Thread started by theshues at 08.18.08 - 12:49 pm

yes you heard it here and unless you were super sexxxy last night you wouldnt have seen it..

not pumpin it up but seriously be careful sara knows what im talking about .. story::

there i was top of grand,11 oclcock, no brakes and a green light.. start off slow little skid action make it half way down and the light goes red.. sara is behind me and i say.. sara go stop some traffic will ya.. not a chance too fast too little time i had to make a decision..

cant turn right my pedels would scrape, cant go left into on coming traffic.. i could only go straight to my left (where the traffic is coming) there is a car and a bus.. the bus is at about 25mph the car at about 30-40mph.. i decided to make a life or death situation i mob thick..

i ride infront of the car and the bus at about 35-45mph hop right.. the back tire and the cars front end miss eachoter by no more then a foot and i make it through the intersection

moral of the story be careful iknow i will.. and im putting a brake on that shit.. at least when i got to the rest of the ridazz i had the comfort of bretts moms thoughts in my head and storys of team touch thanks guys...





wolf pack tonight bitches... ugh.

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shues!

UGH! killing me! ugh!

from my POV: it was as if i was watching an action sequence only, moving and on a bike and it was REAL. the fixed sliding down the hill next to me, real, it going thru the red light passing between and almost getting the back tire nipped, but he pulled right.. wam -- made it to the other side - all REAL.

yea.. that was a badass night!



bondink
08.18.08 - 12:55 pm

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Roadblock
08.18.08 - 1:02 pm

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Learn to put your right foot on the top of your back tire. let the tire pull your foot againstthe seatstays and dig a little trench your in your shoe. Its saved my life a few times when skiding would have been a joke and turning wasn't possible.





stillline
08.18.08 - 1:04 pm

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Were you wearing a helmet?



0gravity
08.18.08 - 1:05 pm

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Yes, he was wearing a helmet.

@ Roadblock:

YES!!!!



bondink
08.18.08 - 1:05 pm

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I was born in LA. But I'd like to die in KAUAI™



Roadblock
08.18.08 - 1:07 pm

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Learn to leg brake.
Get a front brake.

/thread



kyber
08.18.08 - 1:08 pm

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ya i got he foot on tire down but seiorulsy this decision was made in like 2.1 seconds it was ridiculous.

@rb im putting that on my ipod right now.



theshues
08.18.08 - 1:12 pm

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Dont put a front brake on! Your street cred will drop to zero! Just think what all your friends are going to say. You really want them laughing behind your back?



User1
08.18.08 - 1:16 pm

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i had a similar situation where i was coming from grand down alpine in chinatown... a pretty steep decline but unlike your story about not being able to stop, i WOULD have been if i didn't hit the only pot hole in the street. It burst my front tire and just to keep the bike from sliding out from under you when you're going fast, brakeless, and riding on the rim is scary as FUCK. i put my foot in the back wheel and slowly decreased speed. You can't steer well when ridin on the rim, so i was more worried about the head on traffic that i was heading towards rather than cross traffic. I'm still glad you're ok.

Check out these two videos: FREEWHEEL BRAKELESS







richtotheie
08.18.08 - 1:17 pm

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oh so what your saying is i neeeda learn the mobo skid eh???


dang the pressure is so on. guess well have to wait and see if i put one on before tonight.



theshues
08.18.08 - 1:25 pm

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i have an extra tektro caliper if you want it.



kurtz
08.18.08 - 1:30 pm

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I'm sorry, but you bombed Grand without timing the light? Pretty dumbass move... glad you made it.

Jeebus, who's teaching these kids how to ride?

And forget all the shitty advice about ted shreds that everyone's posting... that ain't gonna stop you going down grand and you should only do that if you lose your chain, because skidding is better and you gives you better control. If you wanna bomb Grand just time the light. Simple.

Midnight ridazz, gotta love it, advice to kill yourself by.



City Hobgoblin
08.18.08 - 1:33 pm

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I'm so fucking glad you lived through this man. It was sort of like brett's mom in that it was clearly the climax of our sexxxed up sundae but certainly something no one would ever want to do again. You better put that brake on ASAP.

I hereby nominate you official medic and motivational speaker for Team Touch and invite you to join TNLU if you feel up to it.



Undercover Bob
08.18.08 - 1:40 pm

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see thats the thing it was late the light was green and i thought i had it the light before it changed before grand did and so the cars were speeding towards the light already i tottally had it then it all got fucked up.. i have ridin that hill many a times timing and all it was just turned bad really fast but ya..

thanks kurtz i might take you up on that.



theshues
08.18.08 - 1:41 pm

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oh man oh man oh man..

official medic i would feel honored.. hey i was thinkin.. if you guys are still on the practice tomorrow night i might join you for the ride..

consider me the new member.



theshues
08.18.08 - 1:43 pm

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TNLU.. acroynm please??



theshues
08.18.08 - 1:44 pm

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we'll have to make you a uniform. Better start recruiting your toucher.



Undercover Bob
08.18.08 - 1:45 pm

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ohh imma paruuse the boardwalk today lookin for her(s)



theshues
08.18.08 - 1:47 pm

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"there i was top of grand,11 oclcock, no brakes and a green light.. start off slow little skid action make it half way down and the light goes red.. sara is behind me and i say.. sara go stop some traffic will ya.. not a chance too fast too little time i had to make a decision.. "


Me -
I say depend on others with brakes to bail you out and fight putting a front brake on. You don't want your friend to label you a wimp or worst do you?



User1
08.18.08 - 1:51 pm

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PUTTING WHAT ON YOUR IPOD?



eddieboyinla
08.18.08 - 1:53 pm

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ughh the decisions..

i dont want to be a wussy but i want to live to ride another day..

i need to skydive or something...


@eddie..

"to live and die in la" wang chung



theshues
08.18.08 - 1:57 pm

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"see thats the thing it was late the light was green and i thought i had it the light before it changed before grand did and so the cars were speeding towards the light already i tottally had it then it all got fucked up.. i have ridin that hill many a times timing and all it was just turned bad really fast but ya.."

HOW TO BOMB GRAND:

1. Stop at the top of the hill, a little past that divider thingy that looks down to lower Grand.
2. Watch the 5th street light and wait for a cycle.
3. The instant the 5th street light turns green, hammer down the hill.
4. Experience 35mph adrenaline bliss.
5. You will have stop for the 6th street light (it's timed that way), so kill your speed once you hit the flat.

Yay.



City Hobgoblin
08.18.08 - 1:58 pm

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aw shues. glad you made it through that light in one piece last night.



ohnoitschlo
08.18.08 - 1:58 pm

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ahhh memories of bombing hills in the rain down the backside of griffith park with nothing but your shoe against your frame as brakes.....

foot against tire and frame as a braking method is "Old School" BMX

recognize





leoleo
08.18.08 - 2:04 pm

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wrd. imma bust a grand night just riding that hill all night..


its gunna be next sunday you watch.



theshues
08.18.08 - 2:12 pm

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@Hobgoblin:
"because skidding is better and you gives you better control."

by that logic, brakes are clearly the way to go. Of course, the fact that brakes really ARE clearly the way to go has some relevance here. I can't imagine what kind of misguided machismo has created this trend to ride brakeless. By all means, feel free to skid your fixie instead of using the brakes, but riding around on public streets without a brake is just asking for trouble. Like it or not, you are not entirely in control of your own fate when out in the streets. You share them with others. If some little kid or a dog runs out in the street while you are riding brakeless, not only are you going to get hurt, but so is someone else. Cars pull out of driveways, run red lights, turn left across intersections, etc. If you don't have brakes, you are asking to impact a car at full speed one of these days. And yes, I know that a skid works 'fairly' well, but it won't stop you as quickly or with nearly the control of an actual brake, and you don't have nearly the response time that squeezing a brake lever provides. Throw in a slippery surface and there's no comparison.

OK, I'm taking my old man hat off, now.



ideasculptor
08.18.08 - 2:29 pm

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The thing about running a front break on a Track bike is that they are dangerous in there own way. I know everyone here has seen people pull nasty headers from grabbing that front break too hard.



Graham
08.18.08 - 2:32 pm

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i completely agree maybe just have it removeable like they are i d k.



theshues
08.18.08 - 2:32 pm

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whats your gear ratio?



ruinedbyidiots
08.18.08 - 2:33 pm

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46 17 but i think ima up it to 48 today.



theshues
08.18.08 - 2:37 pm

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Damn, y'all fixed-gear kids take it to new levels of crack-headedness each week.

But, miraculously y'all still prevail and live to carry the torch another day.

Ride hard and stay strong, you may be dodging hover-pods one of these days.



bentstrider
08.18.08 - 2:43 pm

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You're not that old Ideasculptor I hold the exact same opinion, and I'm 16.

If you want to be able to go as fast as possible through traffic get a brake. The faster you can slow down the faster you can safely go through traffic.



franz
08.18.08 - 3:01 pm

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@Graham

That's because the front brake is actually working, they're just not using it right.

I'm sure everyone here has seen it, but please (re)read this Sheldon Brown article on brakes:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html




vladster
08.18.08 - 3:38 pm

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sheldon brown once broke a seat picking his bike up

do you realize how much crap you'd have to have on your bike to break a seat picking the bike up?

i mean i like sheldon brown and all and the site is very useful but seriously the dude tapes over the holes in his helmet with saran warp



stevestevesteve
08.18.08 - 4:31 pm

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I've been borrowning K's Vitus lately which has the brake levers reversed from normal. I really like it, I think I may set my Empella up to be right break front when I rebuild it.



franz
08.18.08 - 4:49 pm

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I guess I get the point about a track bike with extreme geometry (and a 650c front wheel in order to enable bar spins) might be prone to endos when using a front brake. I guess that's why it is a track bike and not a road bike.



ideasculptor
08.18.08 - 4:53 pm

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LOL I love the argument that front brakes are dangerous in their own right. Well can't the same be said for bicycles? Mile for mile, driving a car is safer than riding a bike. Why don't you just drive a car?

Sheldon Brown said in his page above,
"Unfortunately, though, it takes twice as long to stop with the rear brake alone as with the front brake alone, so reliance on the rear brake is unsafe for cyclists who ever go fast."

Me -
Really I think he underestimated the braking of the front brake. I read a report in regards to motorcycles and how much the front brake contributes to the stopping of the motorcycle. The research showed it was somewhere in the 80-85% front brake. The same research would come pretty close to what they concluded if they were using bicycles would be my guess. I know it's way over 66% than what Sheldon concluded.

I definitely don't dismiss Sheldon cause the dude tapes over the holes in his helmet with saran warp. I got a feeling there's more to the story than what's being revealed. This would make since in the middle of winter in snow condition which I believed he lived, one might do this, yeah?

a href="http://wildernessmedicinenewsletter.wordpress.com/2007/02/14/heat-loss-through-the-head-and-hypothermia/">Heat Loss Through the Head and Hypothermia



User1
08.18.08 - 5:08 pm

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I skipped reading some comments.
This is the lesson to be learned:
If you ride brakeless, know your limits and ability before attempting difficult maneuvers....especially when other riders and / or traffic are present.

What else is there to say?



tern
08.18.08 - 5:13 pm

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wrong thread....sorry.



tern
08.18.08 - 5:15 pm

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oops. right thread. Sorry.



tern
08.18.08 - 5:16 pm

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if i had straight forks and a 650c i would understand not having a brake cause the turning radius but i have bull horns bent forks and my headset is a little long i think maybe with the kind of aggressive riding i tend to be doing a small cheaters brake might be something to look into.. hell i can still do fixie tricks with one i just cant barspin but i couldnt to begin with..

then again i still havent put a brake on.. and im still watching golden eye in my boxers so maybe ill see what happens at bikerowave tonight since im going there anywho..



theshues
08.18.08 - 5:25 pm

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what i don't understand is how all those skiers get down hill without brakes



stevestevesteve
08.18.08 - 9:12 pm

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They're hipsters who are into skiing for all the wrong reasons.



PC
08.18.08 - 9:20 pm

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this mothaphucka is crazy. that's absotutely fuckin insane mang!


i hope he has an endless sponsored fucking supply of tires and fucking vans.

vans are the shit!



Eddie GOpez
08.18.08 - 9:29 pm

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Who diddles with themselves?

For Shame!



tern
08.18.08 - 9:33 pm

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You guys, and all of yo new jacks, should meet zoobomb and the dead babies. They are way more punk rock than us.

Just sayin'. I don't know why I'm saying it here, but this is a good enough place.

zoobomb!
deadj babies!



tern
08.18.08 - 9:38 pm

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[slapping forehead]
Jesus Christ.
Get some brakes.
Don't bomb Grand. Don't. Even if it's Green. The duration is notoriously slow.
Keep your cadence slow. Time your skids.
&$*king kids, I swear.



sleepy
08.18.08 - 9:53 pm

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