[elRey]

...for riding my fixed gear without brakes.

If anybody remembers this thread:
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162547&highlight=fixed+gear

I live in Portland and have been following the case. A bunch of other riders have gotten tickets since then, and judges are starting to contradict each other. One judge has let some poeple off, while others have found the riders guilty. Either way the police are still ticketing people. I am kinda pissed, and very amused right now.

If I put a break on it and take a picture and show it in court, then I don't have to pay, which is what I am going to do, because I cant afford 97 dollars if I fight it and lose.

 

[elRey]

Here's another article about how a judge said a track bike is technically ok according to Oregon law.

http://bikeportland.org/2006/09/08/despite-ruling-officer-continues-to-ticket-fixed-gear-riders/

 

[rideit]

Actually, the ticket was from the fashion police for being terribly trendy.

The manpri's only made things worse.










(JK, that is suckage)

 

[elRey]

I was wearing baggy shorts.

 

[sanjuro]

thats sucky

 

[biggins]

well..put a break on your bike and dont get a ticket then. pretty simple...i mean i am not trying to be a dick but you apparently know people who have gotten tickets for it recently and have been following the cases. If you dont run a break till they make a final decision about the legality of it then dont complain when you get a ticket.

 

[DRB]

thats sucky

You totally rock the manpris...

 

[skinny mike]

You totally rock the manpris...

he seems more like the assless chaps type.

 

[elRey]

well..put a break on your bike and dont get a ticket then. pretty simple...i mean i am not trying to be a dick but you apparently know people who have gotten tickets for it recently and have been following the cases. If you dont run a break till they make a final decision about the legality of it then dont complain when you get a ticket.

I'm not complaining, I am trying to promp a constructive discussion.

 

[Bicyclist]

Now I remember one judge said you need to rely on muscles to stop a fixie, and that's unsafe. That's the only reason someone was found guilty of "no brakes." But ANY brake relies on muscles to operate. You need to have a hand that's strong enough to pull a lever in order to activate it, the brakes don't magically work when you need 'em. Seems pretty easy to fight.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Jesus. I guess the cops in Portland are bored, eh?

 

[chicodude]

whatever. Put a brake on, just don't use it.

Are all your fixie buddys gonna laugh at you?

 

[buildyourown]

Riding a brakeless bike in the city is retarded. You deserve the ticket.

 

[NapalmCheese]

he seems more like the assless chaps type.

Much like ATM Machine, the phrase assless chaps is completely redundant and totally irks me.

By definition, chaps do not have an ass.

 

[rideit]

Thanks for clearing that up. I can see it really was 'chapping your ass'.

 

[splat]

I have no sympathy for you. you know the rules , you chose to dis obey them.

Quite frankly how hard it is it to put a Front brake on.

and Yes I ride a Fixed gear. Yes I can Skid the rear wheel if I want to. and Yes I have a Front brake installed. and if I an going at speed and need to make a panic stop, am I going to be able to skid it to stop it in time ? NFW !!

 

[elRey]

I have no sympathy for you. you know the rules , you chose to dis obey them.

Quite frankly how hard it is it to put a Front brake on.

and Yes I ride a Fixed gear. Yes I can Skid the rear wheel if I want to. and Yes I have a Front brake installed. and if I an going at speed and need to make a panic stop, am I going to be able to skid it to stop it in time ? NFW !!

The law says you need to have a brake that enables the bike to skid on clean dry pavement. Websters dictionary says that a brake is a "anything that slows down or stops motion or progress. I was not disobeying any laws.

 

[elRey]

Riding a brakeless bike in the city is retarded. You deserve the ticket.

I wasn't in the city. I am pretty sure these were the only cops for at least a three mile radius. It was weird because I just passed like ten cops five miles earlier.



edit------- IAB-very bored

 

[splat]

The law says you need to have a brake that enables the bike to skid on clean dry pavement. Websters dictionary says that a brake is a "anything that slows down or stops motion or progress. I was not disobeying any laws.

and you are going to tell me that if you are riding down a street at 20MPH , and someone /somehting pulls out 30 yards in front of you , you are going to be able to stop and control the bike in time ?

 

[Ciaran]

The law says you need to have a brake that enables the bike to skid on clean dry pavement. Websters dictionary says that a brake is a "anything that slows down or stops motion or progress. I was not disobeying any laws.

The law does not get it's definitions from websters. According to the law, particularly the INTENT of the law you were breaking the law. Plain and simple. Suck it up princess.

 

[elRey]

30 yards......20 mph


yeah, I could handle that

 

[elRey]

The law does not get it's definitions from websters. According to the law, particularly the INTENT of the law you were breaking the law. Plain and simple. Suck it up princess.

The law doesn't define a brake. The intent of the law is to make sure that people can stop their bikes, which I can do.


If the law doesn't get their definition's from one of the most recognized dicitonaries on the planet, where do they get them?

 

[black noise]

Regardless of what Websters and the law says, there's a good chance that you will get a ticket.

What is wrong with a brake?

 

[biggins]

Regardless of what Websters and the law says, there's a good chance that you will get a ticket.

What is wrong with a brake?

its not nearly as trendy...

 

[Ciaran]

its not nearly as trendy...

and the bike messengers make fun of you.

 

[splat]

30 yards......20 mph


yeah, I could handle that

asa complete surprise ? I highly doubt that .

So why are you so opposed to haveing a brake ?

 

[Bicyclist]

Well what if you guys had to run lights on your bike all the time, and reflectors too? A clean look is something everyone looks on the bike, and although a brake could come in handy sometimes, so could lights/reflectors. I think it's pretty silly they give tickets when by definition a fixie has a drivetrain brake.

 

[elRey]

Im not going to lie: I like the way my bike looks without a brake better that it does with one. I know that makes me sound like a hipster or whatev, but I don't care. I, like most people on RM, am a geek about how all my bikes look.

I don't have to pay the ticket if I put a brake on by Oct. 11th. Im gonna put a ghetto break with a lever on the stem as an oh sh*t brake for as long as I have to.

I'm also laminating my ticket and making it into a spoke card.:biggrin:

 

[skinny mike]

so what classification does a coaster brake fall under in this law? it is easier to skid the rear wheel but it falls under the same situation if for whatever reason the chain breaks.

 

[elRey]

so what classification does a coaster brake fall under in this law? it is easier to skid the rear wheel but it falls under the same situation if for whatever reason the chain breaks.

Yeah, you would be screwed if the chain broke on your coaster brake, but they still use that argument against fixies.

 

[biggins]

i thik the difference is in mechanical advantage...i dont really know but that would be my guess.....

 

[elRey]

A track bike can stop as well as a bicycle with a coaster brake or a BMX bike with just a rear caliper brake.

 

[Qman]

A track bike can stop as well as a bicycle with a coaster brake or a BMX bike with just a rear caliper brake.

Not if your chain breaks or falls off.

(talking about the caliper brake, not the coaster. I have a scar from a failed coaster brake due to the chain falling off at the worst moment possible)

 

[elRey]

Not if your chain breaks or falls off.

(talking about the caliper brake, not the coaster. I have a scar from a failed coaster brake due to the chain falling off at the worst moment possible)

Obviously.

 

[.:Jeenyus:.]

I have no sympathy for you. you know the rules , you chose to dis obey them.

Quite frankly how hard it is it to put a Front brake on.

and Yes I ride a Fixed gear. Yes I can Skid the rear wheel if I want to. and Yes I have a Front brake installed. and if I an going at speed and need to make a panic stop, am I going to be able to skid it to stop it in time ? NFW !!

Okay now.

Riding a fixie with no brake is just like me riding my back brake only dirt jump bike around town (which I do all the time). Do you think that it is absolutely necessary for me to put on a front brake?

PS. The majority of my friends ride that way all around, every day, and none of us have EVER had any type of crash or even close call due to not being able to stop.

 

[Reactor]

Play both ends. Take pictures of you skidding the bike on dry pavement, proving you meet the definition of a "brake" most states motor vehicle code use. Also take a picture of a brake on the bike and explain that you don't believe you need it, but you have installed it and are willing to use it if the judge decides for whatever reason it is necessary. Ask for a ruling as to the whether or not it's needed. if the judge rules in your favor, carry a copy of the ruling with you.

 

[brungeman]

Jesus. I guess the cops in Portland are bored, eh?

I'd be like "don't you have skaters to harass?" or "what is your problem, did they sell out of jellyfilled donuts this morning?"