your bike. But I am not sure, if they would "apply" this rule, while checking you. And you have to have your battery operated lights with you, even in bright daylight.

@Don Penguino

1.) The law IS dated
2.) Batteries fail, which is actually true. A lot of people I now run battery operated lights on their bike and the batteries almost always fail when they are most needed.

a german acquaintence of mine told me that he once got a ticket for riding no-handed.

you can ride nohanded here but only if you have at least one hand free to grab the brakes if need be.
I find our state laws (and enforcement) less strict here simply because we are less of a prescence.

here in VA you need front and rear reflectors and a helmet if under 14. thats it. we're pretty simple on our bike laws. except that we (the glorious cyclists) have to follow the same laws as cars. good thing most cops out here dont know how to write the ticket for speeding on a bike (twice, and also pulled over for using a closed road)

I am asking, because in Germany, track bikes are completely illegal. The German law clearly states that all bikes have to have two brakes, which can be operated independently. Bikes also need:

1.) a bell
2.) lights (battery operated ones are NOT legal.),
3.) reflectors in the front and the rear
4) spoke reflectors
5.) pedal reflectors

(Of course my track bike is completely legal ;) )

And the german police is actually enforcing it. If you are in the wrong place at the wrong time and the police gets a hold of you (and the officers have a bad day), your bike will be checked, you will be registerd and forced to repair/add the missing features. I know of people who where forced to add the missing reflectors on their bikes. If your caught with no brakes, you have to pay a nice fee and add brakes to your bike. If that is not possible you have to prove that you have destroyed the bike.

It's one thing to have it in writing like most if not all states do, but enforcement, at least from my exprience, is nonexsistent. Sounds like the Gestapo is back in power...

Like a lot of laws, the only time I can see these being enforced is if you're causing trouble, like riding around completely wasted or purposely blocking traffic. Kinda like the speed limit, says 65, but the only person I know who's ever been pulled over for doing under 80 was driving like an *******

its just a matter of time before we will have to register,insure and get anual safety inspection + licence plate.

^^^ The reason I doubt that is because there aren't enough of us for the registration $ to pay for the inspections & such.
And, there aren't enough of us to make enforcement profitable. In the end, it all comes to money.

^^^ The reason I doubt that is because there aren't enough of us for the registration $ to pay for the inspections & such.
And, there aren't enough of us to make enforcement profitable. In the end, it all comes to money.

And PollyAnna would say, "When there are enough cyclists to make taxing us profitable, there will be enough of us to have the political clout to prevent it."

a bike is 1 step up from a toy, why dont the cops just leave us be??

you can ride nohanded here but only if you have at least one hand free to grab the brakes if need be.
Wait, so... no biking pizza home?

I don't really get under which circumstances you could be riding a bike with both hands occupied.

I don't really get under which circumstances you could be riding a bike with both hands occupied.

My friend did this carrying a wheel in each had.... on his fixed mt bike.... it started to veer into a parked car he had to make the bike turn more sharp so he could bail on someones front lawn... cut it too short and hit the sidewalk and went over the bars... HJAJAJHAHSKJHDHAA im laughing just picturing it in my head.

insurance for a bicycle!
thats the problem with europe (and its getting worse here)
you can't legislate every part of a person's life
thats not freedom

you are free to do as we tell you.

**** I'll trade my bicycle-personal-security for the benefits of a welfare state.
I got a thing or two that needs to see a doctor of which I can't afford right now. And some higher education I'd like help paying for. Oh and some income supplementing or housing assistance might help.

DC made it a law that you have to have a brake on your bike last summer after at least one, maybe more, folks got hit by cars and were brakeless. A few cops bugged my friends and I about it last summer, but didn't write tickets, just threatened to next time. We claimed we didn't know of the law and since I think it had hit the books that week, they let us off. I think it's a $15 fine. It was really funny because the cops had clearly not heard of nor seen a fixed gear or track bike until that week and had learned all they knew at some workshop the department must have given.

"Do those bikes have brakes?"
My lippy friend "Yes."
"Oh yeah, where?"
My friend slapped his legs with his hands.

I had a cop in VA tell me I needed a light one night, though I had one on the front and one on the back. He told me they weren't bright enough. I laughed at him and rode away and he didn't bother to chase.

And about laws in general...I cruised through a stop sign in a quiet neighborhood right in front of a cop. He flashed his lights, pulled me over and just told me that I had to follow the rules of the road if I was going to be in the road. I didn't seem him otherwise I wouldn't have blown the sign.

I guess I've been pretty lucky.

in new york state, bikes must be equipped with:

"A brake which is capable of making the bike tires skid on dry, level pavement."

"A bell, horn or other device that can be heard at least a hundred feet away. Sirens and whistles are not permitted."

"Bicycles driven between a half-hour after sunset and a half-hour before sunrise must be equipped with a white front headlight visible in darkness for at least 500 feet, and a red taillight visible for at least 300 feet. One of these lights must also be visible on each side for at least 200 feet"

"A bicycle, when purchased new and/or driven at night, must have reflective tires, or wide-angle, spoke-mounted reflectors. Reflectors must be colorless or amber for front wheels, and colorless or red for rear wheels"

"Sit on the bike seat, not the fender or handlebars. Keep feet on the pedals, and never carry more people on the bike than the number for which it was designed"

"Keep at least one hand on the handlebar at all times"

"Never attach yourself or your bike to another vehicle on the roadway"

"Never drive a bicycle with a motor attached on any public highway except as defined by"

"Never wear more than one earphone attached to a radio, tape player or other audio device."

enforcement is very selective. in this city, you can burn through 1000 red lights, go backwards down 1 way streets, ride on the sidewalk, run down old ladies, every day for two years straight, then get a ticket at random for not having a bell (probably because headquarters felt like ordering a ticket blitz on cyclists that day).

DC made it a law that you have to have a brake on your bike last summer after at least one, maybe more, folks got hit by cars and were brakeless.

yeah, actually in dc it's now a law that all bikes need to be registered with the police.

all bike laws in this city are a joke, which is a shame, because i might actually follow them if they made sense (well, i'd still run red lights...)

ok, there is lots of speculation and argument on this and other boards about the common state law regarding brakes and skidding on clean pavement but does anyone know of ANY cases of the fixed gear interpretation successfully holding up in actual litigation ??

does anyone know the details of the textbook case savane v. hooper cab corp ??
what kind of bike was the messenger riding when the jury assigned him 25% comparative negligence ??

for people in dc: what is the exact wording of the new statute governing brakes on fixed gear bikes ?
does it differ from the classic: "capable of making the bike tires skid on dry, level pavement" ??
did the law actually change or is it the attitude towards fixed gears that has changed ?

I have done so much in front of police, run red lights, stop signs, swerving in traffic. Apparently there is a saying in philadelphia, "no shots fired, no crime". Not sure if that is really true, but it seems like (in my experience) if they see you do something "illegal" and you were being "careful", they don't care.

all bike laws in this city are a joke, which is a shame, because i might actually follow them if they made sense (well, i'd still run red lights...)

What do you suggest?

What do you suggest?

great question, wish i had the answer.

i guess my point was that laws such as mandatory bike registration and banning brakeless track bikes make us less likely to take the important laws seriously. in dc it's illegal to ride without reflectors, and to ride "two abreast," which makes me feel a little more comfortable bunny hopping the lip of the security barrier to the capitol grounds.

that being said, i've had a real easy time with the law here in dc. i gotta give most cops credit that they know when to just let us go. the times a cop has stopped me, it's been in the context of him being worried about my safety.

as far as what i'd like to see, bike lanes and trails. there are problems with both, but they also put more bikes out there, and that makes drivers more aware of cyclists. also i wouldn't mind seeing somebody pulled over for riding in a bike or bike/bus lane once in awhile.

how about you?

Mandatory bike registration would be a good thing if the po's actively and credibly returned stolen bikes. Which is impossible.

Honestly (and flame suit ON) I dont think that it would be a such a bad thing to legislate brakeless track bikes. Perhaps any bike ridden above a certain speed should be required to have some sort of stopping mechanism for both wheels. That would exempt bigwheels, granny cruisers, and people running 40 gear inches on brakeless fixes. I know that many people do just fine without brakes, but if you dont want to use it, just dont ****ing use it. Its not THAT ugly. Jeez. EDIT: I wouldn't suggest such a law unless I trusted the po's to enforce it fairly. Which is impossible.


Enforcement is another issue entirely. I wonder (and doubt) if the NYPD has ever had a ticket blitz on vehicles in the bike lane. In itself, ticket blitzing is a reactionary scare tactic, basically making examples of people and encouraging an attitude towards the law which seeks to avoid punishment, rather than changing unjust laws. Not that we americans really have much power in that anymore.

In Soviet Russia, bike registers you!