Bicyclettes

[stuntastic]

Cuz I can.

Fin_

[kenthenoob]

question is... why do you ride with brakes?

[so-so]

my go fast bike has a brake, because, well, when i'm going fast i like having some for of 'oh fuck' insurance.

my have fun bike does not have a brake.

It's a different experience with or without a brake. I agree with a lot of things about both schools of thought, so, yeah.

[salty_road]

Are gear ratios universal for all bikes? Or does it depend on the crank? I'm looking to create sever skid patches instead of just one so my gator skin doesn't pop so quickly? What should I do?

[meta]

My bike isn't even drilled for brakes. Once I was forced to start riding brakeless it just felt natural, I feel like I can control my bike fairly well through numerous ways of stopping rather than just a handbrake.

[po_boy_fuuma_hatesbargerz]

Are gear ratios universal for all bikes? Or does it depend on the crank? I'm looking to create sever skid patches instead of just one so my gator skin doesn't pop so quickly? What should I do?

Do a Google Search?

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html#skid

Sheldon tells you all about it. And for all of you non-braked fixed riders, at least wear a helmet. You're losing 70% of your stopping power without your front brake for the sake of style.

[synj_greatest]

question is... why do you ride with brakes?

Because I go to school in Cupertino and the people there can't drive for shit.

I'd rather have a brake than get fucked by their right-hand turns and habits of not using turn-signals.

Hamburglar whats a good bike shop in the Berkeley area I'm going to be transferring there

[meta]

Montano Velo is nice. Solano Cyclery is good people. Fuck Missing Link.

[theetruscan]

My bike is at paint! 2 more weeks!

[mlproject]

sexy!

had a good time at the bike film fest events. i'm sure some of you were out partying. i know andyarmada was at peel sessions past his bedtime, but i didnt' get to say hey.

[salty_road]

Do a Google Search?

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html#skid

Sheldon tells you all about it. And for all of you non-braked fixed riders, at least wear a helmet. You're losing 70% of your stopping power without your front brake for the sake of style.

I found that page before but all I could find was gain ratios on google. My b.

[diewhitegirls]

People that fixed without a front brake are purely doing it for aesthetic purposes. Don't buy the hype that they can stop as fast skidding, because it's simply impossible. Now, I rarely need to use my front brake, but there have been times that if I didn't have it, I'd be fucked.

Another thing to ask is how many times people without brakes crash. I know some of our members here get into some pretty gnarly crashes on a semi-regular basis. How many times have I crashed? Once. On ice. See where I'm going with this?

I'm going to sit back and watch a hoard of geniuses tell me that they can brake as fast as someone with a front brake. No, you can't. I will never tell you that you're incapable of riding sans brake, but I will always tell you that you are a disadvantage in emergency situations.

[mlproject]

this argument is always so funny.

[dino might]

settle this with the scientific method yo. we need science fair documented experiment shit, brakeless v. front brake

[hamburglar]

Because I go to school in Cupertino and the people there can't drive for shit.

I'd rather have a brake than get fucked by their right-hand turns and habits of not using turn-signals.

Hamburglar whats a good bike shop in the Berkeley area I'm going to be transferring there

agreed with meta. check out wheelgirl too. its on 4th street. its really small but they treat you like family. wheelgirl.com

[diewhitegirls]

settle this with the scientific method yo. we need science fair documented experiment shit, brakeless v. front brake

Sheldon Brown, may he rest in peace, is as close to scientific as I can get at the moment:

"Some fixed-gear riders ride on the road without brakes. This is a bad idea. I know, I've tried it. If you do it, and have any sense of self-preservation at all, it will cause you to go much slower than you otherwise could, everytime you go through an intersection, or pass a driveway. The need for constant extra vigilance takes a great deal of the fun out of cycling.

You really should have a front brake. A front brake, all by itself, will stop a bicycle as fast as it is possible to stop. This is true because when you are applying the front brake to the maximum, there is no weight on the rear wheel, so it has no traction."

"Despite what some folks will tell you, you can not stop nearly as short this way as you can by using a good front brake."

[canice]

i hate deep v's so much, but those wood rims look kind of cool. now if only i had a rivendell-type frame to build it up with...

[mlproject]

canice is back!!!

[corter]

i hate deep v's so much, but those wood rims look kind of cool. now if only i had a rivendell-type frame to build it up with...

me too! but, i figure, why not? it's going on a black bike with silver components, not flashy at all really. although i think my honey colored brooks might mtch nice so i might switch it over.

[diewhitegirls]

Holy shit, this is fucked:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/06/02/mexico.bikers.ap/index.html

[canice]

canice is back!!!

i'm expecting my new marinoni to get in the shop the end of next month -- wait for the pics.

[canice]

wow that story made me sick to my stomach...

[hamburglar]

R.I.P. Alejandro Alvarez

[Guest youkinorn]

anyone have suggestions for the best bang-for-your-buck cranks/chainrings?

[salty_road]

I went into the shop today looking for a new stem (preferably a bmx style one.) Sadly the shop employee told me that the shortest stem he could find me in length that could be raised a bit looked like a hideous beach cruiser stem. I made an impulse buy and ordered it in hopes that he could understand a track bike aesthetic haha. Anyways I'm wondering if anyone on here has or has seen a Motobecane messenger with a bmx stem. I mean the guy told me that by changing my gear ratio I wouldn't be doing anything to help avoid the one skid patch on my tire...

this is the bike

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/messenger.htm

[corter]

anyone have suggestions for the best bang-for-your-buck cranks/chainrings?

i've heard bulletproofs are ok, but i'd probably go with the sugino messengers or RD's

[baldy]

I went into the shop today looking for a new stem (preferably a bmx style one.) Sadly the shop employee told me that the shortest stem he could find me in length that could be raised a bit looked like a hideous beach cruiser stem. I made an impulse buy and ordered it in hopes that he could understand a track bike aesthetic haha. Anyways I'm wondering if anyone on here has or has seen a Motobecane messenger with a bmx stem. I mean the guy told me that by changing my gear ratio I wouldn't be doing anything to help avoid the one skid patch on my tire...

this is the bike

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/messenger.htm

dude, what's ur gear ratio? im assuming you are running a gear ratio of 3? that is the most common, as it is what i am running right now. i have this chart (forgot where i got it from) that shows gear inches and number of skidspots per gear ratio. if u simply run a 47t chainring, you will be golden, any cog u use, u will get atleast 11 skid patches.

[murdered out]

new bike.

[salty_road]

dude, what's ur gear ratio? im assuming you are running a gear ratio of 3? that is the most common, as it is what i am running right now. i have this chart (forgot where i got it from) that shows gear inches and number of skidspots per gear ratio. if u simply run a 47t chainring, you will be golden, any cog u use, u will get atleast 11 skid patches.

Most likely, I haven't played with it yet or done the equation thing. I'll have to buy that chain ring. thx for the advice!

[knucks]

definitely not the RDs. shitty chainline, not worth it.

pick up some andel cranks.

i've heard bulletproofs are ok, but i'd probably go with the sugino messengers or RD's