Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Newspaper article on Fixed Gear Riding

Newspaper article on Fixed Gear Riding


http://washingtontimes.com/article/20080515/FAMILY/913946111

Same tone as every other major article about riding fixed. At least the word "Zen" didn't appear.

I also don't like the not-so-subtle implication that EVERYBODY who rides a fixed gear rides brakeless. (Maybe it does mention brakes somewhere; I skimmed it pretty quickly).

Good read. Wish there were shops around me specializing in fixies.

I wonder if No Brakes Bike Shop carries Kool Stops.

This backlash around riding brakeless is ridiculous.
I have a front brake which everyone cries for, acting as though it will be some sort of salvation form any accident anywhere.
I've used it once.
And it almost tossed me over the handlebars into the car I was trying to avoid.
A skid stop would have just stopped me short with out almost going through someone's back window.

I don't even have brakes on my DH bike.

Everytime I use my brake I end up face-planting. My brake scares me more than riding brakeless.

It says fixie bikes are hard to ride, what is so hard about pedaling all the time? This doesn't exactly promote this type of bike by saying it is hard to ride. Took me 2 rides to get it down.

Everytime I use my brake I end up face-planting. My brake scares me more than riding brakeless.

Wow, you should probably work on that.

A lot.

lame.

This backlash around riding brakeless is ridiculous.
I have a front brake which everyone cries for, acting as though it will be some sort of salvation form any accident anywhere.
I've used it once.
And it almost tossed me over the handlebars into the car I was trying to avoid.
A skid stop would have just stopped me short with out almost going through someone's back window.

You need to learn how to use your front brake then.

Note: I have ridden brakeless and continue to occasionally ride brakeless, I also ride a fixed-gear with front and rear brakes and in the past have ridden a fixed-gear with only a front brake. I also ride a road bike.

That article looks to have been taken from The Christian Science Monitor, which would seem to signify that fixed gear bikes are officially no longer cool.

lol @ 'no stopping'

all of those articles say you have to lean forward to skid stop. Not true, nor is it safe to do it that way in an emergency situation

Wow, you should probably work on that.

A lot.

My face agrees.

This backlash around riding brakeless is ridiculous.
I have a front brake which everyone cries for, acting as though it will be some sort of salvation form any accident anywhere.
I've used it once.
And it almost tossed me over the handlebars into the car I was trying to avoid.
A skid stop would have just stopped me short with out almost going through someone's back window.

Learn to use your brake correctly and that won't be a problem. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

"It's a ride built on adrenaline and danger, like walking across a lava flow in flip-flops."

What's wrong with slippers in lava? I do that all the time!

It would probably help if you knew how to properly use a brake.

Or, you know, you could just keep destroying tires. Whatever.
This backlash around riding brakeless is ridiculous.
I have a front brake which everyone cries for, acting as though it will be some sort of salvation form any accident anywhere.
I've used it once.
And it almost tossed me over the handlebars into the car I was trying to avoid.
A skid stop would have just stopped me short with out almost going through someone's back window.

Or, you know, you could just keep destroying tires. Whatever.

I will thanks.
Those cyclocross tires come in handy for it.
They don't wear down very fast.

I will thanks.
Those cyclocross tires come in handy for it.
They don't wear down very fast.

ok this has me confused, i tend to think of cyclocross tires as slighly bigger road tires with knobby... i would hate to be wrong. but skidding knobby tires kills them much faster then skidding slicks (or so it seems to work out when i skid a mountain bike vs my conversion)



and yea, i dont care what you say, a front brake will stop you faster then any skid could ever hope to achieve (simple physics)... thats why when you pull hard you go over the top :P

all you gotta do is learn to modulate it

Yeah "no stopping" was a good one... and then at the end when they admitted they could stop but not "instantly"... you know like brakes stop you "instantly"... like most articles I've seen on fixed gear bikes the author doesn't seem to have grasp on the difference a bike with a fixed gear and the riders' choices. Like fixed gear equals no brakes and no helmet, etc. His info seems pretty old too based his mention of the Specialized offering "designs targeted at specific cities" which he says will come out later this year.... Oh well, hopefully he got paid for all his good research and brilliant writing...

Everytime I use my brake I end up face-planting. My brake scares me more than riding brakeless.

That's because you're a moron.