fixieness

Hi everyone! I bought my first fixed gear bike and I'm going brakeless. I did some research on how to brake but all I could find were skidding techniques which I'm sure I don't have any issues with. In a few articles I've read, riders have said that you don't need to skid and you can just backpedal to brake.

Isn't backpedaling the same as skidding? I'm confused. If someone knows any articles about how to perform this or any video related to this please help me out. Thanks!

FBinNY 

Yes, nobody actually backpedals (a near impossibility) they just resist the crank rotation by backpedal force, rather than motion, locking up the rear the rear wheel.

As someone who started riding fixed back in 1968 I respectfully suggest you give up on cool factor, and add a front brake. Regardless of how you do it, ie. caliper brake, coaster brake, or simply "backpedal" rear wheel only for anything except slow "park" riding and closed circuits.

Bandera

I also started riding fixed gear on the road in '68 and second @FBinNY's recommendation to run a front brake.

-Bandera

seau grateau

Step one: squeeze brake lever.

TejanoTrackie 

Well, since you asked, backpedaling is exerting backwards force on the pedals without locking up the rear wheel, whereas skidding involves locking the rear wheel. Skidding does not stop you any faster, since sliding friction is less than rolling friction, which is why modern cars and many motorcycles have ABS. Oh, and like everyone else has said, the prudent thing is to install a front brake if you intend to ride on the road, unless you ride very slowly or where there is no traffic.

fixieness

I'll be fine brakeless. It has nothing to do with the "cool factor". I have no friends that ride fixies. I simply wanted to ride again for my own enjoyment. Countless bike couriers and even serious road cyclists ride brakeless fixies. I actually tossed out my brakes when my bike was shipped. They were cheap anyway.

I am customizing every part of my bike since I will mostly use it for freestyle - I need my front handlebars to be able to spin without cables getting in the way. I might hit up a velodrome every now and then. Even lots of velodrome riders go brakeless. I'm guessing it's a weight thing along with personal preference - no cool factor involved.

Some people claim that you can actually stop faster brakeless than with pinch breaks. I guess that's arguable. I think that regardless of what type of brake method you use, being on the road will always be dangerous, just like driving a car. It's about awareness - being aware of your surroundings.

Scrodzilla

So much fixieness. Perhaps even all the fixieness.

TejanoTrackie 

Brakes are not allowed when riding on the track (velodrome). It has absolutely nothing to do with weight or personal preference. You'll be fine until you have to stop quickly, at which point you'll need good dental insurance. The problem is not the lack of a brake, since when riding fixed "brakeless", you still have a rear brake. You can stop a lot faster with a front brake.

seau grateau

fixieness

Actually, it has a lot to do with weight. Velodrome definitions across the web explain why there are no brakes and one of those reasons are always weight. I just meant personal preference in general. I prefer to go brakeless because it gives me the option of going to velodromes.

I think regardless of brakeless or not, having to halt suddenly can be dangerous with any type of brake system. Professional track racers do have to stop at some point and they do it brakeless while riding at speeds of 50 mph. I will more than likely be cruising around town with my bike on flats. I live in a city that doesn't have many hills but small hills won't be an issue. I watched a vid of Travis McCabe riding a fixie up a steep 58 mile mountain brakeless. If I can't climb a 1 block length small hill then I'm just a pansy.

I feel like there's a lot of animosity towards brakeless. It's really not that negative. I can sit here and argue that everyone should wear helmets but there's no point because lots of people prefer not to. That's their choice. There are probably more people that ride without a helmet than with a helmet which can depend on where you're riding and how you're riding. But, I'm not concerned about what they do. I live in a beach city so almost everyone around my city rides without a helmet especially on beach cruisers.

When almost all of the bike couriers in your metro city are riding fixies brakeless and do it for a living 8 hours per day 5 days a week, then I think it's okay for a very casual rider like me to go brakeless.

Anyway, I didn't join this forum to argue about brakes. My topic is very specific.

seau grateau

You have no idea how wrong you are about this.

seau grateau

By all means, keep teaching us about track bikes though.

TejanoTrackie 

Gotta put my boots on.

hardboiled718

if you want to ride w/o a brake that's your choice and that's fine. ithink what people are trying to say is just don't fool yourself into thinking you can stop faster w/o one, a front brake in combination with backpedaling will slow you down much faster than simply back pedaling alone. i don't know anyone who would claim otherwise even people who ride without brakes.

also no brakes on the track has nothing to do with weight, in fact many track bikes are heaver than some modern cf road bikes. the no brake rule is that so no one can slow down too fast causing a rear-end collision.

TejanoTrackie 

But it was on the web, so it gotta be true, right ?

FBinNY 

OK, you've gotten the required lecture about brakes, so we're off the hook.

As for the specific question re: "backpedaling" vs. locking the wheel and skidding.

I don't like the term "backpedaling" to describe this since the pedals aren't turning backward. Instead, I suspect you mean resisting the pedals without locking them.

That technique is SOP for speed checking, or preventing acceleration on downgrades, but almost useless for hard stops. The reason is that if you don't set the pedals at 3 and 9 and lock them, they are still turning against your force, and will pass dead zones at 6 & 12 where you can't off much resistance at all. So, the total stopping distance will be higher.

Comparisons to the track are meaningless, since hard stops and stopping distance aren't relevant there. But out on the streets there are too many surprises to depend on rear wheel stopping (regardless of how you do so) because of the weight shift factor which ensures long stopping distances.

FWIW - there's a fixie rider in England facing negligent homicide charges stemming from a fatal collision with a pedestrian. The main issue at hand was the fact that his bike lacked a front brake.

But as I said, you're free to do as you wish, whether it's for cool factor, or some mistaken belief that it's smart. I do understand the reason relating to freestyle riding, and if that's important suggest that you choose between riding freestyle or riding in traffic, and set the bike up accordingly.

Scrodzilla

ftfy.

fixieness

Lecture? Maybe you should go to a velodrome and lecture them about brakes. This topic has nothing to do with "pinch" brakes. I asked a simple question but get attacked by brake nazis. It's unreal how ppl live in forums and just trash talk newcomers.

Actually, weight has a lot to do with any type of racing. I used to race cars. Whether you like it or not, removing brakes IS optimizing the bike for weight along with many other things. That's not the only reason but one of the reasons. It's called "weight reduction" since your main goal is to optimize for speed.

In any case, my question was if there was a difference between backpedaling and skidding since many articles about "brakeless" suggested to perform backpedaling rather than skidding. I was under the impression that they are the same thing but apparently fixie enthusiasts know the DIFFERENCE.

FBinNY 

Read post 18, where I explain the difference, and the issues related to using either technique in traffic.

Then do whatever you're going to do, because you're a free agent, and I, for one, am not invested in whatever you decide. However, since you raced cars, I'm sure you appreciate the difference between racing on a circuit, and tyhe real world of city streets.

fixieness

Cool story. Looking at most of your responses to people on other posts you're just a low life forum troll that offers nothing insightful. You just put other people down calling them stupid. *clap*

seau grateau

I'm going to the velodrome tomorrow. I'll be sure to ask everyone about their weight savings.

GMJ

There is no personal preference for trackies. It's safety.

Ignoring the fact that sudden stops in mass-start races on the track is a nightmare, ripping a brake while high on a 45* banked turn is not going to magically work. You need to be moving in order for your bike to continue to fight gravity.

Dude, don't get indignant because people are calling you out for spewing inaccuracies regarding something you're not too familiar with. Maybe you should keep the brakes on the bike while you ask questions about stopping it.

GMJ

[citation needed]

And it really isn't too uncommon for people to ride their track bikes to the track with a front brake and then remove it before racing. Usually it's as simple as removing two bolts.

Here:

SquidPuppet

TenSpeedV2

Me reading this thread