I've got something like this as soon as I step out of my front door on the way to work, but for a quarter mile instead....it's pretty fun to coast down.

I've never been mistaken for a masochist, so yes.

I've been riding my new fixed gear for the last two weeks everyday. I have not used my brakes unless in emergency stops but instead use my legs to stop. Freewheeling/coasting feels very strange after being away from it for a while.

I ride my old bike to work because it gets me there faster than walking and it's cheaper than public transit. Of course I coast although it's more due to lazy-ness and I am not really in a big hurry. I probably coast more than I actually pedal the damn thing!!! :P

i try to tell my son (11) this every time we ride. he'll get up to 14mph, and coast to 10, back to 14, etc. drives me bonkers. 'cause i'm on a fixed gear. but i let him do his thing. it's usually a fun ride for 15/20 miles. (now that i think about, i'll flip the hub next time)

as for my commute, fixed gear - pushing 80% effort 80% of the way. i take a 3 mile break half way, through a small park.

Coast? SURE! No reason not to! It all depends on my mood -- see, I'm not into riding to set PR's, reach some ethereal level of fitness, or some training regimen. I ride because I love it; it's pleasureable. It's also cheaper than driving, healthier than everything but swimming, but it's the fun factor, the joy, that gets me out there every day. Yes, I suffer some, too, but at my discretion.

Those of you that feel guilt at coasting, do what fulfills you -- as I do.

It is more amusing to see how fast I can get to work. Wait... there is something wrong with that statement. Wonder what it is.

Why would anyone feel guilty about coasting? That would be bizarre. I am more likely to feel guilty about eating a box of donuts.

The road into our complex is a nice gradual downhill. On hot and humid days I coast and stare at the traffic that is backed up on the turnpike.

Coasting helps me to cool down before I enter the building...

that's great! :lol:

very seldom, usually down hill

I ride at whatever pace I find comfortable at the moment. However, I don't coast much. I would rather pedal on with low effort than slow down and have to speed up again.

Jest? In BF? nooooooooooooooooooooo? ;) :lol:

Thou shalt not coast when taking a pull

How many "emergency stops" have you had to make in two weeks of riding? That sounds very strange to me.

I can't remember making an emergency stop in the last decade or so of daily bike commuting in the U.S or in Germany.

I detest pedaling backwards unless it is at a lower speed. I like my brakes.

At your age, I figured your prostate would have caused a few by now. :thumb:

So far no problem. But I did pass through Columbus on Sunday (on my way home from God's country) and took a whiz on the Horseshoe. ;)

When you are riding to work and a bunch of nuts fall on your head...you will know I really am GOD!
Too bad even God can't help the Buckeyes all the time. :cry:

So I'm biking home last night and I'm going down the hill right by my building. Fairly steep but not that long. I start by pedaling by just coast until I get on the upswing a bit. Anyhow, a buddy of mine on a recumbant was starting out just after me, and we're both going the same direction. At about 3/4ths the way down the hill he whizzes by me, going much faster than me. We was like a bullet compared to my arrow. And he was coasting, too!

He beat me to the top but not by much and we chatted on the way off the lab. He's got a windshield and really gets moving down the hills as his drag is reduced quite a bit. He's always said the reason he can get up the hills so quick on that bike is that he goes down it very fast. I never believed that until yesterday.

I coast all the time because constantly pedaling is tiring.

I normally coast behind other riders that are blocking my way or down some of the longer hills on my commute.
I do not understand the fixie thing. I guess its cool if you want to do tricks but if you are riding 13 miles up and down hills twice a day in heavy traffic I think the ability to coast is essential. Maybe when I am in way better shape I will try to commute on a fixt gear and see how it goes.

I'm thinking an "emergency stop" probably means an emergency instance where you need to decelerate faster than you can without brakes. This might happen when a car unexpectedly cuts you off, a ped jumps out into the street, a taxi swoops in to pick up a fare without signaling, etc.

I hate seeing someone who ever stops pedaling on an uphill. No coasting up hills. Not allowed. I don't care if you're slow, but you have to pedal all the way up the hill.

I pedal all the time because starting and stopping and starting again is tiring. It's counterintuitive, but I've found that it's better to soft-pedal than to stop altogether.

hmm.. interesting, i find the opposite to be true.

of course I coast, I earned it by doing the hill...

I'm too slow and wobbly to coast. Unless I have the wind to my back.

I seldom coast, and it's usually when I'm making a turn, coming to a stop, or overrun the top gear on my winter commuter on a fast downhill grade. I try to keep my pedals constantly moving as much as possible, in order to get most of motorist's attention with my brightly colored/reflective ankle biters.

If I am not riding for a workout or now riding in a group, I tend to coast a bit to enjoy the scenery. I have even been known to hop off the bike and grab a few pictures. Who knows, maybe someone will see the picture and hop on a bike to go and enjoy the area in the photo. Even when i am out on a gentle scenic ride, even if I don't coast, I still pedal fairly slow so I can still enjoy the scenery. It is funny, living here in Chicago forever, I am amazed at all of the new things I find right by my house that I had no clue were there before.

I do that on one spot on my commute. It's rolling hills and the city put a stopsign at the top of the hill and roughed up the street with ridges so the car drivers wouldn't run over any kiddies trying to get to the school across the street. The cops have been lurking just waiting to write a ticket for anyone to roll through the stop sign.

Anyhow, on the approach I am getting about 34mph downhill and at that point I get more speed tucked down and coasting than I would get pedaling. The 4 rough stripes on the uphill I prefer to rise up off the saddle (still tucked) but still coasting. I don't coast all the way up... but it's pretty close. Short hill but steep enough that I can make those speeds going down (yes, Clyde rider).

Normally I only coast when...
... I am trying to get my water bottle, fiddling with headlights, adjusting clothes
... I can go faster coasting tucked down than pedaling (maxed out on cadence)
... I am approaching a situation where I must slow or stop anyhow
... Group riding situation where I am slowing to match pace of a cyclist I am riding with
... Rough terrain where I wish to stand on the pedals and float over the saddle and handlebars
... I am taking a turn fast
I believe that it increases my fitness if I recover from climbing by keeping pedaling while my heartrate drops and the burn eases up on my legs.