Bicyclettes

[Tyro1]

I put a brake on my bike just recently... I havent learnt to skid yet, so I either used my legs to slow the peddle / or stuck the sole of my shoe on the back tire when going down steeper hills / stopping quicker.

[Le Dirte]

Yo, there aint no shame in having a break on a fixie. Shit I do, and I also use it at times ie. going down the ramp to my garage. Anyways, I don't skid most of the time to stop. You learn to pay more attention to lights and traffic and begin to anticipate when you should start slowing down using the resistance from your weight or legs. However, if your going fast or just want to impress your friends, skidding or skipping is the way to go. To skid, get your ass off the seat, lean forward and just lock your legs. Try it first on grass or wet pavement. To skip, get off the saddle and actually go through a skipping motion while in tied into the pedals - it's like a bunch of mini skids all in one. I've found skipping down really steep hills the best way to go about that.

[hipset]

skipping is what i need to learn. im cool on the streets, hills are the thing for sure.

[wild style]

I know that this question gets asked all the time on bikeforums and whatnot, but figured it wouldn't piss anybody off too much if I asked it here...

So... what gear ratios are you all running?

I ride 40/14 myself, or 77.1"

[Le Dirte]

46/16 here

[canice]

47/16, 74-something gear inches.

thunder thighs ftw!

[wild style]

Canice, that's more like 79 gear inches! Damn.

[canice]

oh, you're right. 79.3" tee hee.

i dated someone who rode 50/15, 90". it was such a chore keeping up.

[Tyro1]

I'm on 44/16, how many inches is that?

oh, you're right. 79.3" tee hee.

i dated someone who rode 50/15, 90". it was such a chore keeping up.

I bet you were impressed when he said he would show you how many inches he had?

[canice]

I'm on 44/16, how many inches is that?

I bet you were impressed when he said he would show you how many inches he had?

he had great legs, all the better to... (just kidding, i never slept with him. as with most couriers, he was crazy)

[wild style]

I'm on 44/16, how many inches is that?

74.25"

Gear Calculator

[Tyro1]

Oh cheers...

I've been thinking about adding some more, as where I live is fairly flat, and I spin a lot when going quickly...

[Le Dirte]

What does the skid patch chart refer to? How many patches or length?

[mackelface]

Would this be a good starter bike, or should I just ge ta brand-new Bianchi Pista?

1987 Montagner road frame & fork (the rest of the stuff you see isn't included)

58cm seat tube, 58cm top tube

Oria ML25 tubing - crimped top, seat, and downtube - the ultimate in 80s tubing technology

fancy pantographing on seatstays, bottom bracket, and fork crown

campagnolo dropouts

very smooth campagnolo headset, recently overhauled

26.8 seatpost

italian threaded bottom bracket

[canice]

skid patch refers to how many. not sure how you could have lengths in skid patches, as the surface contacting the ground is always constant.

of course the chart refers to ambidexterous skidders (ie: either pedal at 3 or 9), so if you skid with one foot forward all the time, it's cut in half.

mackelface: from what i can see on those parts (miche seatpost, miche cranks, cinelli alter stem) that bike is already worth more than a pista. except... dude's only selling the frame, fork, bb and headset. can you build a bike?

[mackelface]

mackelface: from what i can see on those parts (miche seatpost, miche cranks, cinelli alter stem) that bike is already worth more than a pista. except... dude's only selling the frame, fork, bb and headset. can you build a bike?

Not at all. Would a local bike store be able to put it together? What else would I need, besides a set of wheels?

Would something like this be more in line?

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bik/302421881.html

[Tyro1]

of course the chart refers to ambidexterous skidders (ie: either pedal at 3 or 9), so if you skid with one foot forward all the time, it's cut in half.

That's not quite true... I think that chart applies to a certain foot preference for skidding.

Assuming the long downhill short skids, that means you advance the chain half as many links per skid than before. If the chainring has an even number of teeth, the number of skid spots can be worked out as above, just half the teeth on the chainring first.

For example, the 42:16 becomes 21:16. gcd(21, 16) is 1, so there are 16 skid spots, double the amount for one-legged skid. For the ratio 48:20, it becomes 24:20, gcd(24, 20) is 4 so there are still 5 spots when skidding two-legged.

There's a really good explanation of skidpatches there. http://www.fixed.org.au/page/2/

[mlproject]

brakeless riders....

do you guys skid to stop all the time or just kinda muscle it with you legs. how does one ride hills effectively brakeless...

fuck i love my fixie

i only skip when i have to stop really quickly. if i hit hills, i just won't bomb them unless i know i don't have to stop at the bottom. if you're just starting out, i'd definitely recommend running a brake for emergency reasons. don't rely on it 100% and you'll build your legs up.

i run 49x16 and 49x15 when i'm at the track.

mackelface: that frame is a pretty good project frame, but its definitely big. how tall are you? i'm 6'2" and ride a 57. there's a good fit calculator here: http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR&gender=M&units=cm

plus, stuff like:

fancy pantographing on seatstays, bottom bracket, and fork crown

campagnolo dropouts

means nothing.

[mackelface]

mackelface: that frame is a pretty good project frame, but its definitely big. how tall are you? i'm 6'2" and ride a 57. there's a good fit calculator here: http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR&gender=M&units=cm

plus, stuff like:

fancy pantographing on seatstays, bottom bracket, and fork crown

campagnolo dropouts

means nothing.

I'm 6'1" so I'm right under you, so I figure I need a big frame since my legs are pretty long. What about the bike in the CL ad I linked to, is it worth what he's asking for? I really don't need anything special at all, a completely barebones fixie is what I'm looking for because I want to grow into it and add parts as I learn what they are and how they work and whatnot.

[mlproject]

that 2nd bike would probably need a ton of work. if he didn't use a fixed hub on the back, you'd need a new wheel. most likely its a suzue jr. which is good, but you'll end up stripping or blowing that out pretty quickly. a 61 is fucking huge. do that fit calculator... it'll save you money in the long run, avoiding any frames that are too huge/small and uncomfortable.

[WINDman]

check out the videos here

MASH has a few good ones on how to skid brake

[WINDman]

edited double post

[Ryan]

ml: you ride in nyc right? what kind of lock are you using? im already getting paranoid and i havent even decided what my next bike is gonna be..

[zelah]

ugh portland brakeless tickets are back

[mlproject]

ml: you ride in nyc right? what kind of lock are you using? im already getting paranoid and i havent even decided what my next bike is gonna be..

i have a kryptonite chain, but most of the time just carry a kryptonite mini when i'm only locking up for a few minutes at a time - less to carry. From what I've gathered, if you don't want anything to dissappear, don't leave it out overnight and make sure you're locking your frame and both wheels. You can always put scrap chain from your frame to your saddle to save that as well.

i heard about that in portland. bloomberg just passed a law here yesterday requiring any bicycle service oriented business to provide helmets for their employees. it also stated that they must have working brakes. this brought up a lot of questions with messengers and the other half of the city on bikes looking like messengers. can you get out of it by saying you're not working?

[Ryan]

yeah i definitely never leave my ish out over night..but yeah i think ill get a new chain and a mini, if / when i get a new bike..im getting antsy..its really nice out already but my return hasnt come in yet..

nyc sufu bike ride in the future??

[mlproject]

yeah i definitely never leave my ish out over night..but yeah i think ill get a new chain and a mini, if / when i get a new bike..im getting antsy..its really nice out already but my return hasnt come in yet..

nyc sufu bike ride in the future??

come out to polo every sunday and check out http://www.fixed.gr/nyc

[knucks]

aww those kryptonite locks are expensive..guess it's worth it not to get ur shit jacked

[mlproject]

you can get them in the $60s on ebay and the minis in the $40s. the $90 retail is nothing when you're protecting thousands of dollars.

[Ryan]

word..yeah i check out fixed every now and then....this might be a dumb question but whats polo