Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - near crash report

I'm a fairly inexperienced fixed rider ( a couple of weeks on my converted fuji ) but I had the following experience yesterday and I'm curious if it's common on fixed gear bikes

I was riding 52x18 about 15mph down the road and a hit a pothole that I did not really see coming. Luckily I was firm on the bars, but I had to struggle to catch the pedals, and the next thing I know I am standing straight legged on only my left pedal, resulting in a hilarious thrusting/lifting up and down of my entire body (forced well above the seat) because I couldn't catch the right pedal and my left leg was straight.

Luckily I was able to hold the bars or I would have been ejected. At the top I could barely reach them. I finally slowed enough to regain control. Has this happened to you? :eek:

This happened to me...going close to 30 mph. I got thrown over and flew like 20 feet. I got stabbed in the side by my keys and got a gnar sprained shoulder.

A fine illustration of the benefits of clips & straps / clipless pedals...

when i first started riding, not being able to coast over potholes and other bumpy stuff scared the crap out of me. but i got used to it. when i'm going over bumps, raised manholes, potholes, and other hazards, i take my weight off my legs for a split second, rising out of the saddle keeping my stroke smooth.

A fine illustration of the benefits of clips & straps / clipless pedals...

I was clipped in but when I hit that **** my right foot got knocked out.

when i'm going over bumps, raised manholes, potholes, and other hazards, i take my weight off my legs for a split second, rising out of the saddle keeping my stroke smooth.

+1

I usually pull up on the bars as well so I can kinda hop over whatever it is that's in front of me. You'll learn to really pay attention to what's coming at you on the road too...

I'm confused if you weight is off your feet, you are raised off your saddle, and you are pulling up on your bar what is supporting you.

I usually stand up and put my weight on my feet and pop the front wheel over stuff. My inability to bunnyhop at moderate speed is the main drawback of fg riding.

I'm a fairly inexperienced fixed rider ( a couple of weeks on my converted fuji ) but I had the following experience yesterday and I'm curious if it's common on fixed gear bikes

I was riding 52x18 about 15mph down the road and a hit a pothole that I did not really see coming. Luckily I was firm on the bars, but I had to struggle to catch the pedals, and the next thing I know I am standing straight legged on only my left pedal, resulting in a hilarious thrusting/lifting up and down of my entire body (forced well above the seat) because I couldn't catch the right pedal and my left leg was straight.

Luckily I was able to hold the bars or I would have been ejected. At the top I could barely reach them. I finally slowed enough to regain control. Has this happened to you? :eek:

I sort of did the same stunt with a twist on the third time out on my Bianchi Pista.

Except I was carrying my lasagna dinner!

I didn't fall or drop the dinner ;) But I discovered that I prefer freewheeling. . .

I'm confused if you weight is off your feet, you are raised off your saddle, and you are pulling up on your bar what is supporting you.

...i pretty much just float, cause i'm really amazing...

i meant i stand up out of the saddle, then pull up on the bars so that my front wheel hops over whatever is in the way....

i do the same as GA. i pull up on the handlebars and kinda hop a little. the result isn't so much a bunnyhop as it is just unweighting the whole bike for a split second. just enough so that my wheels don't smack off the obstruction too hard.

I'm confused if you weight is off your feet, you are raised off your saddle, and you are pulling up on your bar what is supporting you.

I usually stand up and put my weight on my feet and pop the front wheel over stuff. My inability to bunnyhop at moderate speed is the main drawback of fg riding.

try this:

stand on a scale. note what the arrow points to. now, with a jumping motion, rise to your tip toes, but don't actually leave the ground. you'll notice that, during this motion-that's-kind-of-like-jumping-but-without-going-into-the-air, the scale registers less weight.

now, remove the scale, and put a bike between your legs. repeat.

GA may have had her tongue in her cheek when she said she was pretty much floating, but that kind of what happens. a split second is all it takes so those bumps don't hammer you off the bike.

I'm a fairly inexperienced fixed rider ( a couple of weeks on my converted fuji ) but I had the following experience yesterday and I'm curious if it's common on fixed gear bikes

I was riding 52x18 about 15mph down the road and a hit a pothole that I did not really see coming. Luckily I was firm on the bars, but I had to struggle to catch the pedals, and the next thing I know I am standing straight legged on only my left pedal, resulting in a hilarious thrusting/lifting up and down of my entire body (forced well above the seat) because I couldn't catch the right pedal and my left leg was straight.

Luckily I was able to hold the bars or I would have been ejected. At the top I could barely reach them. I finally slowed enough to regain control. Has this happened to you? :eek:

might wanna gear down there...

Yes I used the outer ring from my race bike for the conversion and the hub came with 16T. I ordered a Euro Asia Imports 18T cog and a Sugino RD 48T track chainring. Really looking forward to the new gearing. However, I _understand_ the feeling of fixed and love it. I want to switch over my aluminum cannondale now ;) but I'll need an offset hub cause the dropouts are vert.


might wanna gear down there...

The first day I rode fixed gear I had the same experience several times. My freewheel-trained legs couldn't figure out how to relax properly after ending a hard sprint or some other interruption. I think you'll not have this problem really after you gain experience. I had straps at the time but popped out from my legs stopping pedaling properly. Luckily I never got thrown but I can see how that could happen.

I don't know anyone who hasen't experienced this type of thing when they were new to fixed riding, just keep on reminding yourself to keep on pedaling and you'll get used to it pretty quickly.

52x18 aint no thang

I don't know anyone who hasen't experienced this type of thing when they were new to fixed riding, just keep on reminding yourself to keep on pedaling and you'll get used to it pretty quickly.
+1. The thing QP described is called "posting", and is similar in approach to running hurdles... you don't break your cadence, but you do get the weight off your feet. It is a good thing to get the hang of.

not really, aeroplane, posting is just getting your ass out of the saddle but continuing to pedal. Doesn't include any bunny hops.

I sort of bunny hop over railroad tracks, potholes, etc. My main goal is either to avoid an endo or avoid my wheels getting knocked too hard. I go jerkfronthoprear really fast. It kind of works.

52x18 aint no thang

yup. a nice gear for the city.

not really, aeroplane, posting is just getting your ass out of the saddle but continuing to pedal. Doesn't include any bunny hops.

I sort of bunny hop over railroad tracks, potholes, etc. My main goal is either to avoid an endo or avoid my wheels getting knocked too hard. I go jerkfronthoprear really fast. It kind of works.

AP was referencing what i said, which was not bunnyhopping. it's getting yourself out of the saddle and making yourself light at the same time. yoink!

its not posting though. What you are talking about involves some sort of "hop" type maneuver even if it isn't a bunnyhop.

its not posting though. What you are talking about involves some sort of "hop" type maneuver even if it isn't a bunnyhop.

seriously. hop on a scale and try it. it's not hopping. it's getting light. it takes some coordination. it also takes you being on a bike instead of a computer. go try it, then get back to me.


On any road bike, the rider must learn to un-weight the saddle to ride over bumps. Most cyclists coast to do this. A fixed-gear rider will learn to "post" over bumps without breaking stride.

I'm pretty sure I know exactly what you are talking about now I just didn;t understand before when you refered to it as unweighting(which I took to mean a spatial shift of "weight" not a temporal one). Its not really a hop since your feet or wheels never leave the ground but it is the same type of motion(thats why "'hop'" was in quotes). You do it while posting but its not just posting it is posting plus a little "hop".

Calling it "getting light" call it "hopping" its the same thing. You'll notice that before and after you "get light" the scale reads higher then it otherwise would. This is because you are accelerating up just as you would before and after you hop.

What sheldon is describing is simply posting which saves your butt/groin but not the bike. What you describe saves both.

when i first started riding, not being able to coast over potholes and other bumpy stuff scared the crap out of me. but i got used to it. when i'm going over bumps, raised manholes, potholes, and other hazards, i take my weight off my legs for a split second, rising out of the saddle keeping my stroke smooth.

+1 get your ass off the seat

its not posting though. What you are talking about involves some sort of "hop" type maneuver even if it isn't a bunnyhop.
You guys should get a tattoo that says "SEMANTICS ROCK". Call it a rimjob, call it "petting the giraffe", it works.

ha!

maybe there should be a seperate semantics forum?