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. >> > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
