Fixed Gear Bikes!!

[nevertheless]

same here :/

[mikefc]

Any of you had experience with these?
TOMCAT FIXED GEAR TRACK SINGLE SPEED ROAD BIKE BLACK 56 - eBay (item 270667361123 end time Mar-21-11 12:05:33 PDT)

Im not looking for some crazy fully sick setup bike.
Just something basic to get me around and look cool on haha

[irax]

looks like the same generic bike that other sites sell
i'm sure its fine

[hailandkill]

i'd rather get the motobecane track

Motobecane Singlespeed Bikes - 2010 Track Bicycles by Motobecane USA up to 60% Off

or maybe even save up a little more cash and get a kilo tt.

but it's not like the toto thing is gonna crumble on the first pothole you hit, i'm sure it'll ride just fine, it may be on the heavy side with those 43mm rims though.

[KDL323]

Since gas is going up, I plan on using my bike more often since school isn't that far. The only problem I would encounter are going up hill. Due to having a bad knee(torn meniscus) its getting harder for me to ride fixed and harder for me to come to a stop. I plan on riding free and adding a rear brake. How do I go about this? Should I sell the wheel set I got because the hubs are fix/fix and their non-machined? I plan on leaving 1 non machined in the front and 1 machined in the back for brake use.

[yokotas13]

front brake
not back brake.

back brake only is dangerous, srsly

[superJoy]

Originally Posted by yokotas13

front brake
not back brake.

back brake only is dangerous, srsly

Yeah listen to this guy.

Front brake is proven by physics to work better than rear brake. Has to do with weight transfer to the front.

Rear brakes are worthless on a fixed gear and should rarely be used on a freewheeling bicycle.

Oh yeah also, put your health first. Gas now is cheaper than bad knees later. But if you feel up to riding now I'd probably do freewheel + short gear ratio + front and rear brakes.

Another thing. If they're powdercoated rims you can't use a brake. If they're anodized or raw you could probably get away with it for a while. Also, you should still be able to thread a freewheel on a fixed/fixed hub. The risk is stripping due to less thread engagement.

[yokotas13]

you CAN use a brake

use Carbon pads, they are cork and dont damage finish. costs a lil more, but im down for awesome wheels to spend a bit more money

[irax]

Originally Posted by yokotas13

front brake
not back brake.

back brake only is dangerous, srsly

I rode a whole year with just a rear brake just fine, never once did i flip over

[ericcastro]

I flipped over the handle bars the other week in Hollywood, but I was fucking around, lol.


Did Critical Mass LA last night. Cops told anyone that wasnt 18, and didnt have a helmet that they would be ticketed, so 60 riders turned into a Dozen. Still had 5 cop cars follow us almost the whole time, lol.
The guy that heads CMLA up has been bothering me to help with the rides, but I dont want that responsability and have to do those meetings with LAPD and shit, just wanna ride my bike.

Was pissing rain, So i didnt even try to stay dry, just put a heavy upper layer on to keep the heat in once I got soaked through, which happened before I even got to the meet up.
Rode for 2 hours, rode down Hollywood BLVD. had fun, but knees hurt and started to swell from the wet and cold on them.

I rode slicks, but they worked fine. Was talking to some people, and they said that shit doesnt make a big difference cause the tire surface that touches is so small, tread is pretty irrelevant, its just about compounds. (and everything sucks in the wet for the most part, lol).
grips where really slippery and was the only thing that had me nervous.
Actually wore my helmet.
Met a couple cool dudes, had a good time.

Sorry, messy house, its friday, cleaning today.



Oh yeah, GF started a hot bath when I walked in the door, turned the heat up to 75 in the house, put bubbles in the bath and I drank a beer while I laid there. So good.

[s13k4v13]

[superJoy]

Originally Posted by irax

I rode a whole year with just a rear brake just fine, never once did i flip over

Nah bro, what he's saying is if someone cuts you off in traffic or a pedestrian decides to be a jerk you won't be able to stop as quickly. Front brake can provide a deceleration about double that of back brake. Back brake means you'll do a sick skid right into the door of the car that just pulled out in front of you.

[irax]

Originally Posted by superJoy

Nah bro, what he's saying is if someone cuts you off in traffic or a pedestrian decides to be a jerk you won't be able to stop as quickly. Front brake can provide a deceleration about double that of back brake. Back brake means you'll do a sick skid right into the door of the car that just pulled out in front of you.

thats cool, I guess I was more alert of what speed I can go and always slow down with out problems

[ericcastro]

Originally Posted by irax

thats cool, I guess I was more alert of what speed I can go and always slow down with out problems

thats the whole trick.

You can go brakeless if you pay attention to the traffic and the lights/dont walk signals.

but i guess all us fixed gear guys know that anyways.



The rare time you need a front brake instead of the rear, is also prolly the time you need to have your helmet on.

After some stories from other riders i work with, ol messengers and shit, i have started to wear my helmet.

[yokotas13]

i still call bullshit
you can anticipate all you want, but some dumbass is going to jump out from two cars to cross the street and BAM. there is NO foreshadowing that.

i never use my brake, but the damn thing is there in case.

[irax]

Call bullshit all you want man, I still got hit by a car and it had nothing to do with what wheel my brake was on.

[yokotas13]

just goes to show you that you cant anticipate EVERYTHING

maybe next time a brake would save you
same deal with a helmet. its not proven to help..but who knows if it might?

Its a what...30.00 insurance policy to haev a front brake? just put the shit on there. wtf.

[irax]

yes, maybe NEXT time the driver pulls to a stop sign and sees someone crossing the street they will remember what pedal is the brake pedal.

[yokotas13]

yeah, lets rely on someone else rather than ourselves. see how well that works?
it fucking doesnt.

but really. fuck it. if you get hit again its on you lol. for all we know a brake could have helped you. we werent there, just your telling hah.

i know that i have brakes, and wear a helmet. if i get fucked up, i did everything i could.

[WISH ONE]

My pk ripper is up for grabs if anyone is interested.

[DUFFM4N]

^^i want...but no spare cash

[irax]

Originally Posted by yokotas13

yeah, lets rely on someone else rather than ourselves. see how well that works?
it fucking doesnt.

but really. fuck it. if you get hit again its on you lol. for all we know a brake could have helped you. we werent there, just your telling hah.

i know that i have brakes, and wear a helmet. if i get fucked up, i did everything i could.

ohh so if some one gets tboned by a drunk driver its their fault.. yeah... you're logic is solid

when I got hit it wouldn't of made a difference what wheel the brake was on. I was at the intersection, I looked at him, made eye contact, he gave me the nod that he was going to wait, and then boom I'm in the middle of the street.

[HyperTek]

Critical mass in Brazil - driver intentionally tries to run over people

Disturbing video. 2 wheels /bikes/motorcycles arent bad imo, its the dumbfucks in cars that do the damage.

I never rode in a bike group but thats fucked up

[EhrikETFG]

that video is like disgusting and shit but if your gonna ride bikes on the road at least attempt to go like some sort of speed.

there seriously like crawling lol.

[yokotas13]

and being loud and annoying as fuck...but that is still no reason to do that shit

[EhrikETFG]

no shit bro but like if your going to ride your bike on the road, expect people to be angry, especially if your not following the laws of the road..

castro does cmass' and he never gets hit by cars, so im guessing either he goes really god damn fast or hes not an idiot and blocks the whole road mirite?

also, brazil.

nuffsaid

[SochBAT]

So many beautiful women... for shame.

[ericcastro]

That video is fucked up.
That need to string that fucker up.
But Brazil's Police arent recognizing it as attempted murder.
Fucked up.

CM is loud and slow, and happens one friday night of the month after traffic hours, but usually before people are heading out to party.
If you havent done the ride, then you dont get why its so slow.
They usually slow down because there is a light ahead, or a car tried to cross through the mass and has stopped in the street, or the fact that I see small children around 8 years old riding with their parents all the time.


The dude in the golf is mentally ill.
Its fucked up of people to think the biking had anything to do with it.
And according to the laws of the road, the bikers are totally legal.

Unfortunatly this gives people like the LAPD more ammo to try and tell us that CM is unsafe, and to shut us down.
I have been getting bothered and pressure lately to join in CMLA's organizers and in going to all the meetings with the Police.
I have been trying to avoid the responsability, cause I just wanna ride, but then I feel guilty for turning my back when I could help.

[theicecreamdan]

Originally Posted by irax

ohh so if some one gets tboned by a drunk driver its their fault.. yeah... you're logic is solid

He's saying that you can NEVER anticipate everything. A brake is just one more tool to help you save your own ass if you ever need it. There's an infinite number of "what ifs" and if every party in every accident did their fair share of thinking ahead and preparing, then there wouldn't be any accidents.

[yokotas13]

Originally Posted by ericcastro

The dude in the golf is mentally ill.
Its fucked up of people to think the biking had anything to do with it.
And according to the laws of the road, the bikers are totally legal.

Unfortunatly this gives people like the LAPD more ammo to try and tell us that CM is unsafe, and to shut us down.
I have been getting bothered and pressure lately to join in CMLA's organizers and in going to all the meetings with the Police.
I have been trying to avoid the responsability, cause I just wanna ride, but then I feel guilty for turning my back when I could help.

actually....it is illegal. there is a law in there that says if you are impeding the movement of other cars to move to the side, not the middle of the fucking road