I have been riding a fixed gear now for about 2 months. I had front brakes installed since day 1, but I stopped using them a month ago. I pretty much just rely on back pedaling and skidding now. However, after each ride, my knees feel very uncomfortable. I know this has to do with back pedaling and skidding. I do not want future side effects from this=(

But if I start relying on my brakes and not ever back pedal and skid again, doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of having a fixed gear bike? I mean, it is possible to switch to a freewheel since I have a flip flop hub. It's just so fun skidding though. I am at a confused stage right now! Someone please enlighten me!!

MTFU!

The purpose of a fixed gear is not specifically to skid. Its okay, no one will call you a girl just for using a brake. Most of us do actually :O we skid in addition to it

LOL. Pure gold.

I come from San Francisco and it is swarmed with hipsters that go crazy for street credit. For them, riding brakeless is a must. For me, I didn't use brakes so far because it is just way too fun.

Lets see here - You do something and it hurts You stop doing something and it stops hurting. What should you do? If you want it to hurt keep doing it. If you want it to stop hurting stop doing it.

I have to disagreee with your assessment. When something is fun and it causes pain which makes you want to stop which in turn makes you feel sad - this happens because you are normal. When something is fun and it causes pain making you want to stop and you want people to tell you to keep doing it anyway and you have justification why you want people to tell you to keep doing it - this happens because you are a hipster.

**** them. What's more important to you, your health or some ******bags' approval?

If the way you ride your bike makes your knees hurt, do it differently.

I typed out a long rant and then deleted it.

What do you want us to "enlighten" you about?

Maybe you should just use your brake when there are no hipsters around to judge you.
Then you can do epic skids in front of the coffee shop and retain your street cred.

If you already have a brake, just use the damn thing before the doctor tells you you're gonna need a bionic knee.

Just learn to use the brake, it doesn't defeat the purpose of fixed gear, to me the purpose of riding fixed is to have a greater control of my bike. So having a brake make it easier for me to control my bike. I ride my bike on campus a lot so it's good being able to track stand in pedestrian traffic but it's also nice being able to stop on a dime because of my front brake.

idk about your area but around here it i "uncool" to ride brakeless. Everyone is riding track drops with a front brake that has a "frog leg" lever.

track bars with tape on the top near stem, 46/17 gearing, front brake, and 25c or 28c tyres.
like this:

Skidding will get me BIONIC KNEES? ****, I need to skid more often.

I think people ride fixed for a lot of different reasons. If you like ride it because of skidding and backpedaling, than maybe it's time to reconsider fixed riding.

That said.... Give your body time to heal after riding a lot. Take a break here and there if you can. Your muscles might be up to the task, but tendons and other parts of your joints heal and get stronger at a slower rate. Much slower. So it's real important to get the right amount of rest while building strength in the knees.

Flip to the Freewheel for a bit even then switch back in a few weeks or a month.

Lol @ riding fixed just to skid

Might as well get a coaster brake. Now THOSE are fun.

oye vey

my man, keep the front brake and use it. skid for s*hits and giggles or to impress zee women

Ok, by many of your assessments I'm an old bugger. My knees used to be classified as done. Since riding fixed my knees are much better due to building muscle around them. I don't lay long patches of skid, I skid in small increments TO SLOW DOWN. If you want to just lay long patches on the ground go buy a bmx.

Reason: my bike is adjusted properly. I have the right fit. I would bet that your saddle height is based more on style than function. Your gearing is probably wacky too. Click on search, get the gearing for spinning and get your saddle height right for your femur and tib/fib length. Adjust saddle height then report back on a month.

And go buy some ibuprofen.

OOoooOhhhhhH YyYYyyyeeeeeeEaaaaAhhhhh Brings back childhood mammaries!!!!!

holy crap i LOVE coaster brakes. have one on my 68 schwinn racer beater bike and i can bust the longest skids on that thing!!!
in fact a track bike with a coaster brake sounds fun.


anywho i will chime in about knee pain and fixed gear riding.....

get a front brake. unless you are doing "mad bar spinz" then i think theres no point in NOT having one.
oh yah, knee pain. OK, well first off i got into cycling in general for physical therapy for my left knee, which i have hurt many times playing soccer.

at first, when riding fixed for the first time ever, my knees hurt a bunch.....BUT it felt more like muscle soreness than damage. like, after going to the gym and lifting weights for the first time pain.

if you are new to riding fixed, it could be your muscles are just not used to that backwards peddling action. if you think about it, if you have only ridden freewheel, your legs are only peddling forward. BUT riding fixed introduces BACKWARDS peddling which your legs arn't used to. sort of like if you only did bicep curls and never worked your triceps, then one day decided to work the crap out of your triceps. your triceps would be like "WTF?" and hurt like a b!tch.

also though, skid stopping is much more forcefull backwards peddling....so you are putting allot more force on your joints. whereas gradually slowing yourself down by resisting the forward motion is probably good for you and helps work out those opposite leg muscles, the much more extreme force of skidding is probably kind of bad for the joints.

in a long winded way, what im saying is keep it easy on the skids, get a brake so you dont have to skid as much, and keep riding fixed to build up all the muscles in your legs.

If you haven't yet realized that the ability to skid is not the sole benefit/feature of fixed-gear bicycles, take up a new hobby.

Who wants my steamroller?

Fixed gear riding bad!!!!

Thanks for everyone that responded and shared their opinions. Some of you guys misunderstood and think that the reason why I hesitate to use my front brake is because of street credit.

I was just wondering if I did "use" my front brake, doesn't that defeat the purpose of fixed gear riding and shouldn't I use flip my hub over and slap on a freewheel. But that question is now answered. I am going to stop relying on my lower body to do complete stops. Definitely about to rely on the front brake and minor back pedaling and skidding once in a blue moon for fun.

my girl rides a 700c coaster that **** is way to much fun! you can lay down amazing amounts of rubber with it and do epic power slides!

i love fixies