Training wheels.

I commute nearly everyday on a fixed gear and recently also on an old English 3-speed. I know I feel much more comfortable hanging out in heavy traffic in a trackstand waiting to make a left turn, than I do with my foot on the ground on my freewheel bike. The same is true when I have to sneak through a tangle of cars to get to where I want to be. The ability to stop, wait for an opening, and immediately shoot through it is one of the reasons I value being able the trackstand with some proficiency.

Additionally, and maybe this is in my head, but I feel like if you can show that you know how to handle your ride well, it lends you a certain amount of authority in the battle to get to the grocery store.

And it is a fun thing to do. I hope that's ok.

Why can't doing it for the hell of it be a good reason?

I mean, honestly.

With 2 sided clipless pedals, I don't see any advantage to trackstanding other than just "for fun" (which is a good enough reason). With cages or powergrips, it is kind of a nuisance to get your foot back in there after stopping. My total of 5 commutes with a fixed road bike were done with powergrips. I remember saying I either need to learn to trackstand or not commute with the fixed gear.

man, i didn't know my 6 months figure would be so contentious... i think i should clarify that i had been riding fixed for six months before i was able to legitimately trackstand, not that i was practicing for six months.

in stop and go urban traffic trackstanding is extremely useful, especially in boston where you have to deal with tight spaces, unpredictable drivers, crazy intersections, and slow speeds a lot. its a very useful skill for bike polo, also.. i could go on, but apparently fun things are not considered "useful".

How come I can't track stand, but when I taught my 13 year old he can do it?
edit: He loves throwing it in my face.

Kids are much better at learning to do that sort of thing. I picked up the unicycle in a week at age 12. I've recently acquired a unicycle as an adult and after several months I'm just barely getting the hang of it again. They also learn to juggle faster according to my professional juggler friend.

Because you can't have fun when you're commuting, or hasn't that been beaten into you yet?
Your punishment for asking such a frivolous question is to go and discuss bike lanes in A&S.

From my wife's point of view (she doesn't ride much) she says trackstanding looks goofy. I try to explain to her how cool it really is but she doesn't get it. She thinks it just looks stupid (her words, not mine). I still think it's a neat skill even if I can't do it (and I mean a proper standing-still trackstand, not just slow rolling or a 2 second stop, I can do those).

Now unicycles, she thinks those are cool.

You elegantly stand still at empty intersections waiting for the light to change? OK you have a different view of elegance than me.

Sure I agree, the hell with it. If someone wants to train and practice for six months to "get it", then "getting it" must be a good reason in itself.

I do it for props.
Nothing impresses the drivers more than when you do a lane splitting fishtail skid to hockey stop to reverse-U to trackstand, in front of their cars.

OK. Now I "get it." Thanks!

Clutch, throwout bearings, cars?
www.automotiveforums.com

Or stick around and talk bikes. ;-)

Seriously, trackstands seem to be more allowance than achievement.
A chance occurrence convinced me of that. What was the occurrence?

While practicing in a parking lot, I looked forward to see what an approaching driver was going to do, and shwã...! I was suddenly distracted enough to just let the trackstand happen. Relaxed, head up, centered. Not trying, just allowing it to occur.

And for my next trick I will fly by getting a friend to distract me just as I am just about to fall down a steep hill.

I don't ride fixed yet, but I'm trying to pedal at ALL times in prep. for getting a FG together.. as well as to keep my legs moving anyway. I trackstand to some degree, usually the fighting brakes method mentioned here.

I take off from lights fairly quickly usually, and I use the traffic lights to cue my advance, the pedals I have on the roadie right now are one-sided former cages (they were old and beyond use/repair), so it's uncomfortable if I've got one upside down. I try to keep my dominant foot (right) on the pedal at all times, and then as the cross-way is turning red, crawl forward to get the other foot onto the pedal the right way, and then give 'er when I've got the green. This means I'm sometimes caught out by an extra long amber/red/green change and sometimes have to try to trackstand or put the foot down again.

The idea of riding fixed scares the hell out of me only because of braking/stopping - but I'm going to try and get a bike going this year to try it, first keeping the brakes on and then see how that goes. I'm also wanting to try clipless this year and have some clipless/platform double sided pedals on back order from performance bikes for that. I've been using my front brake almost exclusively in prep. for a FG switch, too - I used to rarely ever use the front brake EVER until I read a bunch of posts re: fixies here Some techniques can be used on freewheels too, to some degree.

The trick to flying is simply missing the floor

looking into middle distance makes things easier- i think it's more the position of your head than anything else. Having your head straight up lets the ol' inner ears work. I can easily pull my water bottle out of the cage and drink while trackstanding, but if i tilt my head down to look at the cage while putting it back in, i tend to loose my balance.

Granted, fixed gear riding is not for everyone (e.g., I-L-T-B). Just as driving a stick shift car isn't for everyone. I do remember trying to learn how to drive stick after years of the relative ease of an automatic transmission. It was terrifying stalling the engine on an uphill start from stop. Similarly, the first time I hopped on an FG freaked me out. Preparing for it by constantly pedaling on a freewheel bike doesn't adequately prepare you for the experience, since you have the option of not pedaling. Having the option is a big deal, even if you don't stop pedaling. Backpedaling is a unique experience that simply can't be experienced on a freewheel bike.

Yes, it was elegant, and highly efficient as well, since once I found the sweet spot, it took less energy to maintain the trackstand than to loosen the straps, remove my feet, and place them on the pavement.

Why not ride with simple platform pedals? It's not as safe on a fixed gear with feet unsecured to pedals.

Why ride fixed gear if platform pedals aren't safe? There are many reasons; there was a recent thread in the SS/FG forum that addressed this.

I still enjoy riding multi-geared freewheel bikes. And everything I've learned in dealing with the uniqueness of FG riding has helped improve my general biking skills.

Well put.

Yeah, that's funny.

I see these kids all the time in certain areas of the city that congregate like the skateboarders. They use their FG bikes with no foot retention on the pedals so they can execute BMX tricks. While one could argue these are entertaining to execute or watch, it's hard to argue there's a practical place for them on the road with other motor vehicles and cyclists. It irritates me to see someone approach an intersection with that kind of abandon.

By comparison, the trackstand is tame and highly practical for a fixie commuter. If one can execute them properly. Many times, I see poor trackstands where it looks like the bike and rider are having a simultaneous seizure. I've done those.

My feet don't touch the ground either at intersections without opposing traffic. My elegant solution is to keep right on going.

This is your solution whether you're riding fixed or not. This is not a good solution in situations where you're required to stop.

You weren't conceived at Fenchurch station, were you?

Re: trackstanding, I believe I made my position clear on this topic here: https://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.p...4&postcount=20

Or what will happen? The Boogie Man?