Michael Wise wrote: >For an experienced rider, I strongly disagree. A fixed-gear bike with >a front brake configured is much safer than a similarly equipped >freewheel bike with front and rear brakes. Here's why: > >One of the maneuvers taught in Traffic Safety 101 (the League's new >name for Road I, the only nationally endorsed bike safety program) is >the quick stop. This technique relies on proper application of the >front brake, which has over three times the stopping power of the rear >brake. As you stop, your weight gets shifted forward, to the point >that the rear wheel will lose its contact with the ground, rendering >the rear brake useless. However, the fear is that overapplying the >front brake will cause the front wheel to lock up, and throw the rider >over the handlebars. The technique taught is to apply the front brake >hard enough to just lose traction in the rear wheel, then to release >it slightly. This gives the most stopping power without the danger of >endoing. We practice this in a parking lot drill so that the students >can really push their limits in a fairly safe environment: even if you >endo, you're not doing it in traffic.
In about 40 years of adult riding, I've experienced three endos and one abrupt fall caused by a front tire blowout at 30+ mph. One endo was hitting a deep pothole hidden by water from an ongoing heavy rain, one was a low-speed one caused by a plastic bag caught in the spokes, and a third was caused by heavy panic breaking trying to avoid a dog. So I've had a fair amount of experience, and my observation is that it happens so fast that you seldom have time to react in a practiced manner. Wham!! and you're down. I've always been dubious that most cyclists could brake heavily with the front wheel (in a panic situation), and be able to sense when they were losing traction at the rear. A skilled trials or BMX rider would be able to do it, but not most of us. Practice, practice, practice? I wonder. I've talked with a couple of bicycle trials riders and stunt riders (all teenagers), and each told me that they had broken bones several times practicing their stunts. Most of us working adults would not want to practice like this. As for fixed-gear riding on the street: I used to do it, I wouldn't anymore. But that's me--I'm too old for it. I do ride a single-speed on the street. >Fixed-gear riders can perform a quick stop better than any other >riders, because while a freewheel rider can judge somewhat through the >brake when the rear wheel loses traction, a fixed-gear rider can feel >the traction through the feet. They can tell the precise moment when >the rear wheel starts to skid, and can modulate the brake >appropriately. So a fixed-gear rider can apply a lot more pressure, >stopping much faster. Also, because fixed-gear riders must pedal all >the time, they have to use the stroke to modulate speed as well, thus >are less likely to ride at an uncontrolled speed. Perhaps, if you are very skillful and practiced (and those broken bones from the practice haven't discouraged you yet :-). But again, I'm dubious that more than a few people could do this. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Bicycle Lifestyle" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bicyclelifestyle?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
