I'm sure most on the list spend plenty of time out there 'riding'. But I wonder how many practice bike specific skills - handling, track standing, panic stops, etc...
Surely I don't do enough of it... roller riding in the winter helps - but riding with a few of my friends has shown me how inadequate my bike handling skills are. I'm planning to put the flat pedals on the bike and up my skills - and I certainly don't plan on breaking any bones. A grassy field or debris free parking lot should work just fine. Seems 'trials' riders are pushing the limits of what can be done on a bike. I'm not interested in bunny hopping onto car hoods (although I do dream of it when they are parked in the bike lane) - I just want to be able to stop more effectively, maneuver a bit better in tight quarters, and stay vertical when I do need to stop moving. -Mike On Oct 28, 1:14 pm, Tim Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
