Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - fastest way to stop w/out brakes?

i know how to regular skid (leaning fwd thingy) and i find it like a fun lil trick but not a good way to stop :( help?

ps. please don't say brakes!!!

i know how to regular skid (leaning fwd thingy) and i find it like a fun lil trick but not a good way to stop :( help?

ps. please don't say brakes!!!

As far as I know, skidding is the closest thing to braking without brakes. Or footjam on your front wheel.
But do us all a favor, and throw in a front brake.

brakes. skip stop. if you cant brake well enough,

BRAKES.































brakes

The fastest way to stop a bike without brakes is to slam into a fixed object.... cars work pretty good for this because they are everywhere.

The fastest way to stop a bike without brakes is to slam into a fixed object.... cars work pretty good for this because they are everywhere.

W00t physics!

Well theoretically it would be to use as much back-pressure on your back wheel as possible without skidding. So i would work on back pressure, using both your feet.

When I ride brakeless I carry a handlebar mounted umbrella which I hook into front wheel just behind the fork when I need to stop really fast.

What is the best to way to stop breakless? Good question tons of possibilities.

Steer into any of the following object: brick walls, curbs, fire hydrants, massive display windows, car doors etc etc. It'll stop you but you probably will end up with some terrible road rash or worse, die.

Joking aside, if you're just riding fixed for the first time, keep the brake, you'll be much happier with a brake.


When I ride brakeless I carry a handlebar mounted umbrella which I hook into front wheel just behind the fork when I need to stop really fast.
You should buy a parachute, much easier to deploy.

Just ask yourself one question: What looks cooler, a front brake, or a wooden box?

Then go buy a brake.

For real though, if you must, I believe the quickest way to stop is to put as much weight over your back tire as possible and backpedal like your life depends on it. (as mentioned above)

backpedal like your life depends on it. (as mentioned above)

because if you're in that much of a hurry to stop, it usually does.

I usually use a grappling hook for asphalt & city or an anchor for beach & sand. Almost Batman like ?

166918

From a physics standpoint, the fastest way to stop would be to do a bunny hop 180 and then when your rear wheel is in front and then apply "forward" (opposite direction of travel) pressure on the pedals so that you do a tiny bit of an "endo" but don't ever actually lose traction on your rear wheel (which is now in front).

Hope that helps.

foot jamming and lots of replaceable shoes

But seriously, if you had to ask this ridiculous question then get a ****ing brake. For the sake of everyone around you and yourself just use a brake until you actually have the skill to stop without brakes

if you had to ask this ridiculous question then get a ****ing brake.

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/sm/custom/chalcqhe.jpeg

Jump. Can't move on a bike if you're not on the bike.

When going fast downhill and trying to avoid that big car from the 70's that just pulled out in front of you and stopped, I've found that hedges will only slow you down: the house on the other side will do a thorough job though ~

Every cyclist should really know how to stop their bike without brakes (just in case they fail). e.g. using their shoe against the wheel.

i agree with spire. i had a moment of panic the other day when i found out in an unfortunate manner that my rear wire wasnt tight enough. thankfully i had fronts but i was ready to do some foot jammin in my chuck taylors

Foot jammed behind the fork is my go-to! Are you looking for a regular use thing, OP or in case of emergency???

Luckily it's been a while since I've been without brakes in an emergency, so my shoes look pretty good. If you go foot jammin' a lot, your shoes are screwed! No more white K-Swiss for you.

When going fast downhill and trying to avoid that big car from the 70's that just pulled out in front of you and stopped, I've found that hedges will only slow you down: the house on the other side will do a thorough job though ~

Yes, because it is highly common for brake cables to snap...

http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/6/23/sarcasticca128587148254433825.jpg

[QUOTE=the_don;11363144]Yes, because it is highly common for brake cables to snap...

It slipped completely away from the nut that held it in place. I ride with two brakes now ~

If you have to use the nuts-to-the-stem form of skidding, you should probably be using a front brake. Make sure you learn to skip stop and skid seated, then you can take of the front brake. The nuts-to-the-stem method is incredibly ineffective and you cant really do it in a pinch.

It slipped completely away from the nut that held it in place. I ride with two brakes now ~

The problem is that you didn't install and / or adjust the brake properly. Adding another brake isn't going to help any if it isn't done right. The failure is yours, not the equipment's.

Oh, and to the OP, I nominate you for a Darwin award.

i know how to regular skid (leaning fwd thingy) and i find it like a fun lil trick but not a good way to stop :( help?

ps. please don't say brakes!!!

You might wanna try out a power-slide. You "seated-skid" out to left or right. But unlike fish-tailing, you stay to one side and let yourself turn further out. I sometimes do fish-tailing for stopping (as opposed to slowing), too. Those seem to offer more stopping power than straight skids.

I think you should learn fish-tailing first, then power-slides gonna be fairly natural to do. Meanwhile, skipping is a practical "auxiliary" braking method. ... Oh did I tell you it's real fun?

Hmm...I try not to skid b/c I use expensive tires. Most the time, I just "back pedal" and slow myself down.

Now, when I DO find myself in an emergency situation (when I'm going fast and need to stop quickly), I usually do the following:

1. Start skidding while keeping as much weight over the rear wheel as possible

2. Look for an escape route (driveway, sidewalk ramp, empty lane of traffic, whatever)

3. Pursue that escape route.

Honestly, there is no way to stop a brakeless FG bike QUICKLY. Your best bet is to just buy yourself a little bit of extra time by back pedaling or skidding and then figure out how to dodge the situation. You shouldn't have to do this very often if you're a cautious rider, but I've definitely used sidewalks and driveways as "runaway fixie ramps" a few times...

agree with what is mentioned above.

honestly, the quickest way to slow down/brake is your own judgment and common sense. if you know you will be in a situation where you may be put in danger, be cautious about it. there is no need to be reckless. even sometimes with a brake, you cannot avoid a situation where you could stop at a dime. as long as you're scan your surroundings and anticipate what could happen, you will be fine. never bomb hills when you know there are blind intersections.

from riding a motorcycle for 8 years, ive never been in a spill (knock on wood). i respect the road and be alert to your surroundings. thats all i have to say.

http://www.treehugger.com/tree-grows-bike-small.jpg

anchor

being that this is the fixed gear forum, ive always been surprised at the lack of fixster-jock "if its fixed, dont brake it" mentality. kudos people.

i havn't encountered this yet, but if someone gives me sh!!t for having a brake, id probably say something along the lines of "id rather be uncool than a conformist moron."

also, the few times i have encountered the "brakes are lame" mentality on the internet was from hipster-brahz age 17 and younger.

Hmm...I try not to skid b/c I use expensive tires. Most the time, I just "back pedal" and slow myself down.

Now, when I DO find myself in an emergency situation (when I'm going fast and need to stop quickly), I usually do the following:

1. Start skidding while keeping as much weight over the rear wheel as possible

2. Look for an escape route (driveway, sidewalk ramp, empty lane of traffic, whatever)

3. Pursue that escape route.

Honestly, there is no way to stop a brakeless FG bike QUICKLY. Your best bet is to just buy yourself a little bit of extra time by back pedaling or skidding and then figure out how to dodge the situation. You shouldn't have to do this very often if you're a cautious rider, but I've definitely used sidewalks and driveways as "runaway fixie ramps" a few times...
this

Ya, use a brake and practice! Or don't and have a friend follow you with a video camera and post video of inevitable collision on here for our amusement!!

Going down provides much more friction than a skid, thus shorter stopping distance.


You need to lock up the wheel and whip it to the side to go down gracefully.

Try to keep your hands on the bar tops (not in drops) and keep feel clipped in to avoid entanglement. Your hip will take a bit of a blow, while it may look lame, you will still have the street cred of not having a brake which makes up for it tenfold.
















Example:

http://i41.tinypic.com/pu781.gif

Every cyclist should really know how to stop their bike without brakes (just in case they fail). e.g. using their shoe against the wheel.

You have to try this when you are running fenders... almost all my bikes have them and because of that I go nuts and usually install two brakes.

I am such a rebel.

Fatest way to stop without brakes?

Run into something solid.

Ride really slowly. Like 1 or two mph. Then it's easy to stop super quick!

Also, I was just watching Tom and Jerry. If you can somehow learn the techniques Tom has mastered of zooming toward a sharp broken bottle or falling on a needle and then stopping in mid air just a half inch above, you could probably apply that to bicycle riding. You may need to turn into a cartoon though. Watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit for more instruction on that.

Fastest way: don't start.

Actually, if you don't care about losing you bike, you can do the rear-jump dismount and let the bike go on.

You could try the wheelie/flip-out, too.

Awesome vid! I wonder if he got run over?!?!



Going down provides much more friction than a skid, thus shorter stopping distance.


You need to lock up the wheel and whip it to the side to go down gracefully.

Try to keep your hands on the bar tops (not in drops) and keep feel clipped in to avoid entanglement. Your hip will take a bit of a blow, while it may look lame, you will still have the street cred of not having a brake which makes up for it tenfold.
















Example:

http://i41.tinypic.com/pu781.gif

When I was a kid and didn't know how to stop my bike, I'd just manuever near something soft-ish (like say brown grass killed by the august sun cushioning over baked clay dirt) and jump off sideways hoping to land on my feet and let my bike stop on its own. Maybe it's a technique you can practice.

If you need to ask this question you should either:

- Get a front brake.
- Slow it way down to gramdma speed.
- Accept the inevitable darwin award.

Sure, you can backpedal like hell while putting as much weight on the rear tire and not skidding, but that takes plenty of skill and will probably compromise your ability maneuver (which I find to be just as important as your ability to stop in situations that require evasive maneuvering). Once you are skidding I don't think putting more weight on the rear tire will significantly assist braking ... skidding is just a really slow way to stop.

Awesome vid! I wonder if he got run over?!?!

Or more importantly, did the aerospoke survive?

Joking aside, the video does illustrate (kinda) a good reason to have mechanical brake(s). Wet pavement (or even worse, brick) + skid stops = much longer stopping distance. Plus trying to control a brakeless emergency stop in slippery conditions is much, much harder than on a nice dry road.

Also, don't try to be a tarckstar in traffic.

Grow a large set of motherfornicating quads and skipskid while sitting down. Skidding is not the best way brakes or not. Hence modern ABS usage on cars.

If you can slow both wheels down with about %10 lock you stop as fast as possible. The little bit of lock generates heat that helps. honestly on a bike with no brakes this is done by sitting down and LOCKING your legs as hard as you can but not getting into a full skid.

So, now got put a brake on your bike. Yes, I am a hypocrite since my bike runs with no brakes. But as of this week it has been relegated to mostly track now. My street riding will be on a road bike. I like breathing and I prefer my teeth inside my mouth. Yes, once in a while my new track bike will go on the street on rides with the wife. I like a little bit of brakeless 5mph cruising on the MUP. At 5kph you can stop freakishly fast compared to even 10 kph. see why school zones are 30kph?

So, now got put a brake on your bike.

i prefer air brakes
http://www.dragracingonline.com/special/images/parachute.jpg

Wear a bigger jersey.

Grow a large set of motherfornicating quads and skipskid while sitting down. Skidding is not the best way brakes or not. Hence modern ABS usage on cars.

If you can slow both wheels down with about %10 lock you stop as fast as possible. The little bit of lock generates heat that helps. honestly on a bike with no brakes this is done by sitting down and LOCKING your legs as hard as you can but not getting into a full skid.

So, now got put a brake on your bike. Yes, I am a hypocrite since my bike runs with no brakes. But as of this week it has been relegated to mostly track now. My street riding will be on a road bike. I like breathing and I prefer my teeth inside my mouth. Yes, once in a while my new track bike will go on the street on rides with the wife. I like a little bit of brakeless 5mph cruising on the MUP. At 5kph you can stop freakishly fast compared to even 10 kph. see why school zones are 30kph?

So, now got put a brake on your bike.

I think riding a bike that slowly requires more of a conscious effort than to just cruise along at like 15-18mph

Not for me. I can fall asleep at 10kph.

Hmm...I try not to skid b/c I use expensive tires. Most the time, I just "back pedal" and slow myself down.

Now, when I DO find myself in an emergency situation (when I'm going fast and need to stop quickly), I usually do the following:

1. Start skidding while keeping as much weight over the rear wheel as possible

2. Look for an escape route (driveway, sidewalk ramp, empty lane of traffic, whatever)

3. Pursue that escape route.

Honestly, there is no way to stop a brakeless FG bike QUICKLY. Your best bet is to just buy yourself a little bit of extra time by back pedaling or skidding and then figure out how to dodge the situation. You shouldn't have to do this very often if you're a cautious rider, but I've definitely used sidewalks and driveways as "runaway fixie ramps" a few times...

ATX is correct. Always be aware of your surroundings. Even if you know you're line and/or route like the back of your masturbating hand, still be cautious. When in a place that is new to you. Go slower and become more alert.

There is nothing wrong with going slower if you feel something in the back of your head....
Go with your gut. Always have a plan B emergency route.

Socks

you guys seem to forget that brakes are for fakes

OP has it right, run brakeless and **** da police. also, the question is rhetorical because on a fixed gear you don't stop you just feel the zen and flow with traffic.

Best way: Jump up off the seat, land behind the bike and hold onto the seat while doing some asphalt skiing. You can add sparklers for added style points. Trust me, this is safe and practical. Or you could just get a brake or three (front, rear, and umbrella for jamming wheel).

you guys seem to forget that brakes are for fakes

OP has it right, run brakeless and **** da police. also, the question is rhetorical because on a fixed gear you don't stop you just feel the zen and flow with traffic.

+1 brother

worthless thread. you only stop once. when you get to your destination.