[Heidi]

Interesting court case that happened over in Multnomah County (Portland)

http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/28/judge-finds-fault-with-fixies/

If you read the entire text, there are some very amusing exchanges. I actually laughed loudly.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Interesting and typical of the courts. I wonder what the judge would have to say about Jake brakes on trucks.

On the other hand, fixies without a brake are just stupid IMO.

 

[golgiaparatus]

Here is the gem that got me laughing.

Ginsberg (to Officer Barnum):

“When you approached the rider did she stop?”

Officer Barnum:

“Yes.”

Ginsberg:

“How’d she stop the bike?”

Officer Barnum:

“I don’t know.”

 

[jonKranked]

wow. just wow.

 

[Heidi]

Hell, he said it would have been ok if she had a stick! LMAO

 

[jonKranked]

Interesting and typical of the courts. I wonder what the judge would have to say about Jake brakes on trucks.

On the other hand, fixies without a brake are just stupid IMO.

only because you can't ride a fixie brakeless (neither can i, so i keep a front brake on mine)

 

[jonKranked]

Hell, he said it would have been ok if she had a stick! LMAO

but if a motorist uses a stick on the wheel (spokes) its assault.

 

[elRey]

I live in Portland and ride a brakeless FG. Fvck.

 

[Echo]

So as long as you have something in your posession to shove in your wheel to make you stop, you're cool. I wonder if this means it's OK to help other people stop.

 

[Skookum]

That is pretty funny. What a rink-a-dink deal, but so typical of traffic (extortion) courts.

 

[MikeD]

You know what stops a fixie better than anything? Jamming an Emo kid's face between the wheel and the fork.

A close second is using his exposed calf to slow the spinning tire...high coefficient of friction, and low-rise man capris inevitably leave flesh exposed.

MD

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

So as long as you have something in your posession to shove in your wheel to make you stop, you're cool. I wonder if this means it's OK to help other people stop.

so you know paul stahl eh?

 

[jimmydean]

I work on 6th and Oak and have to deal with messengers on the street and sidewalk all day. I think it's a solid requirement to have a front brake on a fixie as an "oh sh!t" type device.

Maybe I'm not hardcore enough to understand why people would want to ride brakeless, but they also don't wear helmets. So I guess it falls under "natural selection" at that point anyway.

 

[Ciaran]

I don't know... A fixed gear bike seems to me to be a speciality type of bike, much like a race car or off road vehicle would be. If they want to drive on the roads they need to follow the law and have tail lights, windshield, etc. Why should a bike be any different? ESPECIALY in traffic. What if her chain breaks and she causes an accident?

I agree with the judge on this one. How horrible is it to add one brake to the bike as emergency equipment?

 

[jdcamb]

Track bikes or "FG" bikes are designed to ride on a track or velodrome. Not a city street. A real purist IMO would truly only ride it on a track. But hey to each his own.

To learn more about tracks go here. http://www.lvvelo.org/ If you truly want experience cycling in its most spectator friendly format go here. The races bulid up to a final sprint that is just amazing to witness. Very exciting! I find that most folks ridnig track bikes have never even been to a velodrome. That and a cheap ass backpacks kicks a high $$ messenger bag anyday.

 

[jonKranked]

velodrome racing is the s**t. in japan and china people bet on it like horse races. but i ride my fixie in the street all the time. The main reason a lot of people do it is b/c it eliminates the need to thing about shifting and pedaling/coasting while in traffic. you get moving and your legs just keep you going.

 

[jdcamb]

velodrome racing is the s**t. in japan and china people bet on it like horse races. but i ride my fixie in the street all the time. The main reason a lot of people do it is b/c it eliminates the need to thing about shifting and pedaling/coasting while in traffic. you get moving and your legs just keep you going.

Yeah but Rochester is the perfect city for it also. Long wide straight streets. Lots of rollers. Most american cities are tight, compact, with lots of harsh intersections/turning lane l/h turns. You spend most of the ride track standing and sprinting to the next intersection. Gets old fast.

 

[bjanga]

What if I am too weak to grab my hand brake?

I have not ridden one, but I would think fixxies would need a brake for emergency situations.

 

[elRey]

It's amazing how little people know about fixed gears. Even on this board. Ignorance is a harsh word, but some people here are bordering on it. In my opinion, if one is skilled enough and confident enough, they should be able to ride whatever type of bike they want. I know many messengers and riders who have been riding brakeless fixed gears for years here in Portland, many without helmets (which I personally don't agree with), and they are still riding strong and know enough about there bikes and themselves to be safe.

It does bother me how people use their fixed gears as a fashion accessory and endanger themselves and others because they want to look cool. I am mainly referring to the "emo" crowd that gets hated on a lot, especially on RM. I think a lot of the people on fixed gears fit the image described many times on this board, its not the messengers fault that people copy them. So don't hate them for the kids that try to copy them.

These are just some of my feelings on the subject. Whatever.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

On the helmet issue, skill won't save you from a major mechanical failure.

I'd hazard the guess that most of the folks riding fixies aren't doing so because it's a simple, reliable rig, they're doing it because fixies are a bitch to learn to ride well and it's an ego boost to have mastered it.

I also believe that if we arranged a test of distance to stop from any given speed, that fixies, irrespective of rider skill, would have dangerously low braking power.

The cynic

 

[Ciaran]

On the helmet issue, skill won't save you from a major mechanical failure.

I'd hazard the guess that most of the folks riding fixies aren't doing so because it's a simple, reliable rig, they're doing it because fixies are a bitch to learn to ride well and it's an ego boost to have mastered it.

I also believe that if we arranged a test of distance to stop from any given speed, that fixies, irrespective of rider skill, would have dangerously low braking power.

The cynic

Said much better than I.

Ignorance of the bike has nothing to do with it ElRey. Personally I could care less if some bike messenger wants to turn himself into a grease spot. But he better not cause me to get into an accident while he's doing it. THAT is the issue at hand.

 

[BurlyShirley]

On the helmet issue, skill won't save you from a major mechanical failure.

I'd hazard the guess that most of the folks riding fixies aren't doing so because it's a simple, reliable rig, they're doing it because fixies are a bitch to learn to ride well and it's an ego boost to have mastered it.

I also believe that if we arranged a test of distance to stop from any given speed, that fixies, irrespective of rider skill, would have dangerously low braking power.

The cynic

Said perfectly.

 

[qualude]

Just watch the NYC Messenger race video for multiple examples of FG idiocy.

 

[MikeD]

Said perfectly.

Indeed. And the weight added by putting a single brake on could be balanced by simply removing the heavy-gauge bullrings and barbells from the nose, nipples, lips, and forehead of the rider. (Not to mention the nether regions...)

And I just think it's funny to hear the uproar from the people who've found that riding without brakes has defined them entirely as a cyclist and even a person.

MD

 

[indieboy]

It's amazing how little people know about fixed gears. Even on this board. Ignorance is a harsh word, but some people here are bordering on it. In my opinion, if one is skilled enough and confident enough, they should be able to ride whatever type of bike they want. I know many messengers and riders who have been riding brakeless fixed gears for years here in Portland, many without helmets (which I personally don't agree with), and they are still riding strong and know enough about there bikes and themselves to be safe.

It does bother me how people use their fixed gears as a fashion accessory and endanger themselves and others because they want to look cool. I am mainly referring to the "emo" crowd that gets hated on a lot, especially on RM. I think a lot of the people on fixed gears fit the image described many times on this board, its not the messengers fault that people copy them. So don't hate them for the kids that try to copy them.

These are just some of my feelings on the subject. Whatever.

that's exactly how i feel on the matter. i hatehatehatehatehate when kids come in and want to hop right on one and they have NO riding experience at all.

 

[h22ekhatch]

I was going to write a long thing on this, but I don't have the energy.

The law is VERY poorly written and it seems to me the judge just decided he didn't like these kinds of bikes, so guilty.

The "what if the chain broke" argument is ridiculous as this same logic would have to apply to coaster brakes. Guess we need to outlaw 90% of childrens bikes and beach cruisers now too...(not to mention unicycles, and hell...even kids bigwheels).

Speaking of...I guess that guy that rode the Seattle to Portland on a bigwheel was breaking the law the whole time too

Bottom line is the law needs rewritten if they are going to use this to render judgments...right now it is too broad and poorly written to be of any use. I am sure there will be a rash of these cases now the a few police officers have already admitted to be on the lookout for these kinds of bikes. The rumor is that the idea behind drudging up this law is to use it as more leverage against the CM'ers (even more tickets they can write now).

For the record I do live in Portland, but do not own a fixie (and never will). None of this affects me, so please continue

 

[johnbryanpeters]

The judge's "logic" was stilted, contrived and ill-informed. Nontheless, I think he wound up making the best decision on a pragmatic basis.

J

 

[TN]

What about those Uni clowns?
Does he ticket them?
I am also curios if she had reflectors on her bike...

 

[TN]

i hatehatehatehatehate when kids come in and want to hop right on one and they have NO riding experience at all.

I call that comedy gold.

 

[binary visions]

Would you guys quit with the unicycle comparisons? Yeah, you see unicycles in traffic, and they sure go real fast now don't they.

That's about all I have to add since JBP summed up the rest of my feelings on the matter. I don't think it's at all unreasonable to require a regular brake on a fixie. It's just an emergency issue.

 

[Sandwich]

um...it's a law...so...um...shouldn't he obey the law, and maybe try and change it?

hell, if you want so badly to be cool and not ride brakes, why not just slap a fake caliper on there and say it's a brake?

Sorry, but obey the law or try to change it, but don't break it and whine when you get caught.

 

[TN]

Would you guys quit with the unicycle comparisons? Yeah, you see unicycles in traffic, and they sure go real fast now don't they.

That's about all I have to add since JBP summed up the rest of my feelings on the matter. I don't think it's at all unreasonable to require a regular brake on a fixie. It's just an emergency issue.

I was being sarcastic...but alas, I am not a savvy emoticon user. :redX:

 

[Tenchiro]

I guess that stopped the Penny Farthing retro movement cold...

 

[DHS]

so would this also include all those millions of bmx kids that don't run brakes?

 

[kahner89]

haha ya thats the court system

 

[Ciaran]

so would this also include all those millions of bmx kids that don't run brakes?

Absolutely. The only benefit to moronic BMX kids not running brakes is that they might buy the farm before they breed.

 

[Mudpuppy]

I have a brake on my bmx but I couldn't skid on dry pavement with it like the law requires...I guess I'll have to refrain from using it in Portland or risk a run in with the law!

 

[Sandwich]

hell NONE of the bikes I owned before my diamondback could skid on dry pavement...so all the kids on huffys are screwed?

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

in grade school we had contests on who could brake better without using brakes on our bmxs.

right foot, heel first against the rear tire supported by the chainstay and the seat tube won all the time.
a dude could brake as good as with brakes.

 

[maniak10]

I think she should fire her attorney for not making better arguments. I mean, the judge thought having a stick to stop was sufficient...Alexis DH should represent her next time and argue that her foot was her brake.