Eatadonut

Brakeless, because I A) am a moron, and B) I tend to do things all-out.

I built the wheels myself (my first wheelbuild, too) on a pair of miche primato hubs I bought off jamtastic, paired them with a 631 frame I found junked that I've repainted, and some other misc parts I had laying around. It's got a double chainring right now, but the chainline is good so I'll probably leave it for a while.

It runs fine, but the chain goes slack when I resist. Reasons? Is this normal?


I took it to the girlfriend's apartment, her roommates were scared and confused when I showed them it had no brakes and could go backwards. The first words out of the girlfriend's mouth? "Oh! Can I ride it?" Yeah, I picked a winner The answer was no, unfortunately, she's about 8 inches shorter than me. Means I'll have to build her one of her own, eh?

shants

go ahead and buy a set of single stack bolts and just keep the ring that you use. it'll preserve the chainline.

if it slackens and stays slack, then you are probably having some slippage in the dropouts. don't be bashful - crank the ****ing track nuts down (you are using proper track nuts, yeah?). if it still goes slack (mind you, 1/2"-3/4" of vertical play when you lift up on the chain is fine - indeed, ideal), then you might want to look into a set of tensioners that'll work with your dropouts. others will need to chime in on what will work with horizontal dropouts, as i have no experience in the matter.

thumbs up.

Eatadonut

Didn't even think of that. I'll run by the LBS and see if they have what I need, they're pretty good about that kind of thing.

Nah, it just jingles a bit at the instant I start resisting, and then stops. It's holding fine in the dropouts, thanks to my proper track nuts. I don't think I'll worry about it. Thanks.

dolface

is the chain new? if it's an old one it could be worn, which would cause the slack...

Eatadonut

It's been on 4 bikes, but only has about 500 miles on it, and a SRAM master link, so the rollers should all be fine.

seely

jingles, like its hitting the stay? are you sure the frame is structurally sound? my chain is on the slack side of things and quiet as can be when i go to skid...

humancongereel

yeah, i think your wheel's slipping in the dropouts. resistance pulling on the chain, moving the wheel forward, creating slack...but you said it goes away when you stop resisting?

and check out a store that has bmx parts, i think that's probably the best bet for short stack bolts/bmx bolts (i like to say bmx, it's easier to say). then again, most bike shops will probably have **** to fix singlespeeds...ah, whatever.

max-a-mill

i think he's just describing the little bit of slack every chain has that you feel when you put back pressureon the pedals.

sounds good to me!

RedDeMartini

Eatadonut....

Hey it could be the chainline is just slack and the extra length is hidden by gravity or centrifigul force when you are still or riding forward. Alternately, the chainring might be old and slightly ovalized, leading to slack sections that become apparent when you lock your legs in a certain way. Put it up in a stand to be sure, mostly just tighten the chain, overtight will slow you down but won't kill you like a jumped chain on a brakeless bicycle will.

Please use a brake till you get this sorted out though. Congrats on being able to ride backward already and say thanks to your cool supportive GF, mine is too but we all know guys whose GF need to be more supportive of our silly habits that keep us happy, healthy and thrifty.

Eatadonut

Hey, thanks everyone. I figured out what the jingling was - one of the spokes in my rear wheel (remember, first set I've built) was unscrewing itself, and has now come completely out. Luckily I've got some time tonight I can get that all sorted out.

salmonchild

congrats. how about some pics?

BostonFixed

Don't be a dumbass. Put a brake on there.

shants

i usually like you, but shut the **** up about the brakes.

that said, you should learn to skip and skid before you rock the no-brakes jams.

BostonFixed

ergo- put a brake on.

If you wanna take it off when your all learned and stuff, fine. Really- you want to start with a brake.

Moximitre

damn, I thought it would only take 5 responses to get to a brakes/no brakes arguement. But it took 10? come on guys, you're slipping here.

BostonFixed

Not an argument- a friendly suggestion.

Eatadonut

Learning is why the good lord jesus invented parking lots and empty country roads.

r-dub

Normally I'd be in the "put a brake on it" category, but I wouldn't say anything. Then I noticed "Location: Texas or Oklahoma" and I figure you have plenty of space out there to slow down and stop.

Eatadonut

Yeah, the "traffic" I'll eventually take it through (this is my getting-to-class ride) will be soft and fleshy, and usually know to get out of the way. The amount of sudden stopping I ever do, with or without brakes, is minimal. Last time I can remember wanting to do an emergency stop, the brakes didn't help, not much does when you find black ice


Pictures as soon as my roommate takes 'em for me.

Phillio

it's weird....i've been riding fixed for a couple months now, and I started without brakes for a while....learned to skip and skid not too long after I started riding, so that definitely helped. And it's not like I had much of an option either... if you don't learn to skip/skid, or learn how long it takes for you to slow down just by applying back pressure, you're kinda effed. I put a brake on since then, but have seldom used it....on the other hand, I use the whole "wear it but don't use it" mentality, which makes perfect sense.....BUT, I think that starting brakeless gave me a different feel than if I had started with a brake. plus you're less likely to "fall asleep at the wheel" without brakes.... just my .02

salmonchild

they just want you to use a brake cos thats what they did. i say jump in at the deep end, you'll find out pretty quick if you like it or not- good luck.

paule

Do what you want, just make sure you ride the damn thing.

Jamtastic

congrats man. Let me know if you need help learning anything. I can meet up with you to help and hang out. I ride brakeless in norman and skipping skidding is just fine. But on the south oval you will have some close calls with the ipod wearers. They walk in the bike lane and cant hear ****.

Glad the hubs worked out for you. What ratio you running.

junioroverlord

Brakes are for girls...juvi-kyle's putting a brake on his track bike due to this fact.

teiaperigosa

no....do not put on a brake...you'll learn how to ride without a handbrake more quickly and efficiently, cause the instincts will be more ingrained...