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Milwaukee WI recently joined the list of Cities In America where official journalistic notice has been taken of fixed-gear bicycle riders are being ticketed for having no breaks.
There is one group, however, the bare-bones bikes aren't so popular with: police, who say many of the bikes violate laws requiring a bicycle to have a brake.
Fixed-gear bikes, or fixies, are single-speed bikes without a freewheel. As the bike moves forward, the rider is forced to pedal. The cost varies widely, from bikes built from scrap parts to track racing bikes costing several thousands of dollars.
Fulltext: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=490504
I wonder if my beloved Madison the "City of Tolerance" is next.
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I never take a break. I ride all the way to my destination.
If they are union they may be required to have a break every 4 hours
Ah... the Bicycle Union of True Transport. BUTT stands for solidarity of all bicycles throughout the world and demands fair representation in all negotiations between riders and bicycles. Some of the goals of BUTT are:
Heated Covered Parking Places for Bicycles
Mandatory Tuneups every 7 Days
Mandatory Mechanics Coverage
Mandatory Upgrades of Parts every 2 Years
Although I don't support the citations, I also think it is foolish to ride in traffic without a front brake.
I support the citations. If bicyclist want to be vehicles, they need to act like them including all the safety codes. Too many bicyclist want to be vehicles but only when it is convienant for them to be one and other times, they want to be treated like pedastrians.
Looks like it's happening in Portland too... but they have a politico on their side (http://bikeportland.org/2006/08/14/oregon-senator-in-rebellion-mode-over-fixed-gear-ruling/)
A fixed gear bike does have a brake, even if there is no handbrake. You look up the rear wheel, the same as you would a coaster brake. I do have a hand brake on on my Soma though.
I support the citations. If bicyclist want to be vehicles, they need to act like them including all the safety codes. Too many bicyclist want to be vehicles but only when it is convienant for them to be one and other times, they want to be treated like pedastrians.
I'm not sure how riding a fixed-gear bike is wanting to be treated like a pedestrian.
With a skilled operator, fixed-gear bikes can probably stop better than most bikes on the road. There's an awful lot of bikes out there with marginal brakes.
In DC, the city recently updated the code to allow fixies; the code now says that the operator has to be able to stop the bike, it leaves the mechanism up to the choice of the owner.
I'm not sure how riding a fixed-gear bike is wanting to be treated like a pedestrian.
By disregarding the law that requires a working brake on a bicycle. Even if they aren't going to use the brake, it still should be required. The fact that you have to LEARN to stop properly on a fixed gear bike means it should be the law to require a brake.
It's such a minor thing to put a front brake on a fixed gear bike and makes the bike much more safer. The only reason anyone would be opposed to that is for ego reasons.
By disregarding the law that requires a working brake on a bicycle. Even if they aren't going to use the brake, it still should be required. The fact that you have to LEARN to stop properly on a fixed gear bike means it should be the law to require a brake.
It's such a minor thing to put a front brake on a fixed gear bike and makes the bike much more safer. The only reason anyone would be opposed to that is for ego reasons.
So how is that wanting to be treated like a pedestrian?
... It's such a minor thing to put a front brake on a fixed gear bike and makes the bike much ... safer. The only reason anyone would be opposed to that is for ego reasons.
I concur. I also like the redundancy, particularly since there is no law requiring one to use a proper lockring on the cog.
... In DC, the city recently updated the code to allow fixies; the code now says that the operator has to be able to stop the bike, it leaves the mechanism up to the choice of the owner.
That makes sense, particularly since a skilled operator can indeed stop a brakeless fixed gear bike faster than any cyclist can stop a street-legal 1970 Schwinn Varsity with the original steel rims and Weinmann sidepull calipers and pads.
I would be willing to concede that a fixed gear bike has rear brake capability by backpedalling. However, since 70% + of a bike's stopping power is on the front wheel, I would install a front brake.
many track bikes have privsion for a front hand brake.
It's such a minor thing to put a front brake on a fixed gear bike and makes the bike much more safer. The only reason anyone would be opposed to that is for ego reasons.
My old track bike had no accommodation for a brake on the frame. Ego's aside if you know what you are doing stopping a track bike is not hard.
The question is not whether or not a skilled fixie riders can stop their bikes using back pressure on the pedals, but whether or not they can stop in as short a distance as they can when using a front brake as well.
The answer is no. So fit a front brake - not to is irresponsible to other road users.
The question is not whether or not a skilled fixie riders can stop their bikes using back pressure on the pedals, but whether or not they can stop in as short a distance as they can when using a front brake as well.
The answer is no. So fit a front brake - not to is irresponsible to other road users.
I do not know what kind of riders you are with, but my friends who choose not to run a handbrake can stop as fast as a rider with only a handbrake. Generally if you lack a handbrake, you ride at a slower pace.
I do not know what kind of riders you are with, but my friends who choose not to run a handbrake can stop as fast as a rider with only a handbrake. Generally if you lack a handbrake, you ride at a slower pace.
Regardless of the speed, limiting one's self to only the rear tire for braking traction severely limits the stopping ability of the bike. Even if only going 15 MPH, the stopping distance is likely to be twice as far - if not farther - than a bike with the stopping traction on both wheels.
We know track-bike riders are way cooler than the rest of us common folk with the anti-establishment wardrobe and all, and some think they can stop the bike with the sheer will of zen-like karma, but I am afraid physics is physics.
^^so does that mean coaster brake bikes should have front brakes too?
I don't know--how many people have to "warm" their brakes when riding in the rain or snow, meaning that if everything is wet and you apply the back brake, do you stop immediately? or within reason as when it's dry? I think if a rider with a fixie can stop normally, then there should be no argument...as for the article in the original post- part of it says--(Milwaukee's ordinance was adopted from a state statute that reads in part: "No person may operate a bicycle . . . upon a highway, bicycle lane, or bicycle way unless it is equipped with a brake in good working condition, adequate to control the movement of and to stop the bicycle.") I think those ticketed have a case against the part that states (paraphrasing a paraphrased law here, sorry..) "adequate to stop the bicycle."
My old track bike had no accommodation for a brake on the frame. Ego's aside if you know what you are doing stopping a track bike is not hard.
That's cause it's a Track Bike. Not intended to be ridden in traffic, but in the confines of a velodrome, or similar such facility.
It's a ridiculous argument, one that seemingly goes round in circles. Yes, one can stop thier fixed gear bike by using back pressure on the pedals. Problem is, 99% of the dorks pedaling around on these can't.
Goverments enact laws for the common welfare. Not for popularity.
I ride fixed. I have front brakes. Heck, the Cross-Check has front and rear brakes. Rarely use em, but they're cheap insurance for that critical moment. And my ego's still intact.
I do not know what kind of riders you are with, but my friends who choose not to run a handbrake can stop as fast as a rider with only a handbrake. Generally if you lack a handbrake, you ride at a slower pace.
Please read my post again. I did notwrite that a fixie rider with a front brake should use only the brake and not back pedal pressure.
Braking using only one wheel is inherently less effective than using both wheels. Any form of braking transfers weight onto the front wheel, so not using it and arguing that rear wheel braking only is superior is, as Galen wrote, blindly ignoring the laws of physics. The only place for the latter is the track.
In fact, to skid stop on a fixie you shift your weight forward, actually taking more weight off the rear and placing it on the front. Your balls may be right on your stem. Though it works, it is far from the most effective brake I've ever used (that would be a drum brake. Those are insane-- the one I had was on the back wheel and it was actually a more effective stopper than the hand brake on the bike's front). I've been riding fixies for a long time (pre-hipster) and will not ride one sans front hand brake in traffic. Like John E, I would argue having a redundant brake is a good idea anyway. Even my pokey little Vello Kombi, my neighbourhood rider, has a hand brake in addition to the coaster. That thing prolly doesn't hit 10 mph; I could brake it by scuffing my feet on the ground.
I see enough riders sans front brakes on fixies around here who are completely tenative in traffic. Had some hipster sneer "nice brake" when I rode by them on my fixie the other day... I resisted the temptation to do a skid stop, into a trackstand, and flip them off... must be getting old. No, that's my knees that are getting old...
So the guys riding cheap bikes with brakes are ok - even though their bike is so badly set up that they couldn't stop quickly if they had to - or they are so unskilled that if they tried they endo.
The DC law is good (maybe a qualifier on distance). As long as you can stop, you're fine. I saw a car slide through an intersection in front of a bus yesterday - going too fast in rain. No contact, so she probably only needed to change...
Had some hipster sneer "nice brake" when I rode by them on my fixie the other day... I resisted the temptation to do a skid stop, into a trackstand, and flip them off... must be getting old. No, that's my knees that are getting old...
No, you're just smart enough not to let it get to you. Remember that old adage: what the hipster lacks in skill, knowledge, or maturity, he more than makes up for in VD. :D
This is the federal minimum requirement. Surely a fixie can stop as defined below. Of course this is for selling bikes, not actually a legal reqiurement for use. The state or municiple code probably has other ideas about brakes. This suggests that you better not have too high of a gear.
http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/regsumbicycles.pdf#search=%22federal%20bicycle%20regulations%20brakes%22
Foot brakes:
(a) Foot brakes must operate independently of any
drive-gear positions or adjustments. Foot
brakes must have a braking force of at least 40
lbf when 70 pounds of force is applied to the
pedal. See §1512.18(e)(2) for the test
procedure.
(b) Bicycles with foot brakes must stop within 15
feet when tested with a rider of at least 150
pounds at a speed of 10-mph. See § 1512.5(c).
A bicycle operated in its highest gear ratio at
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