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Gravity- she's a harsh mistress

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Singlespeed & Fixed Gear "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

Gravity- she's a harsh mistress

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Old 08-08-06 | 04:17 PM
  #26  
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<sarcasm>you're all so ****ing stupid and suck at riding bikes, go home and talk to your hipster friends about how cool your bike is even though you dont deserve it.</sarcasm>
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Old 08-08-06 | 04:37 PM
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The only time this happened to me, I had actually strapped myself in, not just forced my shoe into pre-tightened straps.

I forgot about it after ten minutes and went to rear-dismount. Ouch.
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Old 08-08-06 | 05:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Igneous Faction
The only time this happened to me, I had actually strapped myself in, not just forced my shoe into pre-tightened straps.

I forgot about it after ten minutes and went to rear-dismount. Ouch.
Damn, impressive. Good work.

Did it on my roadie when I slowed to let old people walk across right after I went clipless.

Did it on Rhode Island Ave in DC a few months back while trackstanding at a light. Then again like 2 weeks later at the same light I put a foot down, bent over to fix my shoe, then stood back up and the bike shifted under me, twisted my clipped in foot funny, and I went down again. Probably the same people behind me.
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Old 08-08-06 | 05:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Igneous Faction
The only time this happened to me, I had actually strapped myself in, not just forced my shoe into pre-tightened straps.

I forgot about it after ten minutes and went to rear-dismount. Ouch.
Now that deserves to be on YouTube! Care to do it again on camera?
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Old 08-08-06 | 05:18 PM
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i normally ride around on eggbeaters.
i threw my clips and straps on my black bike for a bit... and i ate it twice. I even had it super loose, my foot was just accustomed to going sideways and out instead of back and out. Never thought i would eat it on clips and straps.
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Old 08-08-06 | 05:24 PM
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Originally Posted by cavit8
Just do some pushups while you're down there and get back up like you meant it.
hah... great idea

i hate falling over like this... it's the ****tiest feeling to just go down for no reason. and if you catch yourself right you can scrape up your ankle or something. **** all that ****!
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Old 08-08-06 | 07:37 PM
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Originally Posted by progre-ss
It's the same feeling as trying out your brothers mountain bike with the clipless pedals and trying unsuccessfully to unclip at the top of a brutal climb. Not that I've done that or anything.
i did this recently, except it was during the middle of a brutal climb. My rear tire lost traction and I went over while spinning the rear wheel furiously then not being able to unclip. The worst part is that I was following 2 guys I didn't know. They kept going and I ended up losing the trail and getting totally lost. oops.
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Old 08-08-06 | 09:19 PM
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i went down for the first time while riding fixed (a while now) monday. went to visit a friend at his new house, conveniantly in the excruciatingly non-bike-friendly inner city of allentown, pa. skidded in my normal fashion to a crawl, moved in between parked cars, rolled forward thanks to allentown's mangled city streets, and went straight into the curb, sideways over the bars. couldn't get my left foot out of my clip, which was WAY too loose anyway, go figure. it was a thing of beauty for sure. nothing to do but laugh, really.
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Old 08-08-06 | 09:55 PM
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i was riding with a friend of mine once when he went down. he was using clipless, and when he went down he couldn't clip his left foot out. i was across the intersection watching (read: hysterically laughing) as he thrashed around in the street connected to his bike.
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Old 08-09-06 | 10:26 AM
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I pulled the same move yesterday. I took a right, and was getting up to speed (pulling my 3 year-old son in the trailer, so it takes a while), and beginning to take the lane to go around cars parked on the right. I hear a horn and revving engines behind me back at the intersection, and glance around to see some jackass in an SUV swerving around someone else taking a right (the idiot couldn't wait for the car in front of them to wait for peds crossing the road, I guess). I decide not to take the lane just yet, but then the next few cars won't let me in, and while I'm waiting and slowing and approaching the parked cars, I forget to unclip and go over. Into traffic. Luckily, there's a gap, and I yell "SH*T" really loudly on the way down, so the car has plenty of time to stop. But for a second, it was looking bad.

After the fear wore off, I wished I had gotten up a lot faster and chased down the pinhead in the SUV.

Not five minutes later, I did it again. Stopping off at a playground, I unclip my right foot to pull the trailer up over a small curb, lose my balance, sort of hop/pogo/bounce three or four times while moving left, and then finally just go over. By that point I'd rotated so much that I fell right next to the window of the trailer. My son says, "Twice!" and starts laughing. Not much to do but laugh back.

Both times concerned people stopped and asked if I was okay, which was nice.
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Old 08-09-06 | 10:40 AM
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Originally Posted by thouis
My son says, "Twice!" and starts laughing.
There is this thing called your hand. You use it to beat the shiv out of your smartass son until he knows you are the man. He will never question you again. Also, in three years(around 5-7, so he can remember things), make sure he sees your penis and he will always swear you have the biggest one in the history of man kind. Let your son know who the man is. Beat him young and he'll never question you. Damn kids these days, some nerve.




Wow, please don't take any of this seriously. Its deadweek at work, we arent publishing a magazine, so there isnt much to do and this is my form of entertainment.
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Old 08-09-06 | 11:48 AM
  #37  
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girl anachronism--+1!

anyway, just the other day i put a brake on my bke so i wouldn't have to pay my no brakes ticket.

now, i ride a small frame and have long legs. my brake is positioned such that when i clipped my left foot in to start going and lifted my right foot up to clip it in, it directly hit the brake. small endo, frantic attempts to unclip as i fell over, and fumbling all over trying to not to fall in the traffic that was coming up behind me....it was embarassing.

i hate my brake. i'm going to do what some of the guys here are doing and just carry a stick that says "brake" on it (a reference to something totally stupid a judge said).
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Old 08-09-06 | 12:08 PM
  #38  
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From: Decatur, GA

Bikes: 1985 Bridgestone 450, 1992 Trek 930 (SS Conversion), 2005 Bianchi Pista

Sadly, the only two times I've fallen due to clipless have been when I've been at a full stop with a foot down.
Somehow when I wasn't paying attention, the bike started falling toward my clipped in foot, and I couldn't clip out in time.
The first time this happened, I was next to a bus and caught myself. The second was turtle time.


I also fell a couple times when I temporarily switched back to clips and straps while wearing Vans.
With my old Adidas, I could wiggle my feet out of the straps, even when they were cinched down, but not so with the vans. I found that out the hard way.
On the ride back I kept thinking "be sure to undo the straps before you stop" but at the last second thought "hey, I wonder if I can skid with clips!" skidded to a stop, and immediately fell over with both feet strapped in.
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Old 08-09-06 | 01:01 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by jimmy_jazz
...skidded to a stop, and immediately fell over with both feet strapped in.
Yeah thats always an awesome feeling.
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Old 08-10-06 | 12:17 AM
  #40  
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a guy here was telling me a couple weeks back about trackstanding at a light and getting bumped by a car. he fell over clipped in. of course, it's not funny that he fell because of some jackass driver bumping him. what is funny is his description of trying to get up and yell at them, only to find out the hard way that he was still clipped in...all he could do was flop on the ground for a second. he was fine, so was his bike, therefore...funny story.
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Old 08-10-06 | 08:41 AM
  #41  
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Thanks for helping me realise I'm just averagely stoopid.

I just went clipped. Sauntered up to the red light and nonshalantly descended to the floor.

Then I went to Critical Mass the next day. Managed to repeat.......twice.

It's the slowness of the fall, like Bambi on the ice.
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Old 08-10-06 | 05:39 PM
  #42  
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Bikes: 84 level, 650c harry havnoonian track

one time, I went down for no reason at a massive 4 way intersection. the guys in the garbage truck across the street laughed at me until the light changed.
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Old 08-10-06 | 05:54 PM
  #43  
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Bikes: 1983 Bianchi Eco Pista

I went down once because of clipless and hit my friend next to me. We both fell over and basically the whole line of cars behind was laughing and beeping at us. When we got on our bikes my friend hit me upside the head.

I felt bad. Scratched my frame as well.
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Old 08-10-06 | 06:09 PM
  #44  
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Bikes: TBL Onyx Pro(ss converted), Pake SS (starting to look kinda pimped)

I was rollin around this almost empty parking lot in Old Montreal talking to my dispatcher on the radio (head kinked sideways as we all do) tryin to find an address. I'm rolling around in big circles for a few minutes as he tries to find out where my PU is. I end up near the back of the lot, he gives the good 411 just as I noticed the new shinny steel cable strung across the cement bouys to keep the cars off another lot. Just about wheel height, I panic jam the front brake (i'm on the radio), over I go, unclip and fall onto the cable and my bike. I end up almost strangling myself (nice 6inch mark for a week on my throat), and denting my top tube. All was accomplished at a walking pace.
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Old 08-11-06 | 09:47 AM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by jetbike
It's the slowness of the fall, like Bambi on the ice.
I think its hilarious when you reach that point of giving up... you know where for a couple of seconds you ALMOST save it, then realize its not worth the effort of scrambling/shifting weight, and just fall over.
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Old 08-11-06 | 10:01 AM
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too true.... just let it happen
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Old 08-11-06 | 11:11 AM
  #47  
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i fell twice at 30th and market. one time right as a messenger was passing me, i shared in his laughter.
the second time was in a crowd of people right into a slush pile. no one even noticed. i got up all embarassed and no one was even looking. both times were b/c one of my feet was strapped in too well.

now i loosen my feet as i approach a stop, haven't fallen since. (knocks on wood)
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Old 08-11-06 | 03:42 PM
  #48  
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it's the "name" of my game - pun intentional
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