View Single Post
Old 04-08-08 | 03:39 PM
  #30  
mattface's Avatar
mattface
Senior Member
 
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 3,990
Likes: 36
From: Williston, VT

Bikes: Bridgestone RB-T, Soma Rush, Razesa Racer, ⅔ of a 1983 Holdsworth Professional, Nishiki Riviera Winter Bike

Actually I never even THINK about how I get off my bike. I just do it. It's like asking someone "how do you go down stairs"... After reading this thread though, I was thinking about it, and it turns out the way I tend to get off my fixed gear is significantly different from how I get off a freewheeled bike.

As I'm slowing to a stop, I pull the top foot out of the clips just as it goes past top dead center. this is a natural movement, because the pedal is pulling forward, so just pull your foot back as the pedal goes forward. That shifts my weight to the bottom pedal. The weight on the pedal resists the momentum, so my bottom leg will rise lightly (1/8-1/4 revolution) as I come to a complete stop. If I'm still going pretty fast I'll use enough brake to come to a complete stop as my rear leg gets to the right point, then just tip my weight to the side with the free foot, pull out the bottom foot and swing it over the back.

Written out it sounds like a complex chain of events, but they all happen at once, and it looks and feels like nothing. It's certainly nothing fancy. It's just how I get off my bike, but I suppose it's a method I developed over time without thinking about it.
mattface is offline  
Reply