I used to be able to trackstand for about 15 secs or so when I was a kid on my BMX bike. Haven't tried it more recently.

As for keeping a car in gear at a light, I found it a lot easier on my clutch-foot to keep the car in neutral and pay attention to the other lights. When the crosstraffic would get a yellow, I'd clutch and then slip it into first. This gave the same effect as being ready for the light without killing my left foot all the time. But as you said, different strokes...

I've been on my fixed gear commuter for almost a year now. I ride it as often as possible, and it's taken me many nights in the garage to learn to trackstand. I can pull it off for as long as I like in the safety of my garage, but find it a lot more difficult on the street. It's definitely easier with my left foot forward, but I'm starting to stick it too the other way around. It's getting easier and more natural, so I imagine with practice I'm sure it will become second nature. I'm not sure it's entirely "useful," it just feels so neat to be able to do it, cool points aside and all...

What's the big deal?

Is trackstanding a critical skill? No.
Is it completely worthless? No.

It's definitely a neat trick, but that doesn't make it important. I personally prefer not to have to unclip at intersections, so I'll slow to an absolute crawl and inch along while waiting for the light to change. I personally can't do a "true" trackstand (staying in one position indefinitely), I have to inch forward.

It's not a huge deal but it is easier (if I keep my butt on the seat, it's uncomfortable to reach a foot down to the ground. And I'm lazy and prefer not to dismount/remount all the time).

If you're trying on a freewheel bike, it helps to have it in a higher gear, and "fight" the brakes. It's easier to balance when there's more resistance to the pedals.

The thing that I've learned about trackstands is that it should not be work. The harder you try, the harder it becomes. I've managed to find the sweet spot, and I can trackstand indefinitely (okay maybe not, but at least the length of a long red light).

But zoning out motor vehicles at an intersection is still eluding me. I get paranoid about the car in front of me (afraid I'll touch the bumper), about the car behind me (the driver might not realize I may need to roll backwards to maintain the trackstand), and about the cars to my side(s) (no escape route in case I have to pedal to avoid falling over).

Unclipping before stopping has been my fallback, but it sort of defeats the purpose of the trackstand. If you unclip and trackstand, then you're really just showing off, not doing it for any practical purpose. I'm not an exhibitionist, so it goes against my nature to do something purely for show.

Anyway, I just got back from an LBS that does conversions, and brought home my high school bike (80s vintage Bianchi road bike) converted to fixed. For liability reasons, they would not remove the handbrakes. I just now removed the handbrakes and stripped the handlebars of its tape and brakehoods, took it for a spin around the block. Oh so sweet.

I would not disagree it can be useful, but personally I find it more work than unclipping one foot and putting it down. Keep other clipped in at 9-11o'c, when its time to go, push down, clip in other foot as pedal comes up and all one misses is ~25% of the initial pull up from the non clipped in foot. I think it is far less energy and more relaxing to unclip, take a breather, look around, etc.
Of course I wont' unclip if coming up on a light that is going to change soon or a stop sign where the stop only needs to be momentary. But over 10-15sec and I will always unclip.
Al

Question for the unclippers: Do you guys use MTB pedals?

No need to make clip/unclip decisions with my $10 pedals that last for years. I thought fixed gear was all about simplifying the ride. My commute drive train is below.

Yep, double sideded Time ATAC. Always clip in on first hit with never a look.

If I was to use clips.straps I'd definitely find track standing far more useful.
Al

i've always been told fixed - pedal retention = danger!

but i destroy my clutch by sitting at lights with it to the floorboards, so what do i know

No, that's what I thought. I use double sided Shimano 520 spd pedals myself. Not for the doublesidedness, although that is a nice benefit, but because I could walk into the tile foyer of my building without breaking my neck.

trackstanding can use up more energy that just unclipping, however i find it comes in handy when I need to get a jump on a light (ie making a left turn when there is no specific left turn signal). i think it took me 6 months or so to get trackstanding right, but now its pretty effortless. make sure your chain tension is tight, that makes a difference.

a good way to practice is to just try and ride in very tight circles very slowly... it will help you develop the balance and figure out the technique. just be persistence is the key to figuring it out. plus, once you figure out how to do it on one side, try it goofy -- makes it easier to do backwards circles.

I have to stare at the light---any headmovement and I go over. Its also tough when you just come up a big hill. I generally only do it if the light is short. No point in wasting energy trying to "show off" for a long light when you can just as easily unclip.

I guess I should 'fess up and admit that the only reason that I trackstand at the lights on my commute is that if you're a 40 year old desk jockey, it's probably the only chance all day that you'll get to have fun like a kid.

I cannot "trackstand" per say, but I can pause for 3-4 seconds before starting again. I have to say that trackstanding is NOT the fastest way to start from a stop. I put my pedals at the 1 o'clock - 7 o'clock position with my right foot strapped in the 1 o'clock positioned pedal. When light turns, I "throw" my bike foward pushing off with my left foot on the ground. The resulting mash from the right foot accelerates me quickly and I sit in the saddle. The following rotation I flip and strap my left foot to continue accelerating fully strapped. I could do it standing if I wanted but usually accelerate fast enough just seated.

I think my problem with trackstanding is I am trying to learn to do it with my backpack off. When I'm commuting, I'm tired and weigh 20+lbs more up top.

ILTB was being sarcastic. He has a very heavy anti-fixed bias.

Not me. I am all for simplicity and what could be simpler than stopping and standing still on a bike? Except apparantly for some of the fixed gear crowd who get all wrapped up in obscure and complicated ways to accomplish the same thing.

I can only wonder about the reasoning behind practicing/training for 6 months or so to learn a technique that serves no significant purpose except to make the simple act of stopping a bicycle into a gymnastic exercise.

Me, I have fun riding my bike, not doing tricks for the entertainment of the local high school boys. Everything I need to know about standing still on a bicycle I learned by the time I was six years old. YMMV.

Actually, with a fixed gear I want to be attached to the pedals. If my foot slips off then that pedal is coming around for some meat. No coasting = constant pedal movement. That bike with the $10.00 pedals looks like a freewheeling bike to me.

That it is, but when stopped, the pedal movement is the same as a fixed bike.

And it is does not require six months of training to figure out how to stand still with it.

Yeah, when the fixie is moving, I want my feet attached to the pedals. Having your feet slip off the pedals at a high cadence would be a bummer, the rotating pedal shaving skin off your leg as easily as that meat slicer at the butcher. It's not a big deal for freewheelers when a foot slips off a platform pedal; just stop pedaling and coast or brake.

So, I'm in the habit of tightening and loosening the strap when I approach a stop, which requires me to slow down significantly so I can grab it when the pedal is at noon. Freewheelers have it easier as they can coast, loosen the strap at their leisure, then brake. Most of them approach stops at a higher velocity than I do, so this causes me concern when a pack of cyclists approach a stop at the same time. (Will those behind me understand that I'm slowing down even though I'm still pedaling?)

If I could eliminate the loosening and tightening part, that would be ideal.

One could argue for clipless as a solution, but fixed are the only bikes I dislike with clipless, as I feel far more secure with that cage and strap surrounding my foot, particularly for skid/skip stops.

But once you've learned how to trackstand there are no gymnastics or anyone to impress, just another cycling skill. That's fine if you like doing it your way, but the OP asked how he could learn this skill and add it to his commute. Just because you choose not to do something doesn't mean it has no value or use.

I learned to trackstand a geared bike when I was a messenger in Seattle and it definitely still comes in handy commuting in Los Angeles. I find drivers are less bothered when I'm in front of them, the light turns green, and I'm ready to go. Regardless I find on most commutes I haven't clipped out once and never give it another thought. I think it's a great skill, just like bunnyhopping pot holes or panic stops. I bet you could even do it with platform pedals.

It only took me a week to pick it up when I got my fixie but that's because I had been practicing on a freewheeling tall bike. Stopping on a tall bike is slightly more inconvenience than it is on a regular bike, hence the motivation to learn. Also, with clips and straps, it's nice to not have to stop. As far as bieng "worth it" it just depends. Once you're good at it it doesn't take any more energy than standing on the ground but I often don't trackstand at the longer lights because it's nice to rest your feet now and then. I think if I'd been trying for 6 months and couldn't do it I'd probably just forget about it. It's not that big of a deal, but it is fun and does help you pick up chicks. (that last part is a lie)

EDIT: Also, as a kid we used to try to stand still on our BMX bikes using the front brake and little bunnyhops. I got damn good at it and could go for several minutes at a time so maybe that's why it came easy on a fixie.

Really, a bias against anything other than sub $100 german city bikes with 3-speed internal hubs, platform pedals, and 700X45 tires, and all those "serious cyclists" who would dare to ride anything else. Fixed gears are just the most common objects of his ire.

Regarding the OP- practice is key. Try it out at every empty intersection you come to (excellent way to pass the time waiting for a light to change), and soon you'll be trackstanding confidently in every situation. Watch out for potholes and wind gusts.

I found that trackstanding dramatically improved my sense of balance not just on the bike, but also in general.

Agreed. My sense of balance has really sharpened. I also feel a better connection to the bike, so that my bike and I balance as one.

For now, I'll save the trackstands for the empty intersections. Yesterday, I was able to maintain an elegant (relaxed, nearly stationary) trackstand when I was first in line at the light (no cars to either side, no other cyclists, and minimal cross traffic). But at the very next intersection everything was different, and I lost my nerve (and my balance).

I do it whenever I can. I'm a left-footer, and can't stand for a dime on my right... but one day, while I was trackstanding at a light for about 45 seconds (maybe a minute?) a guy walked by and said 'wow, I wish I could hold it for that long'

THAT makes trackstanding worth it! Really though, it's a fun challenge to see if you can not put a foot down the entire ride. Necessary? no, fun? yes.

also, I was riding home a mountain bike I bought the other day and was able to trackstand all the way through a light. It was a really neat feeling to do that on a freewheeling bike, I felt so accomplished!

I use MTB/BMX pedals that I butchered up.....They are pegged Easterns
that I bolted toe clips onto the front of. Works very well. I only use BMX/MTB
on all of my stuff. When I get to FLA(no hills) Im taking the clips off, too.