Originally Posted by cyccommute

No, I don't believe that a fixed gear crank can inflict more injury...in most cases. You guys are making this sound like the crank arms are spinning at a 1000 rpm but they aren't. Fixed gear bicycles are still a reduced gear system just like freewheel bikes and, as such, the pedals don't spin all that fast. Most fixed gears are going to be set up so that the pedals spin between 60 rpm and 120 rpm which is the same range as freewheel bikes. I've taken my foot off the pedals (on purpose) while riding and it's not all that difficult to get your foot back on the pedal even while spinning with the other foot. You don't have to stop pedaling.

But you are all missing the point here. It's not that I'm suggesting people ride without foot retention on a fixed gear. I wouldn't even remotely suggest that. Wolfchild said that he would never consider riding fixed without clips but "Platform pedals are most practical and easiest to use for urban/city commuting". I disagree. If you are worried about your foot slipping off when sprinting and riding aggressively on a fixed gear, the mechanics are just the same when riding a freewheel bike. If you slip off the pedal during a sprint on either bike, the results are exactly the same as well.

I have tried fixed gear. It's not some mysterious religious experience. It's just like riding any other bike with the small difference that you can't coast. I never found that the pedals would lift me up with enough force to throw me off the bike if I stopped pedaling. You'd actually have to be pretty dumb to do that in the first place. The advice I got...which I ignored...when I started fixed gear was to never attach your feet to the pedals because it was "dangerous". I did and it's not.

I also knew how to trackstand before I started riding a fixed gear so a fixed gear isn't necessary to learn how to trackstand.