Illegal
 

what states is it illegal to ride without brakes? I am going to college in Illinois and wondering if i'll be alright, i cant seem to dig anything up, anyone around Illinois Wesleyan (Bloomington/Normal) area that rides? Thanks guys again.

does anywhere REALLY crack down on it? i rode brakeless all over oregon a few months ago, and saw tons of other brakeless bikes too.

as long as your not doing any stupid **** you should be fine
just dont draw a bunch of attention to yourself by weaving through traffic and such

sounds good to me. I just am getting the hang of riding a fixed gear, and have just my front brakes on both of my fixed gear bikes, and will soon want to take the front off both of them. THanks

just say you have a coaster brake if you get caught and then just skid to prove it.

I have never heard anything about needing a brake in illinois.
I have plenty of friends that ride brakeless in the CU. I guess if you are good for it, you can try it.

Hey,

I think you don't get caught brake-less in Japan either. There are not enough cops around who are free enough to go off and arrest bikers. ... But I did get stopped for "bike-registration"; cop ain't checking for brakes. ... Personally, I don't think people around here knows what brake levers should look like, so you could fake it by pretending to grab at something when you see cops.

T

"what do you mean I don't have any brakes? How did I just stop?"

In Santa Cruz you need one operational brake (as opposed to a non operational one or something). I was stopped by a cop recently who warned me about it.

You need a brake in every state, although the cops in Tasmania don't really know about fixies yet, so you'll get away with it there. Queensland cops are the worst, so watch out.

You didn't ask about the territories - any plans to go through the ACT or NT?

I think the cops in most cities are pretty clueless about people riding without traditional brakes.

i wouldnt worry about it, but why take them off? if you want to ride brakeless, just dont use your brakes.

My guess is that's what he's doing right now, as a way of preparing himself for riding without a brake at all. I'm popping a front brake on my current project, but I intend to use it as an E-brake.

I may remove it eventually, I may not. I don't know. All I do know is it's going to be there for a pretty long time.

I still fail to understand why one would ride without brakes in traffic.

It just looks cool okay.

The bike looks better without brakes.

I seldom use the brake on my bike. I've only used it for those "oh-*****" moments which are also uncommon but they do happen.

Some people have more fashion sense than common sense.

My roommate got a $60 ticket for brakeless in Eugene, and I know 2 guys who got tickets in portland. I think it's more if you are drawing attention to yourself cuz I've never had any issues and I know plenty of others who have not either.

no one in bloomington normal gives a ****. especially the cops. that said, over in peoria i've been ticketed for having too bright head lights and not any reflectors. needless to say it was totally bogus and i didn't pay squat.

drivers in central illinois don't know what a bicycle is. if you are going to ride in traffic, which is highly unadvisable in this part of our great nation, do so in a group - a large group! i can't tell you the number of times i've been nearly creamed by central illinois drivers. my first year with a fixed gear was terrible because i rarely got to get it out on longer rides and i eventually had to bring down a geared bike so i could go out on local club rides for the group protection.

don't assume people around here will stop for you. if it's you or them, they'll pick you and since there are almost no laws in this state about hitting cyclists, chances are they'll murder you then go home with a $200 ticket. don't give 'em an opportunity!

^ you in Bloomington?

was in peoria. graduated a few weeks back.

to be honest, peoria was a crappy town. bloomington normal on the other hand looks even worse.

how do you figure?

How safe is it riding in town? I'll be moving to BN soon too, and I figured I'd be okay riding around downtown and the colleges.

going to school down there? Im headed to Illinois Wesleyan this fall for college.

Then hang it on the wall.

well if you wont be riding in the city where you are right next to cars, brakeless on a fixie is probabaly not a big deal at all.

not being able to use your legs again because you couldnt stop your bike in time without a brake and crashed into a car that pulls out in front of you without warning causing you to brake your back is probably not a big deal at all.

because over the 4 years i spent in peoria i found myself in bloomington normal at least once a week for a variety of usually stupid reasons.

parties, sporting events, traveling through town and stopping for lunch, etc.

1. all the roads are bad. real bad. most of 'em are crushed limestone shards with a layer of tar sprayed over the top. literally a tire shredder.
2. no bike lanes/paths. occasionally you'll see a "bike route" sign around town but they're disconnected, run you through really bad neighborhoods and really busy streets with little to no shoulder.
3. cagers. cagers here are ignorant. drivers in chicago or the suburbs at least know to some extent that bicycles occasionally ride on the street. if they act like *******s, they do it on purpose because they don't want you there. drivers in southern and central illinois are just outright ********. they're unpredictable, they don't know how to drive around bicycles, and they are generally uneducated.

i'm all for commuting and riding around on the road - but there are plenty of places in america where riding on the street is still just too ridiculously dangerous to risk your life. when i'm at home in chicago i'll be the first guy to take a lane and ride down a street like i own it. when i was at school, you better believe i stuck entirely to small side streets and sidewalks everywhere i went and that wasn't often more than to and from class.

How do you ride without brakes?