Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - brakeless on a suicide hub

this is to all those folks who say that riding brakeless on suicide hub is a bad idea;
you are so right. it's bad idea. very very bad. especially if you live somewhere where there are hills.
i'll never do it again. i promise.

at least you learned something today....

and you are not dead.

Is there a story behind this post, cause I would love to hear it!

oh yeah, and again, I am glad you are not dead.

preach the good word, brother!

thanks for the 'glad you're not dead'.
it's not even a good story; coming down a moderate hill, slowing down to stop for the light, watching traffic start to move, feeling the cranks go sort of mushy, and all of a sudden pedalling backwards, and realizing that it's not a good thing.
i managed to to turn right into a break in traffic and get into the next street where i managed to stop, but geez i was freaked out!

the cog and lockring were spun all the way off the hub, and were a pain to get back on.

then i walked my bike down all the hills on the way back to my house.

I've never understood why people rode fixed in places with hills, anyway. If I lived in Florida or the midwest, I'd love to get a track bike, but San Francisco, that's insane.

krispistoferson, it's not really insane, there are usually ways to get around the worst hills, and there's plenty of flat.
plus, it's FUN, as long as you don't do anything dumb (like me).

What hill were you on?

coming down vermont towards 16th

it looks like the whole thing has a happy ending; i just picked up a set of suzue/mavic wheels on craigslist for $100

craigslist rocks!

krispistoferson, it's not really insane, there are usually ways to get around the worst hills, and there's plenty of flat.
plus, it's FUN, as long as you don't do anything dumb (like me).
I promise I will try it then. After Christmas I'm gonna buy a Pista,( seems to be a better package than the Fuji or Langster,) to see if I like the ride. You guys are like the Borg, the way you convert old bicycles and people to serve your own ends!

To quote a post on another thread:
"Why were you running a bumbike fixie set up with no brakes in the first place?"

I've never understood why people rode fixed in places with hills, anyway. If I lived in Florida or the midwest, I'd love to get a track bike, but San Francisco, that's insane.


Because we're not sissies...Sissy!

errrr my first fixie is in the mail, and before i ride it i feel like i should ask:

how does something like that happen?
there are some big long hills around where i live, so it might be nice to understand how to prevent said incident.

You prevent this by buying a proper track hub with a lockring, and not being a cheap-o like me and just thread a cog on a freewheel hub. Oh, and have a front brake.

coming down vermont towards 16th

it looks like the whole thing has a happy ending; i just picked up a set of suzue/mavic wheels on craigslist for $100

craigslist rocks!

I'd call Vermont a little more than moderate. Anything coming off Potrero Hill is pretty steep.
Glad you got the new wheels, it fits better on the Fuji anyway.

thanks blastradius, but i wasn't on the fuji, i was on my beater, hence the cheap-o wheel setup.

I've never understood why people rode fixed in places with hills, anyway. If I lived in Florida or the midwest, I'd love to get a track bike, but San Francisco, that's insane.

It takes the fear from you.

Although 165 recently rode a bike with brakes in a hilly town and called it good.


But don't tell anyone I told you that.