Are brakeless fixies stupid?

Lumen

Saw a dude on a brakeless fixie this morning skid-stopping his way alongside traffic down the Stepaside-Dundrum road.

I had assumed that all those people were dead or retired from such activities.

Now far be it from me to deny people a bit of excitement, but surely this is not the climate in which to be relying on the pitiful braking performance of a rear Durano to maintain separation from the rear window of the ve-hicle in front.

Discuss; or not; as you see fit.

xxx etc

In case it's not obvious, I'm referring to their use on the road rather than on track, skate park etc.

happytramp

I can see this being a very one sided poll.

RobFowl

Definite proof that evolution and survival of the fittest is bollocks.

Biblical creationism must be a fact as otherwise how are these fookers still alive??

Lumen

RobFowl wrote: »

Biblical creationism must be a fact as otherwise how are these fookers still alive??

Possibilities:

a) Fixie-ism is not an inheritable trait.
b) Fixie-ists are already fathers..

Chips Lovell

I was mocking brakeless fixies before it was cool.

Carawaystick

Lumen wrote: »

Saw a dude on a brakeless fixie this morning skid-stopping

Why does it matter to you how a person cycling stops their bike? Live and let live.

rollingscone

Surely the terrain is a factor.

I'm too weak-stoopid to ride fixed but I've ridden backpedal drumbrakes in Copenhagen and they were fine.

While I'd definitely want a front brake I can imagine a skilled and cautious rider could be fairly safe


Ps: is it Harrybelafonte's birthday or something?

scott.s

Carawaystick wrote: »

Why does it matter to you how a person cycling stops their bike? Live and let live.

...because it endangers other road users?

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Carawaystick wrote: »

Why does it matter to you how a person cycling stops their bike? Live and let live.

Is that your answer to all dangerous or reckless road users?

Lumen

Carawaystick wrote: »

Why does it matter to you how a person cycling stops their bike? Live and let live.

I'm not proposing any sort of cull, if that's what you're concerned about.

iwillhtfu

Carawaystick wrote: »

Why does it matter to you how a person cycling stops their bike? Live and let live.

I'm gonna go ahead and guess you're the one that voted No.

Carawaystick

scott.s wrote: »

...because it endangers other road users?

Can you provide any evidence to show how many non-fixie road users were injured or suffered property damage which would have beed prevented or substantially mitigated by having extra brakes fitted to the fixed wheel bike?

RobFowl

Lumen wrote: »

I'm not proposing any sort of cull, if that's what you're concerned about.

Kill them all, let God sort them out....

Carawaystick

iwillhtfu wrote: »

I'm gonna go ahead and guess you're the one that voted No.

I only vote in those twitter snail race polls

Wishbone Ash

It can be hairy enough riding fixed in urban type traffic with front and rear brakes nevermind without them.

Carawaystick wrote: »

Why does it matter to you how a person cycling stops their bike? Live and let live.

Well for a start it's illegal.

Moflojo

There's a very interesting article on Bike Radar about why brakeless fixies (and their riders) are actually very important for society in general:

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/brakeless-fixies-what-are-they-a-good-for-48450/

OleRodrigo

Don't see what the problem is, once they know what their doing.

Has anyone who voted yes ridden a brake-less fixie?

Or are qualified opinions taboo among the serially outraged ?

happytramp

OleRodrigo wrote: »

Don't see what the problem is, once they know what their doing.

Has anyone who voted yes ridden a brake-less fixie?

Or are qualified opinions taboo among the serially outraged ?

I'm confused. I think you've got an odd understanding of the word outraged...

Chips Lovell

OleRodrigo wrote: »

Has anyone who voted yes ridden a brake-less fixie?

Yep. I own one.

Beasty

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

Yep. I own one.

I own 4 ......:P

Lumen

OleRodrigo wrote: »

Don't see what the problem is, once they know what their doing.

It is impossible to stop rapidly with rear wheel braking only, because the deceleration unloads the rear wheel, reducing available grip.

So survival depends on being able to avoid ever having to stop rapidly. This seems like a risky strategy.

What if you are doing 40kph downhill in the wet towards a pedestrian crossing which is going red (for you). You can't brake before the crossing, so your options are either (a) disembark the bicycle before you reach the crossing and hope neither you nor the bicycle hit anyone (b) shout at the peds to move out of the way as you sail through in a sideways skid.

Carawaystick

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Well for a start it's illegal.

along with not having yellow reflectors on your pedals or a bell.
Or according to the geniuses in the rsa not cycling on a cycle path when its unsafe to do so...

Chips Lovell

Lumen wrote: »

I had assumed that all those people were dead or retired from such activities.

There's definitely a lot less of them these days, which is kind of a shame because they used to provide endless entertainment on my commute

We still haven't reached peak beard and tats though. That just runs and runs.

ThisRegard

OleRodrigo wrote: »

Don't see what the problem is, once they know what their doing.

Has anyone who voted yes ridden a brake-less fixie?

Or are qualified opinions taboo among the serially outraged ?

When I was a kid the hub on my Raleigh Burner once broke so I had my first fixie in the early 80s. All the other kids were mad jealous because I could do some cool back peddle skids. I was cool before all the current coolers were born, and I didn't even have bum fluff. My shins are still lumpy though.

Wishbone Ash

OleRodrigo wrote: »

...Has anyone who voted yes ridden a brake-less fixie?

Or are qualified opinions taboo among the serially outraged ?

Yes.

One doesn't have to experience something to be of the opinion that it is stupid. I've never cycled on a motorway......

RobFowl

Beasty wrote: »

I own 4 ......:P

Bet you've never crashed

OleRodrigo

Lumen wrote: »

It is impossible to stop rapidly with rear wheel braking only, because the deceleration unloads the rear wheel, reducing available grip.

So survival depends on being able to avoid ever having to stop rapidly. This seems like a risky strategy.

What if you are doing 40kph downhill in the wet towards a pedestrian crossing which is going red (for you). You can't brake before the crossing, so your options are either (a) disembark the bicycle before you reach the crossing and hope neither you nor the bicycle hit anyone (b) shout at the peds to move out of the way as you sail through in a sideways skid.

It might be difficult to stop rapidly but that depends on your gearing. How often do you need to stop rapidly ? Not very often if you're paying attention to your environment.

Survival is an exaggerated term. The key to avoiding any problem is modulating your speed to your environment, ie, don't go so fast that you wont be able to slow down quickly in a built up/ busy area.

In the scenario you present, you reduce your speed by putting back pressure on the pedals as they rotate forward ( you probably wouldn't be doing 40 kmph downhill to begin with, having already spotted the pedestrian lights before your descent ). How fast you stop is a combination of the strength in your legs, your gearing and the distance between you and the lights. Its rarely as melodramatic as you suggest. Even with brakes if you're paying attention to the road you rarely need to stop suddenly. You generally use brakes to slow down. With no brakes, you use your legs.

In my opinion, riding without brakes enhances your road awareness, much more than it would riding normally in city traffic, but some people seem to confuse the idea of it with no brakes on a freewheel bike. They don't have the experience of what its like to control a fixed gear bike with their body, so they get all neurotic about it.

It is still something to be cautious about, though. And whatever you do, don't tell your cycling buddies or they'll have a self righteous conniption, a meltdown from cognitive dissonance.

o1s1n

I only cycle a brakeless fixie penny-farthing while twisting my handlebar moustache, all other bicycles are just too mainstream.

Yes, they're silly bicycles. Insane using one in a city.

OleRodrigo

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Yes.

One doesn't have to experience something to be of the opinion that it is stupid. I've never cycled on a motorway......

I'm convinced you're really Alan Partridge.

Wishbone Ash

Carawaystick wrote: »

along with not having yellow reflectors on your pedals....

That only a requirement in the UK AFAIK - most bikes come shipped to UK standards,

(Just like rear fog lights on motor vehicles - not a legal requirement here but most vehicles come with them as they are legally required in the UK).

Beasty

RobFowl wrote: »

Bet you've never crashed

Never on a brakeless fixie...

....but I've not ridden them in the road (much!)

(Corkagh Park's a good place to try them out though)