Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - going brakeless

so... in no way do i intend to start a debate about going brakeless or not.

my question is: i really only want to ride brakeless to participate in monstertrack (pending im able to get down to NY that weekend)

so... ethcis and common sense aside, what should i do about the brake cables under the bar-wrap? tape the ends of down to the frame? unwrap the bars, undo everything, and re-wrap later? maybe just grab a cheap pair of bullhorns to throw on there?

so... in no way do i intend to start a debate about going brakeless or not.



Impossible. :)

you'd buy bars before you'd re-wrap your current ones? just borrow some spare bars from a friend. or not be so lazy.

I like cheese.

idk. having a spare set of bullhorns around to compliment my drops i currently have wouldn't be a bad thing.

and i'll see what i can do about asking friends. aside from vague acquaintances, nobody im good friends with bikes much...

idk. having a spare set of bullhorns around to compliment my drops i currently have wouldn't be a bad thing.

and i'll see what i can do about asking friends. aside from vague acquaintances, nobody im good friends with bikes much...

you can ****ing say that again.

well i you want to give bullhorns a try anyways i'd say just grab a pair of nashbar tt bars. it is nice having different bar setups lying around for you to change when the mood strikes.

risers and bullhorns are what I favor. drops just aren't my thing

how on earth will you stop without brakes???

how on earth will you stop without brakes???

Fred Flinstone

Sounds like a really bad plan, but in any case, go for the bullhorns.

I ride brakeless and think it is fine but if you haven't gone brakeless before your plan sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Fred Flinstone

ted shred

I dont know if you should go brakeless just for monstertrack. Honestly, unless you've been riding brakeless for a long while you probably shouldnt attempt monstertrack.

i prefer the squeeze braking surface with thumb and forefinger approach. hands = calipers.

I dont know if you should go brakeless just for monstertrack. Honestly, unless you've been riding brakeless for a long while you probably shouldnt attempt monstertrack.

so true, but it could be fun for as a slow tour of the city, but if you want to actually race (cutting off cabs, running red lights in midtown, etc) maybe practice a bunch first, you got a couple weeks to get used to it...

just leave the housing under the tape. remove the lever, caliper, and cable.

I can't see rewrapping the bars (you'd have to do it twice!) or buying new ones just to get rid of a useless cable housing under your tape for one ride.

so... ethcis and common sense aside, what should i do about the brake cables under the bar-wrap? tape the ends of down to the frame? unwrap the bars, undo everything, and re-wrap later? maybe just grab a cheap pair of bullhorns to throw on there?

I can't believe you just asked the internet that question.

No one is going to come up to you and say, "Man, I'm glad you did what the internet said do."

"...and common sense aside..." WTF? So that means you just want nonsense answers?

I'll provide a simple 4 step program.
1) remove brakes and bars
2) aquire broom handle
3) cut off 17 inch length of handle
4) apply in place of proper handlebars.

outcome: win.

So the basic reason you're doing this is cause you want to fit in with all the other kool kids at MonsterTrack, right?

Sad.

So the basic reason you're doing this is cause you want to fit in with all the other kool kids at MonsterTrack, right?
.

No, he is'nt.
Brakeless is a rule for entering MonsterTrack.

No, he is'nt.
Brakeless is a rule for entering MonsterTrack.

...technicalities! he probably wears TIGHT JEANS too, and, and, bandannas!

So the basic reason you're doing this is cause you want to fit in with all the other kool kids at MonsterTrack, right?

Sad.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x29/juggalo_just/fail2eo3.jpg

OHHHH my goodness!! funniest FAIL picture i have ever seen!

Can you just disable the brake ?

ie-remove the brake pads and perhaps loosen the cable ?

The guys at the 'drome here thought this was an acceptable solution if I wanted to take my fixed gear on the track as it would make the bike compliant with their no brakes rule.

Also convenient as I would be riding my bike to and from the track and would need the brake for the road.

so wait, you made a stupid ******** thread so you can announce to the internet that you're doing monster track and we can't even reply the way we want?

one of two things: 1) you're too stupid to be able to figure out what to do with a foot-and-a-half length of plastic, in which case you're going to die (moron + brakeless = die), or
2) you somehow think announcing to bikeforums.net that you're planning on doing monster track will earn you cred, in which case you're going to die (moron + brakeless = die)

so wait, you made a stupid ******** thread so you can announce to the internet that you're doing monster track and we can't even reply the way we want?

one of two things: 1) you're too stupid to be able to figure out what to do with a foot-and-a-half length of plastic, in which case you're going to die (moron + brakeless = die), or
2) you somehow think announcing to bikeforums.net that you're planning on doing monster track will earn you cred, in which case you're going to die (moron + brakeless = die)

you're being an ass. He is saying he doesnt want arguments like "you shouldnt go brakeless because its (insert argument here, ie. stupid, dangerous, immoral etc.)" He is simply asking what the best course of action is to deal with the situation of his under-tape brake cables, in order to be monster track legal and make his life easier. I dont think it has anything to do with cred, or being stupid, but simply wanting to comply with monster track rules.

Chances are this kid shouldn't be riding monstertrack in the first place.

oh, please.
no one's that dumb. look at your bike. tell me you'd actually be confused about how to go about de-braking it...

this topic is a essentially a thinly veiled "hai guise! i'm going to be riding monster track with you! a/s/l?"

oh, please.
no one's that dumb. look at your bike. tell me you'd actually be confused about how to go about de-braking it...

this topic is a essentially a thinly veiled "hai guise! i'm going to be riding monster track with you! a/s/l?"

but i dont think he is confused about HOW to de brake it, but how to do so with as little work as possible and still be monster track legal...the rules specify no brakes, but could he just disengage his brake making it no longer functional so he wouldnt have to go to the trouble of removing everything?

ah, yes. i see now. you're right, this is a truly perplexing situation-- quite a conundrum indeed!
i sure hope he can piece something together before the race...

I can't believe you just asked the internet that question.

No one is going to come up to you and say, "Man, I'm glad you did what the internet said do."

"...and common sense aside..." WTF? So that means you just want nonsense answers?


chill out, carleton *edit: and the rest of you...* ....i think you misunderstand what i was going for...

let me clarify: the 'common sense aside' comment was in reference to me switching from brakes to no brakes for monstertrack. not fishing for responses such as "i like cheese"...

i'm not a 'tard; i understand the inherent danger of riding completely brakeless... i wasn't looking for advice on whether or not i should go brakeless.. just if i were to, what the best option would be for a short term swap.

that is: if i get down to ny, period, and if i don't ***** out....

I ride brakeless and I still think it's pretty stupid to go brakeless just for monstertrack. You're gonna get yourself killed if you try to ride that without experience.

I ride brakeless and I still think it's pretty stupid to go brakeless just for monstertrack. You're gonna get yourself killed if you try to ride that without experience.

he still has a couple weeks, if he rides brakeless for a while, and doesnt mind kind of taking his time i'm sure he will be fine. I mean, he could always just leave his brake on and go ride along without actually racing if he wanted too.

Im not advocating this guy suddenly go brakeless and race in HipsterTrack but seriously...riding without brakes isnt that hard.
People like to talk it up for some reason. I guess its a macho thing but no brakes is pretty simple.

BTW,
HipsterTrack ©deathhare 2008 :)

Im not advocating this guy suddenly go brakeless and race in HipsterTrack but seriously...riding without brakes isnt that hard.
People like to talk it up for some reason. I guess its a macho thing but no brakes is pretty simple.

agreed wholeheartedly.

riding brakeless is like ice skating. it's not hard, but entering a race with a week's experience is really really dumb.

probably dumber than op.

ha... well. i have 2 supporters. and whats with the disdain for monstertrack?



Chances are this kid shouldn't be riding monstertrack in the first place.

hang on a second. just because i said i had brakes doesn't necessarily mean i use them. nor do you guys know of my experience biking through city traffic.... i could be some suburbanite who's going to get his **** rocked, or maybe i've had a bit more time in a city going through traffic....

granted... if there's concern over me going from brakes to none, thats a fairly valid concern. that ^ astronomical (along with some of other guy's posts), seemed pretty baseless.

chill out guys... ask clarifying questions or something first. accuse me of impending death later.

i could be some suburbanite who's going to get his **** rocked, or maybe i've had a bit more time in a city going through traffic....
.

So which is it?

i was a messenger in chicago last summer, and currently go to school and bike in boston.

what does that qualify me as?

i was a messenger in chicago last summer, and currently go to school and bike in boston.

what does that qualify me as?

Nothing. I was just asking which it was.
If what you said is true, then why worry?
Otherwise youre either lying, just scared for no reason, or just wanted to tell the internet you were going to race in HipsterTrack.
Or all three.

well, im not worried (well maybe a little worried. its monstertrack... it's name precedes it as a pretty hardcore alleycat)

and actually... had i said that i was a suburbanite, im pretty sure i'd catch hell from bike forums at large. however, had i just said that i've had experience biking in a city... that's pretty relative. in that case, i could just have biked around major cities, but primarily using my bike for cruising in a bike-lane or something.

you wanted to know my experience, so i told ya. i dont want to brag about how im god on two wheels when it comes to city biking... because i'm not. but, i did want to leave you with a little more concrete evidence that i can at least hold my own in traffic.

Well its a race, not a rollercoaster. Its not so hardcore that you can't stop/get off anytime you want. ;)

i find it amazing that people still don't seem to realize that your riding is only as dangerous as you choose to make it. i'm not necessarily directing this at the OP, but what is so inherently dangerous about monster track? big f'ing deal, it's high profile but its just another race and how you ride it is still 100 percent up to you. cept for the brakes part, which should still be no big deal for anybody who has been riding fixed for any amount of time.

The OP said "participate", not "win".

that's sort of what i'm saying.

the darjeeling limited is a pretty crap movie, fyi.

the darjeeling limited is a pretty crap movie, fyi.

Just to get a gauge on your opinion how do you feel about his other movies?

lemme guess, you love bottle rocket but rushmore is your favorite and he started going downhill from there, right?

Just to get a gauge on your opinion how do you feel about his other movies?

didn't care for bottle rocket; loved rushmore; loved the royal tenenbaums (though it's since been ruined for me by l.a. and d.l.); didn't care for a life aquatic; thought natalie portman's tits were cool in the short; actively disliked the darjeeling limited.

Good lord. Even though deathhare know whats up, no one else seems to:

Monster Track is a NO-BRAKES EVENT.

OP obviously knows this. His informed decision tells me that he knows the risks involved in racing said event, and is more qualified to make this decision for himself than you are, if you didn't know that brakes aren't allowed.

And to the OP: If the brakes are going right back on, don't bother taking the cable off. Bullhorns can be had for cheap (chop+flops anyway), and who knows? You might like them. Good to have laying around. Have fun out there, I wish I could make it to MT.