[sanjuro]

Let's get real here:

There are many fixies in SF, and I chuckle at most of them. I have seen them go down on trolley rails, potholes, and one incident which was not so funny, a crash going downhill in the Columbus Tunnel.

Can a no-brake fixie stop as well as a bike with two brakes? One might say with in the right situation, fixies stop with a power slide; but what happens if there is a little gravel, or a car door opens in tight traffic?

On a different note, I do not want to see ridiculous laws enforced. Should police do a safety inspection on all bikes? Maybe we should have an inspection sticker, like for autos?

If someone wants to ride on a fixed gear, I could care less. But I don't want more law enforcement when I am riding.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

...I don't want more law enforcement when I am riding.

Agreed. Nor would I want inspections - "You don't have reflectors, horn or a bell..."

 

[jimmydean]

If someone wants to ride on a fixed gear, I could care less. But I don't want more law enforcement when I am riding.

But on the same note, if you get busted for doing something wrong, then correct it and move on (i.e. install a brake, clear the ticket, then remove the brake if it means THAT much to you).

If you want to change a law, do it when your NOT breaking it, your case looks better that way.

 

[Anders]

if the chain breaks chances are ull fall, as i experienced last week for the 100th time. skin against pavement slows u down real fast

but i dont see whats the big deal with adding a front break, other then the fact that shed flip over the front if she grabs it too hard

 

[jonKranked]

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.

To further perpetuate the hate:

Those f***ers ruin a lot of things by clinging onto them and making them hip. A brief rundown (sans fixed gears):

-Messenger bags (i have one too, but its about 4 years old. no one had even heard of Chrome in my town when i bought it)
-Pabst Blue Ribbon
-Septum piercings
-being dirty. they have transformed an aspect of the squatter lifestyle into "fashion filth" (not like this was even cool in the first place)
-Against Me!
-tattoos. nowadays every sissy with horn rimmed glasses has ink.



i could go on, but it would only make me angry enough to kick a puppy.

 

[Tame Ape]

To further perpetuate the hate:

Those f***ers ruin a lot of things by clinging onto them and making them hip. A brief rundown (sans fixed gears):

-Messenger bags (i have one too, but its about 4 years old. no one had even heard of Chrome in my town when i bought it)
-Pabst Blue Ribbon
-Septum piercings
-being dirty. they have transformed an aspect of the squatter lifestyle into "fashion filth" (not like this was even cool in the first place)
-Against Me!
-tattoos. nowadays every sissy with horn rimmed glasses has ink.



i could go on, but it would only make me angry enough to kick a puppy.

waaah! Suck it up princess! Just becuase you got it before it was cool doesn't make it any different then buying it now.

 

[jonKranked]

i know... i need a wambulance. those asshats haven't stopped me from using my bag, drinking pabst, or listening to against me (the band did that themselves w/ "searching for...")

 

[Tame Ape]

i know... i need a wambulance. those asshats haven't stopped me from using my bag, drinking pabst, or listening to against me (the band did that themselves w/ "searching for...")

hmm, are you wearing Dickies too?

 

[jonKranked]

nope. I have to wear the businessman costume to work. I don't own a pair of dickies. And I don't punch the floor when I go to concerts.

 

[OGRipper]

I ride a fixed gear with a front but no rear brake all over San Francisco. It's one more two-wheeled experience that I'm glad for.

It's wrong to say a fixed gear without calipers has no brakes. It probably has better stopping power than half the hoopties out there on the streets with broken cables, no pads, or whatever.

And it will sure as hell have more stopping power than a bmx with no brakes because...it's a fixed gear, not a freewheel.

I choose to ride with a front brake (and a helmet) but I don't think there should be laws for either.

 

[bikenweed]

A co-worker at my shop here in CA got a fix-it ticket for not having a brake on the rear of his fixie.


Cry all you want, but it's completely possible to ride a fixie with calipers on the rear. Only a rear brake is required, so if you are as hardcore as your tats and piercings try to make you look, bolt on a rear brake, be legal, and stop complaining.

 

[splat]

I choose to ride with a front brake (and a helmet) but I don't think there should be laws for either.

I Have a Fixie , I can can skid my Rear wheel if I want to. I would not want to have to depend on that in an emergency. that said I have a Front Brake on My fixie.

 

[DHS]

hmm, are you wearing Dickies too?

maybe some girls pants?

 

[jonKranked]

maybe some girls pants?

lets not forget going commando

 

[sanjuro]

I ride a fixed gear with a front but no rear brake all over San Francisco. It's one more two-wheeled experience that I'm glad for.

Poseur. Do you also wear girl pants and a studded white belt?

 

[SilentJ]

Agreed. Nor would I want inspections - "You don't have reflectors, horn or a bell..."

The fines in my town:
1. ride off pathway or trail/on sidewalk: $100
2. ride where closed/prohibited: $100
3. speeding on pathway (limit is 20km/h): $50
4. "unsafe" speed on pathway or trail: $100
5. improperly equiped bicycle (no reflectors, no lights F(white)+R(red) within 1 hour of sunrise/sunset, no bell, no brakes): $50

They do check and yes they do set up speed traps, it sucks. Riding the road into downtown would be .

 

[DRB]

I ride a fixed gear with a front but no rear brake all over San Francisco. It's one more two-wheeled experience that I'm glad for.

It's wrong to say a fixed gear without calipers has no brakes. It probably has better stopping power than half the hoopties out there on the streets with broken cables, no pads, or whatever.

And it will sure as hell have more stopping power than a bmx with no brakes because...it's a fixed gear, not a freewheel.

I choose to ride with a front brake (and a helmet) but I don't think there should be laws for either.

Anarchist.....

 

[sanjuro]

Unfortunately, the more legitimate bikes become as vehicles, the more rules are enforced.

 

[DRB]

The fines in my town:
1. ride off pathway or trail/on sidewalk: $100
2. ride where closed/prohibited: $100
3. speeding on pathway (limit is 20km/h): $50
4. "unsafe" speed on pathway or trail: $100
5. improperly equiped bicycle (no reflectors, no lights F(white)+R(red) within 1 hour of sunrise/sunset, no bell, no brakes): $50

They do check and yes they do set up speed traps, it sucks. Riding the road into downtown would be .

Damn Canadians..

 

[DH Diva]

I think most people that ride fixed gear bikes, and have ridden them for years before these news stories started showing up, can ride them safely, and know how to stop on one. The problem is that as they grow in mainstream popularity, you have more and more people buying them for the cool factor, or commuting purposes, that cannot safely ride them. I saw a guy just yesterday that was obviously a new fixie rider, struggling to stop before a busy intersection. He got lucky and the light just happened to turn in his favor, but he had that "Oh *hit" look on his face and no brake to fall back on, and he got really luck. He obviously had "basic" bike handling skills, but not nearly enough skill to safely ride a fixed gear.

I saw a local news story a few days ago about how fixed gear bikes are selling like wildfire to people that have decided it's too expensive to drive and want a bicycle for commuting. A lot of these customers were "new" bike customers, they may have ridden a bike in the past but aren't regular riders, but want a cheap low maintenance bike. This trend is putting more dangerous cyclists on the road because they lack the skills to safely ride a fixed gear bike on city streets.

Now the bigger problem. Some people can safely ride them, some can't. So how do the law makers/police deal with this? How do they determine who is able and who is not? Anybody can get a fixed gear bike, so how do they make sure the roads are safe for everyone else? It sucks for the people who ride fixed gears and can do so safely, but what about the person who would have accidently hit the fixed gear rider I saw careening towards an intersection full of cars during rush hour?

 

[DRB]

I think most people that ride fixed gear bikes, and have ridden them for years before these news stories started showing up, can ride them safely, and know how to stop on one. The problem is that as they grow in mainstream popularity, you have more and more people buying them for the cool factor, or commuting purposes, that cannot safely ride them. I saw a guy just yesterday that was obviously a new fixie rider, struggling to stop before a busy intersection. He got lucky and the light just happened to turn in his favor, but he had that "Oh *hit" look on his face and no brake to fall back on, and he got really luck. He obviously had "basic" bike handling skills, but not nearly enough skill to safely ride a fixed gear.

I saw a local news story a few days ago about how fixed gear bikes are selling like wildfire to people that have decided it's too expensive to drive and want a bicycle for commuting. A lot of these customers were "new" bike customers, they may have ridden a bike in the past but aren't regular riders, but want a cheap low maintenance bike. This trend is putting more dangerous cyclists on the road because they lack the skills to safely ride a fixed gear bike on city streets.

Now the bigger problem. Some people can safely ride them, some can't. So how do the law makers/police deal with this? How do they determine who is able and who is not? Anybody can get a fixed gear bike, so how do they make sure the roads are safe for everyone else? It sucks for the people who ride fixed gears and can do so safely, but what about the person who would have accidently hit the fixed gear rider I saw careening towards an intersection full of cars during rush hour?

The government needs to create bicycle rider licenses. That'll solve the whole problem.

 

[sanjuro]

The government needs to create bicycle rider licenses. That'll solve the whole problem.

I think the government should insert tracking devices in all bikes, to monitor the riders whereabouts...

 

[OGRipper]

BTW, I forgot to mention that I think the simplicity/low maintenance argument against putting a brake on a fixie is crap. Road calipers just aren't complicated or hard to maintain. For that matter, neither is a single speed with a freewheel and two brakes, and that set-up is easier for most to control.

 

[DRB]

I think the government should insert tracking devices in all bikes, to monitor the riders whereabouts...

Now we're getting somewhere.

 

[jimmydean]

Now the bigger problem. Some people can safely ride them, some can't. So how do the law makers/police deal with this? How do they determine who is able and who is not? Anybody can get a fixed gear bike, so how do they make sure the roads are safe for everyone else? It sucks for the people who ride fixed gears and can do so safely, but what about the person who would have accidently hit the fixed gear rider I saw careening towards an intersection full of cars during rush hour?

That's like saying "I'm an expert driver, so I shouldn't be required to wear a seatbelt".

If the law says you need a "brake" then you should put one on. There is no law saying "you must use a brake to stop", so I still fail to see what the issue is with having one on a fixed gear bike other than ego. Put a brake on, ignore it, and move on.

 

[DH Diva]

That's like saying "I'm an expert driver, so I shouldn't be required to wear a seatbelt".

If the law says you need a "brake" then you should put one on. There is no law saying "you must use a brake to stop", so I still fail to see what the issue is with having one on a fixed gear bike other than ego. Put a brake on, ignore it, and move on.

That is what I was getting at. Because there is no way to tell who is capable of riding a fixed gear safely, having a single back up brake doesn't seem like that big of a deal if it makes the roads generally safer for everyone.....just like everyone having to wear a seat belt.

 

[sanjuro]

That's like saying "I'm an expert driver, so I shouldn't be required to wear a seatbelt".

If the law says you need a "brake" then you should put one on. There is no law saying "you must use a brake to stop", so I still fail to see what the issue is with having one on a fixed gear bike other than ego. Put a brake on, ignore it, and move on.

The big difference is there is a need for legislating automobiles because they kill when operated incorrectly. Bikes do too, but not to amount of deaths from car accidents.

 

[jimmydean]

The big difference is there is a need for legislating automobiles because they kill when operated incorrectly. Bikes do too, but not to amount of deaths from car accidents.

My point is there is a law and even if it's a stupid law, it should be followed. If you don't like it, then work toward changing it. But don't work toward changing it by breaking it and "sticking it to the man", because that doesn't work.

She got busted for no brake. By fighting, she is only making it worse because she will end up pissing off the court and the cops. Then there will pissed off cops looking to hand out tickets for anything bike related.

All she has to do is put a brake on, then use the system in place to get the law reviewed and either changed or thrown out.

 

[DRB]

My point is there is a law and even if it's a stupid law, it should be followed. If you don't like it, then work toward changing it. But don't work toward changing it by breaking it and "sticking it to the man", because that doesn't work.

She got busted for no brake. By fighting, she is only making it worse because she will end up pissing off the court and the cops. Then there will pissed off cops looking to hand out tickets for anything bike related.

All she has to do is put a brake on, then use the system in place to get the law reviewed and either changed or thrown out.

conformist

 

[peter6061]

This thing is 'fixed' and does not have a brake.

 

[Mackie]

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

Yes, this is a good example of the low braking power, but unreal style .
And if anyone think's Mike is some emo poser kid: :nonono:
Note: if his feet ain't movin', the bike is skidding.
http://www.phattire.net/video/phattire.netskidshort.wmv