with a mountain bike you have brakes, you can coast and you can down shift to slow down. with a FG you have to resist the force of the pedals to stop. this means pull up with one foot and press down with the other. no foot retention makes this almost impossible, and likely for a serious injury. my bike came with platforms, i only rode it a low speeds on the flats until my clipless came in. i would have been a pancake had i went all over town with just the platforms.

side bar: i do run a front brake as well. to scared not to.

This guy is ridiculous, no doubt, but he's rolling SPDs.

[QUOTE=pawn;8336238]You from Montgomery County? (610)? I used to live in Lafayette Hill.

nah, Pennsylvania.

yahnming:

Also, as for brakeless being safer? Your argument makes no sense. Kind of like how cars are safer without airbags and seatbelts?[/quote]

i wasn't saying it's SAFER per se. i believe that it forces you to use your bike in a different way. you get used to getting parallel to traffic and instinctively come up with ways to get THROUGH intersections rather than stop at them.

but if you look up a few posts you'll see that i said it is actually safer to rock a front brake provided you're an accomplished rider. if you aren't, then it IS unsafe because you're going to grab your brake in a panic and not pay attention to the fact that your ass needs to be over the rear wheel. and do an endo. and get pizza face.

this is the old argument about being 'one' with the bike and all that. i feel this way, but i also understand if you're a messenger a brake can be a life saver. literally.

this thread started as a fixed-gear no brakes no foot retention thing, however. that's the topic of the day.

If you're planning on tasting pavement go for it. It also seriously limits how aggressive and fast you can ride, forget about climbing well, skidding, stopping effectively with just your legs etc.

[QUOTE=yahnming;8337710]So not Pennsylvania, or yeah you're from PA? Montgomery county is in PA (norristown, Conshohocken...etc.)

I'm pretty confident I'd leave you for dead in a hill climb race but we'll leave bragging for another thread should we?

You can quite easily pull up the back of your bike with no foot retention though, so surely pulling up on 1 pedal should be no different. I have no way to actually try it out at the moment but meh.

Either way I'll probably be riding with front and rear brake (anyone who want's to try going down a 25% hill at 50mph with neither can be my geust), but would still like to be able to pull the occasional leg powered skid for poops, so if foot retention is really necessary I'll geuss I'll have to look into some straps.

that'll be some mighty fast spinning

I'm pretty confident you won't be able to if i'm rocking retention and you are not. And you don't need a rear brake on your fixed, front will be enough, even for such a descent.

Have you ridden a fixed gear? There is a major difference from mountain bike riding because on a mtb you can coast. There is NO coasting when riding fixed. You hit the right bump and your feet will lift up. I get the impression that you haven't ridden fixed (I could be wrong)yet and are basing your info on what you've read and seen. BTW are you building a single speed (freewheel - coasting) or a fixed gear (no coasting)? There is a big difference even though fixed qualifies as SS as well.

I would strongly recommend using a rear brake as well on a descent that fast. I did 35mph on a down hill before and wouldn't have felt safe without having the rear. My legs were happy for the extra help

:rolleyes:

Also, why won't I be able to ride as fast without straps. Just learn to spin faster :p

I have ridden fixed gear, but not since I was tiny. I understand that there is no coasting, but I don't get why that means your feet are so likely to come off the pedals. I geuss it's something I'll have to find out for myself.

I'm still undecided as to whether I want fixed gear or single speed so I'm probably gona go for a flip flop hub.

The biggest issue for me, regarding brakeless with platform pedals, involves downhills that just get away from you.

I worry about losing the pedals on a fast downhill even when clipped in.

As I wrote in another thread, I can see a very low geared bike with platform pedals and no brake as a village or campus bike, but not as a real transportation bike.

The bike I use most for getting around has a front brake on it, and I can't remember the last time I used the brake.

I guess I could take the brake off the bike, but I haven't, mostly, I think, because of the possibility of unintentionally clipping out on a fast downhill.

I don't remember the last time I unintentionally clipped out, but I know I've done it.

Front brake + foot retention is the best combo. You can go faster, have more control, and save your knees all at the same time :thumb:

Well then that is your answer. You must experience it before saying what you think about it. Trying sprinting full speed without straps and you'll see why there is the need for retention (BTW DON'T DO THIS!!!). Go for a flip-flop hub, just in case you don't like riding fixed, but when you do ride fixed take your time because it is weird at 1st and you'll need to get readjusted to it.

But I can quite happily sprint full speed on all my bikes without need for foot retention. So why is a fixed gear different in that matter? I'm not meaning to be difficult. I am genuinly curious.

nah ugh. 2 brakes + fixed + double foot retention = the best combo:thumb:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3213/...9fa5ed.jpg?v=0

NO MATTER WHAT YOU WILL NEVER STOP PEDALING. So if you ride a century tour, you ride the full 100 miles. Imagine never being able to stop pedaling, and if you stop you get catapulted off the bike and that's what's riding a fixed gear means. Now imagine you have no foot retention and you forget you can't coast and your legs get tired...

Because those are freewheels, even if you mess up somehow you won't get butchered by spinning pedals of death. And retention helps with freewheels too by the way. I'm glad you're happy cruising along, but if you want to do serious riding go clipless or straps, there is no way around it.

Lol, what do you class as serious rider?

If I ever do any high level races then yes, I'll use clipless, I have some clipless shoes and tried them but am using them less and less. I just really don't see the benifit and my feet don't get on well with all this stupid arch support and nerve seperation and everything else crap so unless I get custom soles, which I can't afford, they just aren't comfy.

In all frainess, if I need to take a break I find very little difference in just spinning (just keeping up with the pedals) and coasting, so the thought of that doesn't bother me much. If my mind gets completely changed when i ride a fixed, I give you permission to call me a stupid fool and give me a virtual slap.

there is also the fact that you have only one gear with a fixed and when you're tired, you have to pedal the whole way home. So if your 5 miles away and your legs are drained it will be a very different experience than coasting a lot to get rest on the way back. I won't call you a fool if your mind changes, I'll just be glad you understand what it means and you can pass the new knowledge onto another who is interested in riding fixed as well

[QUOTE=pawn;8338261]yeah yeah man. i'm from the lehigh valley. spend a lot of time in philly, but i been up in Brook-nam for like six years.

by the way, foot retention is also very important on freewheel bikes. you can control the bike better, get better cadence, and in general i believe get more out of your cycling experience.

if we're talking bmx that's another story. i like to be attached to my bike, however.

consider it done.

If you're used to coasting, you'll find out within about the first ten seconds you're on a FG bike.

whoops! My mistake. the shoes threw me off.
sorry to whoever that is in that picture. hahahaha.

Haha. I've never been to a forum on here to come across a picture of one of my friend's. his name is bart. he's an ultra cool dude and has been riding longer than most of us youngins have been alive (hard to believe). he's one of the nicest riders i've met in denver. because most fg fanatics are tools.