Jabba Degrassi

ak1

sounds like a lot of people here belong in the yoga forum

beeftech

+1

aeroluminum

my 2 cents: once i learned to ride W/O brakes i didn't want to ride any other way (been brakeless since i was 17 and i'm 26). Oh **** moments? yea thats gonna happen. but you end up riding like a river and follow the path with the least resistance. it's like no other feeling.
Sorry i'll never comment on this again. nathan

bigbris1

Don't worry man, there are a few of us on who here know what you mean. Too bad this forum is full of high school & college kids who are scared wannabe internet tough guy wimps (and older guys trying to identify with the latter so they side with them) who overcompensate for their shortcomings with brakes. This thread will go on for about 5 pages more with nothing positive. Enjoy your riding & don't let these jerks deter you. I really wish I could meet some of these guys in person.

deathhare

If your brake cable breaks or comes free youre in the same boat cause you never learned to ride without it and will soil your L.L.Bean cargo shorts right before you hit the dumptruck.

Asymmetriad

Actually, a cabal of the finest french, japanese, english and italian bicycle engineers once joined forces back in the days of yore and after much postulating, calculating, prototyping and testing came up with a solution to that problem. It was the other brake.

gbarchus

Can "enlightenment" NOT be achieved if there is a brake attached to your bike? There's no law that says you have to use it, right?

After riding for about 3 months without a brake I found myself going down some pretty long descents where I didn't have enough strength to slow the bike down and was pedaling a lot faster than I wanted.

I'm riding much faster with a front brake but I'm one of those "older guys...".

Gale

Jabba Degrassi

I love this. You've got a No True Scotsman fallacy, ad hominem attacks all over the place, and a deliciously childish veiled threat to top it all off. You're a real class-act.

ak1

Where are those damn bike forums jerks!

deathhare

Are the damn bike forums jerks the ones with the sunglasses behind him on his right?

beeftech

There's a difference between having a brake, and using a brake.
One of those options is the same as riding brakeless with added weight.

But I do agree that knowing how to stop without using a brake is an important skill to master no mater what kinda bike your riding. But just having a brake on your bike doesn't mean you don't know how to do it.

deathhare

I dont know.. the people who have a brake but ride around trying not to use it is about the most jackass of all the possibilities here.

ilikebikes

It seems ever time I go into the city I witness a bike crash, why is it ALWAYS a FG bike with no brakes?
saw a crash AGAIN last Tuesday, a guy on a FG going the wrong way on a one way (he was on the right side going against traffic) street decides he needs to zip over to the other side and meets up with a guy riding SS with 2 brakes going the right way! They both panic but the guy on the SS bunny hops onto the pavement and comes to a sweet stop by hitting his back brakes and swinging the bike around just in time to see the FG guy flip forward over his bike and slamming to the ground! Here the FG guy tried to lean forward and skid to a stop....while turning his front wheel to the right!

deathhare

Who the hell leans forward while trying to skid to a stop?

bicycleptic

My brake and my helmet have a lot in common. I ride with them every day but rarely use them. I would not ride without them even though I hope I dont need them. I always say if you have enough of a brain to be worth a helmet and a brake then keep the helmet and the brake. If your brain is not worth the trouble of a helmet and brake then dont bother with either one.

deathhare

Damn..you're wise.

beeftech

this last one just makes me laugh

salty road

+1

deathhare

Since youve just joined us...those guys arent trying to stop.

And yes...the last one is hilarous.
I was looking for that pic the other day. lol

THanks.

That pic screams Jackass. I love it.

TR909

I get the brakeless ethos, really, I do. My own personal reasons for my brake are 1) I like pricey tires, go figure. I don't mind sacrificing lifespan for road feel but I'd have a heart attack if someone tried skidding my vitt corsa's! 2) I find I am faster with a brake and able to take more chances on wet/poor traction roads or downhill in the rain - I could also just be a wuss. 3) I'm still haunted by the day a toddler ran out in front of me in battery park and I slammed on the front brake just in time NOT to run her over. I definitely don't have faith in my reaction time in freak situations like that to beat a finger-to-lever synapse firing with my legs, and I couldn't imagine having to explain my lack of brakes to the kid's mother.

beeftech

I'm aware they aren't trying to stop, thus the inclusion of the last pic, but newbies do look at those pics and watch the mash videos and do try to stop using that technique, I've seen it failed plenty times.

And yes that last picture is great, I especially love his facial expression, not even getting into the bike at all.

deathhare

You could have swerved
Didnt you see MASH?
Swerving is cool.

deathhare

skidding is serious business. requires intense concentration and a crooked ball cap.

TR909

Ha, would loved to have thrown a whip all haard and such but there was nowhere to swerve to. I was gonna take out at least one ped on that narrow path, mucho turistas that day and I'm hoping to keep my lucky streak of not hitting a ped in nyc (nigh impossible) alive. *knocks wood*