Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Trackstanding at a stop light.

I'm wondering if there's some sort of technique to force the pedals into 3-9 o'clock position at a stop light. With my very low gearing (42x18) a pedal revolution doesn't get me far, so in the ballpark of about 5-10 feet, i can find a spot where my feet are in proper position (left foot forward) at the light.

But with taller gearing, especially with very tall gears, in the 80's, I figure it's much harder to find a spot close to the light where your feet are in place.

So is there a trick to somehow kick up the rear wheel to get the pedals into the position you want without getting off the bike? Thanks.

Yep,do a short hop skid to level the pedals right before you get stopped.I stop that way all the time......you have to lift with upcoming pedal stroke and flex ankle a bit to get rear wheel locked up in one quick motion.

Horndude just said it! I also use the technique of riding until my feet are at 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock and then I'll stop in between two cars to try to trackstand there. It's hard though, especially with lots of peds running around and stuff...

Originally posted by dumpstervegan
... until my feet are at 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock ...
I'd love to see some photos of those cranks, dude! ;)

Originally posted by SteveE
I'd love to see some photos of those cranks, dude! ;)

Here's a link! Ha ha ha.

http://www.dumpstervegan.net/pages/img/tank2.jpg

Originally posted by George
That looks like 5 & 11 O'Clock to me......

You guys just wait till I get home late tonight..............I'll post a pix of my bike which is capable of 6 & 9 O'Clock. I've got the new Campy Tri-angler crankset on my Cinelli......it's really cool....

No no! You're looking at it all wrong! You have to tilt your head at a 67.7 degree angle to the right so you can see them at 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock! You're just not looking at it right ;) :p

Sweet. I'll go out and practice the hop skid. There are a lot of things I have yet to try/learn, like the cool fixed gear dismount (as explained by Sh. Brown in his fixed article.)

As a weird side note, George's comment seems to have disappeared...

hey ive been riding fixed to high school for a few weeks and just learned the hop skids thanks should help for trackstands at lights

What I do is get to the point where I want to stop, then I hop my rear wheel and pedal in the air until my feet are at 3 and 9. But I have clipless pedals, I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. It works perfectly for me, but I guess it might not work for everyone.

There would seem to be an easier way... just learn to 'stand with your other foot forward.

A lot of times you can weave from side to side to change the distance between you and the place you want to stop. Not always an option. A lot of times I just back up, too...

Or if you're really good at skidding, just skid so that you stop right where you want to trackstand. I find that I'm not that good, so I'll skid and when I come up short, I'll roll forward a little less than a quarter of a crank revolution and then pull up on the cranks again to skid to where I want to be. I don't know if that makes sense or not. It seriously wrecked my winter cross tires.

generaly i just skid for the last feet and come to a track stand. it works the best for me and it feels sooooo freakin cool!

I actually find it easier to keep my pedals at 1:30 and 7:30 position and this way it is easier to take off from a light.

A lot of times you can weave from side to side to change the distance between you and the place you want to stop. Not always an option. A lot of times I just back up, too...

i also weave or make a little circle when there is no traffic

"I crashed down on the cross bar and the pain was enough to make a shy bald buddist reflect and plan a mass murder" - The Smiths

typical me typical me typical me.... i've listened to that song for 18 years or so, and i never even bothered to think about that line. i'm totally stealing that at some point :)

t

practice!

S/F,
CEYA!

That's one of my favorites. ;)

This hopping and skidding stuff scares me to death! Can you tell that I'm new to fixed-gear riding? :) Does anyone have advice for getting started and practicing this? I guess that un-weighting the rear wheel is daunting. Thanks!

it is kind of hard sometimes to prevent skidding and hopping due to the fact the gear is direct drive. You can get a low enough gear and slowly come to a stop and do a track stand.

S/F,
CEYA!

My favorite is to stop w/ my feet standing at the 12 and 6 0'clock position, and then slowly bring it back to 3 and 6 and seat myself. Like a reverse take-off.

after a while you will be able to trackstand in many positions. 9 and 3 are ideals, but 7 and 1 or 11 and 5 or 10.30 and 4.30 will work as well with a little practice. Also practice goofy trackstands (other foot forward) and wrong trackstands (eg. wheel set to turn left but right foot forward and vice versa) no hand trackstands for some extra points and one hand trackstands while sipping coffee and one footers and no footers with the feet on the wheel (not yet mastered).

Wait...I thought the normal one was turning left with right foot forward. What is considered the "normal" with the right foot dominant?

Normal is left forward with the wheel turned left (so there's no conflict between btw the wheel and the wheel). Track technique is right forward and right turn to work with the bank of the track. I personally do track style not for any good reason, just because that's what works best for me.

Not to belabor this, but I have a dominant right foot, but ride a skateboard goofy-foot. Which foot should I start trying to put forward? I WAS putting the right foot forward, but also doing it wrong by turning the wheel to the left (needless to say, I wasn't progressing much.) And you do it on the street with the left forward/turned left to work with the bank of the road, right?

To be honest - do what you feel is right once you get the basics down. left/left or right/right (foot forward/wheel turned to). Then do what works.
Grey area rules...

i would say a goofy (or would it be fakie?) trackstand would be with the right foot forward. i guess it's goofy, now that i think about it.

Alright, so a fakie is left ft fwd/turning right. Isn't this what you need to learn to do no handed? I've seen some photos where the rider is using the fwd foot to modulate the front wheel roll. Not like I'm trying those anytime soon, I just like having it all in the ole lexicon.

And um, is it a goofy-fakie or a fakie-goofy? That would be rt ft fwd/turning left, right? You guys do it with your hands in the drops or up high?

I'm thinking I'm going to try and learn the basic left fwd/turning left, since my instinct is to do the opposite. I try to learn the non-dominant method first, since learning the dominant seems to become a crutch too easily. I just taught myself to brush my teeth and shave lefthanded, now I'm working on writing, which seems to be like graduating from elementary school to college.

Do you put a lot of weight on your back foot when you're doing the 'stands?

If you have a bike that coasts (*gasp*), see which foot you put forward when you're...coasting. That's usually the one you'll want forward when you're trackstanding too. I've read on a few trials sites that trackstands are typically done with the wheel turned away from the front foot, but I happen to turn my wheel toward my front foot (no toe overlap to worry about either), and apparently so does bostontrevor. Do what feels natural I guess.

Not to belabor this, but I have a dominant right foot, but ride a skateboard goofy-foot. Which foot should I start trying to put forward? I WAS putting the right foot forward, but also doing it wrong by turning the wheel to the left (needless to say, I wasn't progressing much.) And you do it on the street with the left forward/turned left to work with the bank of the road, right?

I skate goofy foot as well....right foot forward. I first learned to track stand w/ right foot forward cuz it was most comfortable. Pick what's comfy and stick with it, then work on the doin it with the other foot forward.And yeah......keep that wheel turned towards the leading foot.