brakeless riding IS stupid
04-03-07, 02:24 AM
#1
san francisco nucka!
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things to know if you want to take off the hand brake
(hand)brakeless riding is stupid without knowing the other things to help you out. dunno but i sort of felt a need to toss these items out there. sure you could skip and skid until youve gone through enough tires to make a snazzy rubber suit. but those are just are the most obvious ways to stop a bike. ive been thinking about the other neccesary things you should have in your riding vocabulary to make life easier.
-the "ted shred" this has come into much use lately as ive grown proggresively lazier. the upside: you stop dead in your tracks if you use it the right way. the downside: dont try this on a favorable pair of shoes. ive used this to go from full clip to barely moving in a very very very short amount of time. double downside: if you dont watch your braking force you can lock up the wheel which is....you guessed it. bad.
-"jamaican" skid. not so much something to use daily. but this is one that every single (hand) brakeless rider should know. the idea is that this move is used once you break a strap or clip on the pedal that is used to pull up during skips. the foot is placed directly under the pedal and pulling up on the bottom side of the pedal to effectively use it as a fully clipped and strapped set up.
-no-name-save-your-ass-move. this one is rarely and barely talked about. i have no idea why, its a goodie. to do this, you would have to be a glove wearing rider. lets say, a chain snaps, a pedal falls off or you are just going to damn fast down a hill. using your dominant hand slowly bring your open palm down on the front tire from the front of the fork. go slow to scrub off any junk that could cut up your hand. gradually add pressure until your bike comes to a normal speed.
this is not a brake vs. brakeless thread. no, no matter what there are lots of people who will do what makes them happy(is that a grammatically correct scentence?). some people dont ride with a front brake and this is reality. Its a lot to think about whenyou consider the fact that the minimal aesthetic of fixed gear bikes is also the downfall. I consider myself a skilled rider but I find that I am continually thinking about mechanical failure. This is a basic truth; sh*t breaks down.
no chain=no skipping=no stopping
no straps+clips=no skipping=no stopping.
so, instead of just blindly saying "hey i can skip stop till the end of time" how about thinking about the other practical things you can do on your bike to make you a better and more effecient rider.
-the "ted shred" this has come into much use lately as ive grown proggresively lazier. the upside: you stop dead in your tracks if you use it the right way. the downside: dont try this on a favorable pair of shoes. ive used this to go from full clip to barely moving in a very very very short amount of time. double downside: if you dont watch your braking force you can lock up the wheel which is....you guessed it. bad.
-"jamaican" skid. not so much something to use daily. but this is one that every single (hand) brakeless rider should know. the idea is that this move is used once you break a strap or clip on the pedal that is used to pull up during skips. the foot is placed directly under the pedal and pulling up on the bottom side of the pedal to effectively use it as a fully clipped and strapped set up.
-no-name-save-your-ass-move. this one is rarely and barely talked about. i have no idea why, its a goodie. to do this, you would have to be a glove wearing rider. lets say, a chain snaps, a pedal falls off or you are just going to damn fast down a hill. using your dominant hand slowly bring your open palm down on the front tire from the front of the fork. go slow to scrub off any junk that could cut up your hand. gradually add pressure until your bike comes to a normal speed.
this is not a brake vs. brakeless thread. no, no matter what there are lots of people who will do what makes them happy(is that a grammatically correct scentence?). some people dont ride with a front brake and this is reality. Its a lot to think about whenyou consider the fact that the minimal aesthetic of fixed gear bikes is also the downfall. I consider myself a skilled rider but I find that I am continually thinking about mechanical failure. This is a basic truth; sh*t breaks down.
no chain=no skipping=no stopping
no straps+clips=no skipping=no stopping.
so, instead of just blindly saying "hey i can skip stop till the end of time" how about thinking about the other practical things you can do on your bike to make you a better and more effecient rider.
Last edited by kludge; 04-03-07 at 02:33 AM.
04-03-07, 02:35 AM
#3
san francisco nucka!
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Originally Posted by savier_pdx
oh it will be. just you wait and see.
maybe, but the horse is dead. and its been stated(i hope people take the time to read my long post*sorry*) that people will do what ever makes sense to them.
04-03-07, 04:49 AM
#7
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Originally Posted by dudezor
I think somebody just made Morrissey cry again.
brakes aren't stupid, people are.
04-03-07, 05:20 AM
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Why do so many have "no brake envy"? You are still a man with a brake. Get over the fact that some ride without one. Why are there so many young chest pounders in this forum? Does it really matter who has a brake and who doesn't? It is so old and over talked about. WHO CARES?
04-03-07, 06:59 AM
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Originally Posted by deathhare
I didnt read that long ass original post but i know anything with that title is a waste of space.
04-03-07, 07:40 AM
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Originally Posted by dudezor
Nah, it's the way of the future. Shhhh.
04-03-07, 07:57 AM
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Something tells me that a "jamaican skid" would be rather painful to attempt at any speed...it would destroy your shins trying to catch the pedal coming around.
04-03-07, 08:12 AM
#18
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Originally Posted by kludge
no chain=no skipping=no stopping
no straps+clips=no skipping=no stopping.
no straps+clips=no skipping=no stopping.
P.S. - I ride brakeless, and why is it your concern if my preferred method of stopping is throwing myself face first onto the concrete at full speed?
04-03-07, 08:13 AM
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You forgot the ever popular Flintstone brake
04-03-07, 08:18 AM
#20
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scariest bike moment:
broken chain + hill + no brakes
coolest bike moment of zen:
dismounting in about .5 seconds while gaining speed at an incredible rate and running it out without faceplanting while my bike flipped and slid down the road.
Yeah, I use a brake now.
broken chain + hill + no brakes
coolest bike moment of zen:
dismounting in about .5 seconds while gaining speed at an incredible rate and running it out without faceplanting while my bike flipped and slid down the road.
Yeah, I use a brake now.
04-03-07, 08:54 AM
#21
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Originally Posted by I Like Peeing
Something tells me that a "jamaican skid" would be rather painful to attempt at any speed...it would destroy your shins trying to catch the pedal coming around.
04-03-07, 09:01 AM
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i can pull a jamaican skid at about 70 gear inches at a low speed. i suspect that with some practice, it would be relatively easy at moderate or high speeds
04-03-07, 10:41 AM
#25
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Originally Posted by npoak
__________________
This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is King Nine, B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in a wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day, or any other day.
This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is King Nine, B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in a wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day, or any other day.
