I did specify that you do have to configure a front brake, and you do need to become proficient at using it, and you do have to develop the ability to know how much traction you have on your rear wheel. I would say that a couple of thousand miles on a fixed gear, and maybe some of the tricks that fixed-gear riders like to learn, you will be safer than a freewheel rider. A big disadvantage that freewheel riders have is that they rely too much on the rear brake, both because that was what they were taught was the more effective brake, and because it is standardly configured under their most dexterous hand, the right.
There's a similar principle with the configuration of faucets: the hot water is set up on the left to prevent mostly right-handed people from accidentally scalding themselves, so the rear brake, while less effective, is also less likely to cause the cyclist to crash from grabbing too much brake. On Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 1:56 PM, Ronald Lau <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Mike, > > good points, I like riding fixedgear and this is my winter training > tools. I do use both brakes because during training ride, we often go > above 25 so having a rear brake take some heat off my knees. > > my suggestion is to go to a empty parking lot, ride slowly, as slow as > you can handle. If you have rollers at home, and ride fixedgear on it > for a while, you will have some smooth pedaling amount your peers. > > Ron >> 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. >>> >> > >> > > > > > -- How often I have lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
