ive been trying to learn how to skid for awhile, and i cant seem to do it, what would be a good gear ratio for skidding.

I started on like 65 or so. Make sure you have clipless pedals, or really tight straps, because you need to pull up with your front foot.

And honestly, do a ****ing search. There have been so many threads about this.

The lower the better. Something 70 or downwards should be fine for learning. Really though the key is to try skidding on a low traction surface; dry pavement is a difficult skidding surface for a noob. Find a grassy area, some rotten leaves, wet and oily pavement, or whatever, and give er there.

why would you pick your gear ratio based on skidding? it's a bike... ride it.

p.s. I'm sorry to be harsh, but really...

Remember that static friction is higher than kinetic friction, so the tire takes more force to break free than to hold a skid. Shifting your weight forward on your hands (a friend of mine says "balls to the stem") helps with that.

42x17

20x20 should do the trick.

for the 1 toe skid?

Try hopping the rear of the bike to get used to unweighting and locking up the rear wheel.

And use a brake until you get confidence...

40 gear inches
180mm stem with long bullhorns
Stayer fork
48cm frame
24" front wheel
No saddle
Duct tape around the outside of the tire
On an ice rink

Yeah, I've been riding a fixed gear for a while (lots of miles), with brakes. Skidding just came naturally one day, my brakes weren't adjusted right cause of taking the front wheel off all the time and one time I applied a lot of force to come to complete stop cause a car pulled out in front of me, and made a nice skid with barely any effort. Back paddling and skidding use, at least for me, totally different muscles than normal riding and I guess I developed them over time as I started to rely more and more on them to slow down and stop.

I found that small gravel or dirt (like a baseball diamond) was the best surface for learning to skid.

Re: the original question:

The lower the ratio, the easier it will be to skid, but assuming your ratio isnt ridiculous, you should be able to do it. Practice riding around with as much weight on the bars as possible. "Balls to stem" is a good way to think about it. As you get better and stronger, you can shift you weight backwards more and stop faster.

Seriously, shut up. We all get that you are really cool cause you don't give a **** about frills and are super hardcore and ride to ride and all that stuff, but some people just want to ****ing do whatever, so shut up. Furthermore, if he is riding brakeless, learning to skid is a pretty helpful part of riding the bike.

I've found that 2 glasses of red wine works best. I learned to skid after I'd had a few - more in tune with the world around me - when I figured it out. Oh, and it was a patch of wet bricks that made it easy. Ok, maybe it wasn't the wine. It was completely me. And the wet bricks.

170mm cranks
49/16

Now I can do it almost anywhere.

*\o/*

*golf clap*

jesus, we are twins. same ratio, same crank length, same state of mind.

+10 for buzzed bike riding off the red wine.

just get your nuts on the stem and lean forward when you lock your legs. you'll do it.


I can't imagine leaning so far forward that you couldn't skid and just fall before you get the chance to.

i use the same gear ratio for when i'm dropping a deuce

all the gear ratios work.

did I ever say he shouldn't learn to skid? All I said is that choosing a gear ratio based on skidding is ridiculous. As long as he picks a normal gear ratio he'll be able to skid with some practice, just like everyone else who has ever gotten on a fixed gear. Better that he picks a ratio that he'll actually have fun riding on than one that's only 60 gear inches that will get him dropped by anyone he rides around with. Oh, and as for the "we all get that you are really cool" line, my myspace address is at the bottom of every post I make, so everyone in this forum can go see how uncool I really am. I wish more people did that.

This is a substantially more constructive post that your first one, which was so cliche and generic that I knew someone was going to say befor I even clicked the thread. The point is, we get it, we get that half the kids in this forum are going to bring down any sort of question someone asks, and the people posing those questions get it too, so just save everyone the trouble and just not bother saying it.

You can sleep easy knowing you may not be as stupid as everyone else, but you are not going to help anyone out by just throwing in side comments, so if you are not helping anyone out then what are you doing? Most of the time it seems 2/3rds of the posters in this forum are just jerking off their own egos.

hahaha.

well, you know, he shouldn't be riding without a brake if he can't skid...

If you ask me nobody should be riding without a brake even if they can skid, but thats me.

OMGz DON't skidz if yr breakless... jeez guyz