Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Skidding versus control

Though skidding can be an effective means of stopping, (once achieved). I am aware that I am a little out of control when I do it. As opposed to the subtle control that can be achived by applying differing pressure when pedaling and counterpedaling. Which I find is easier with straight or riser bars.

Anyone else have thoughts on the pros and cons of different braking techniques and their relationship to equipment. I found it really easy to skid when I used a long stem and chop and flops that threw my weight far forward. But I also run a nice balanced gear ratio 46x18/16.

i usually sKiP if i need to control speed (either moderately or abruptly), and skid in a hockey stop manner (with back fishtailing out to one side) to abruptly stop if needed or control speed down steep hills...this is much mor effective than either skidding straight or skipping...and i never lean forward to skid

i always feel most comfortable and in control with my hands in 'bullhorn position' (wrists turned outward in relation to thumb) on my drops (they are tilted up considerably), but this may have to do with my indivual fit on my ride

I find skidding is my favorite way to slow down, not the best, just favored. Balls on the stem and just slide forever, especially on wet/snowy streets. I like to think about that tokyo drift movie when I do it.

Though skidding can be an effective means of stopping, (once achieved).

Skidding is the worse way to stop. Learn how to stop without locking your rear wheel if you want maximum braking out of the rear. Or put a rear brake on.

Skidding is the worse way to stop. Learn how to stop without locking your rear wheel if you want maximum braking out of the rear. Or put a rear brake on.

i disagree

i disagree

Skidding tires are basically slipping over the surface of the road and have less traction. Same princple in a car or motorbike, with the front brakes doing the majority of the stopping as weight gets shifted forward when slowing down. When this happens weight lifts off the rear of the vehicle, traction is lost and skidding can occuer. Brakes are more effictive for stopping than skidding.

i disagree

Good for you, but you're wrong.

Good for you, but you're wrong.
+1

Skidding is the worse way to stop. Learn how to stop without locking your rear wheel if you want maximum braking out of the rear. Or put a rear brake on.

DO YOU EVEN RIDE FIXED?? JEEZ!!

;)

It's been discussed time and again. Skidding is not the most effective way to stop.

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-lock_braking_system)
"An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a system on motor vehicles which prevents the wheels from locking while braking. The purpose of this is twofold: to allow the driver to maintain steering control under heavy braking and, in most situations, to shorten braking distances (by allowing the driver to hit the brake fully without the fear of skidding or loss of control). "

The same general principles apply for bikes.

For winter, I gear down to 72 gear inches so that I can stop without a brake and without skidding or skipping.

At 72" I can counter pedal to a stop on the steepest hill in my riding area.

Over the past two years, my spin has improved so much I actually get around faster now at 72" than I did at 82".

I think it has something to do with a more consistent average speed.

In any event, I have so much more control in a variety of situations, I think I'll stay at 72" year around.

hard almost seated (i cant quite get it seated) skid with or without backpedaling further than just locking the wheel is my stopping method of choice. pretty certain i can stop faster like that than with backpedaling and not locking the rear. we're talking no brakes, right?

Okay, newbie here.

So I know skidding. What's skipping?

somewhat like hopping and skidding combined, achieved by skipping your legs.

how fast you stop with a skid all dependent upon where you have your weight centered on your bike...do a short little skid with your ass just an inch off of the seat or even sitting and you'll slow down pretty darn quick....lean out over the bars and you can skid forever barely scrubbing any speed...one looks cool and the other is all about function.
of course skidding is never going to give the stopping power and brake modulation as a brake (except maybe coaster) but it is still efficient enough once you figure it all out.

If you are out of control while skidding please put a brake on the bike.

Good for you, but you're wrong.

oh boy...here we go (today's lunch has been amusing)

I didn't take this thread to be a brake vs. no brake thread... brake police can parrot about all you want

I disagree , assuming you are riding fixed and talking about using your leg power to break (the OP was talking about skidding and skipping!!!, shiet), that skidding is the worse way to stop... I wouldn't overuse it, but anyone who is adept on a fixie knows that skidding can slow you faster than simple backpedaling (assuming you don't have bannana peel tires)

DO YOU EVEN RIDE FIXED?? JEEZ!!

;)

+1

when at speed, i find skidding to be good for slowing down w/o using much energy. backpedaling hard from a good head of steam is strenuous for me. the flip side is, i don't like skidding when going downhill--it feels a bit tenuous to me. if my bars were higher i probably wouldn't feel this way. the more delicate handling, in really heavy traffic (as opposed to when bombing down an avenue), going slow and doing more weaving, i have no preference for bars--i use flats, drops, and horns and like them all for this purpose. this is when i do a lot of weighting on the pedals in order to deftly regulate my speed.

when talking about the effectiveness of skidding, it's important to differentiate between hockey-stop skidding, and plain linear skidding. it's the difference between dragging an ice skate behind you, and, well, a hockey stop. even when putting hockey-style skidding aside, skidding may be the most effective way to stop if somebody is not strong enough to backpedal hard. it took me a while to get to the point where i can backpedal hard enough to stop quicker than my skids.

but anyway, why talk so much about this? slow down however you want to in order to be safe, in order to clear the obstacle, and then keep moving!

Skidding is the worse way to stop. Learn how to stop without locking your rear wheel if you want maximum braking out of the rear. Or put a rear brake on.

You're talking theoretically here. In reality the function of backpedaling kind of decreases with speed. If I'm going quick and spinning fast and I need to slow down I pretty much have to skip or skid just to be able to scrub off enough speed to start slowing with my legs. In emergency situations there often isn't enough time to slow down with back pedaling and a skid is more appropriate. I don't know if I've just got weaker legs than everyone here, but they're just not strong enough to slow me down faster than a skid a lot of the time. Prove me wrong.

If we are comparing bike braking to cars, lets ask this more apt (in my mind) question:

Is it quicker for cars to slow down by engine braking, or by locking up the rear wheels in a skid?

ABS should not come into the question unless we are discussing brakes.

i usually sKiP if i need to control speed (either moderately or abruptly), and skid in a hockey stop manner (with back fishtailing out to one side) to abruptly stop if needed or control speed down steep hills...this is much mor effective than either skidding straight or skipping...and i never lean forward to skid


Ok this is exactly the technique I want to get down, I dont really care about long skidding. I think if you do want to ride brakeless this technique is a must. Can you actually fully sit down doing this or do you lift off the seat a little? I know it's all about practice, but a few tips can help.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=331650&highlight=skipping

There is some good information in this thread for technique; alot of skipping is about being able to shift weight, pedal location and practice.

You're talking theoretically here. In reality the function of backpedaling kind of decreases with speed. If I'm going quick and spinning fast and I need to slow down I pretty much have to skip or skid just to be able to scrub off enough speed to start slowing with my legs. In emergency situations there often isn't enough time to slow down with back pedaling and a skid is more appropriate. I don't know if I've just got weaker legs than everyone here, but they're just not strong enough to slow me down faster than a skid a lot of the time. Prove me wrong.

If we are comparing bike braking to cars, lets ask this more apt (in my mind) question:

Is it quicker for cars to slow down by engine braking, or by locking up the rear wheels in a skid?

ABS should not come into the question unless we are discussing brakes.

perfect response. thank you :thumb:

Skip video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewhWYqqIXb0

You're talking theoretically here. In reality the function of backpedaling kind of decreases with speed. If I'm going quick and spinning fast and I need to slow down I pretty much have to skip or skid just to be able to scrub off enough speed to start slowing with my legs. In emergency situations there often isn't enough time to slow down with back pedaling and a skid is more appropriate. I don't know if I've just got weaker legs than everyone here, but they're just not strong enough to slow me down faster than a skid a lot of the time. Prove me wrong.

If we are comparing bike braking to cars, lets ask this more apt (in my mind) question:

Is it quicker for cars to slow down by engine braking, or by locking up the rear wheels in a skid?

ABS should not come into the question unless we are discussing brakes.
ABS has everything to do with it. A car stops faster with the brakes on the edge of lockup, once you loose traction you have no real control This is fact, not theory. Also, as you deaccelerate weight shifts onto your front tire, which makes skidding even less effective.

You're talking theoretically here. In reality the function of backpedaling kind of decreases with speed. If I'm going quick and spinning fast and I need to slow down I pretty much have to skip or skid just to be able to scrub off enough speed to start slowing with my legs. In emergency situations there often isn't enough time to slow down with back pedaling and a skid is more appropriate. I don't know if I've just got weaker legs than everyone here, but they're just not strong enough to slow me down faster than a skid a lot of the time. Prove me wrong.

I know that in my experience, skidding at speed does not slow me down much, even from in or just above the saddle. I will slow a bit, but less than if I just pushed against the momentum of my pedals. If I want to slow down without using my brakes, I resist the pedals. If I'm under 15mph, skidding can be more effective than resisting, as long as I do it right over the saddle. I sometimes go days where I ride everywhere, all day, without using my brake or skidding. Not intentionally or consciously, it's just how it works out.

I think body weight has a lot to do with how effective your skids are, though. I'm pretty small, 130lbs, so my skids may not put enough weight on the rear wheel to slow me down a lot. My weight may also make it easier for me to accelerate/decelerate just by using my legs. A friend of mine has theorized that this is why I often make my rear wheel skid while resisting, seated.

Also, if your skids are more effective than resisting, you could probably stand to push a lower gear. You'll skid less, because you'll be able to control your speed directly, and you can actually keep your rear tire round instead of squaring it off and making it ride like ****. A slightly lower gear can save you money. But if you prefer to skid instead of resisting, just do that. Whatever gets you on your bike.

And, before anyone points it out to me, a front brake is the most effective stopping method in existence, which is why I'll probably always have one. We're talking about stopping without brakes here.

back pedaling for me. Skidding just doesn't seem effective for me, i can back pedal pretty well and slow down

I can stop super fast by keeping my weight back and resisting hard...but htat hurts my knees and it's alot more work


I like to whip the tail out and skid while keeping my weight back to shave speed and I never really come to an abrupt stop, I just swerve.

Ok this is exactly the technique I want to get down, I dont really care about long skidding. I think if you do want to ride brakeless this technique is a must. Can you actually fully sit down doing this or do you lift off the seat a little? I know it's all about practice, but a few tips can help.

leg strength and seat position determine this. i can skid sitting if i am going fast enough, but when i started i couldn't