No Brake = ticket
Thread started by
Lance K at 02.19.09 - 5:49 pm
Our good friend Nelson, of the venerable armadillos crew, was cited today at olympic/santee downtown under CVC21201(A) "Riding a bike w/out a rear brake". He was indeed riding his swobo fixie sans hand brakes of any kind. As far as i've heard, nobody's gotten stopped JUST for this before...so it's kind of a funny new precedent for the (obviously) bored LAPD.
I've always thought the wording of the law pertaining to his violation was ridiculous...it reads something like that the bike must have a "brake such that the user can operate the bike to a skid stop" or something equally obtusely-worded. This would seem to imply that you have to have a rear brake, and the wording of Nelson's ticket confirms this. So, not only are all you brakeless fixie riders breaking the law, but so is everyone with only a front brake...which of course anyone who knows anything about biking knows is stupid as fuck, since the front brake is a million times more useful to have by itself than a rear, especially on a fixed gear bike...
there's also the issue of being able to operate your bike to a skid stop w/out brakes, either by locking the pedals or performing a "new york stop" or whatever you want to call using your foot on the tire. Can you legitimately claim your shoe and/or legs as a brake?
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Hispters just get a damn brake already..
Debut21302.19.09 - 5:51 pm
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its obviously not the weight cause a hipster has to weigh about what 120?
swallow your pride
get some brakes
_iJunes02.19.09 - 5:54 pm
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if its a fixit ticket, you just throw on a front brake and take it to the judge and they dismiss it, right? riding without a brake isnt an arrestable offense.
ruinedbyidiots02.19.09 - 5:58 pm
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What you say is true, but taking your bike into court is still a whole day fucking blown, and it'll still cost him a couple dozen bucks.
Lance K02.19.09 - 6:03 pm
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there's gonna be a lotta tickets...because there are a ton of bikes with coaster brakes...
do coaster brakes count as rear brakes?
adrian02.19.09 - 6:05 pm
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This seems like one of the easiest things in the world to talk a cop out of giving you a ticket?! Just tell the cop you have a coaster brake and demonstrate it by skidding. Cops don't know the difference between fixed gear and coaster brakes. Next.
Roadblock02.19.09 - 6:08 pm
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yes, they do. as I understand it, the wording of the law is something like "bicycles must be equipped with a brake that allows the operator to skid one braked wheel on dry pavement," so the coaster brake is in. you can't skid your front wheel, so the law is telling you you must have a back brake, but not a front brake, as stupid as that may be.
lesson learned? if the cops try to ticket you for riding brakeless, or for only having a front brake...
...RUN AWAY!
or just tell them it's a coaster brake. yes, lie. lie to their face. then tell us if you get away with it. cops are stupid, right? i'm sure you can get your local bike shop to write a letter to the judge verifying that your fixie has a coaster brake hub.
tortuga_veloce02.19.09 - 6:13 pm
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Cops aren't stupid, but they are fairly ignorant as to anything about bikes.... and its not lieing, its demonstrating that fixed gear and coaster brake are essentially the same thing. Both require pedaling backwards to skid. Just don't talk about either one in technicalities.... just say, yeah my bike has a back brake "like" a coaster break, here officer let me demonstrate how it works. ---skidddddd---- see? "Thanks for your concern officer. Sorry to waste your time."
Roadblock02.19.09 - 6:20 pm
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FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO NOT STOP!!!!
FUCK THE MAN!!
Just remember to wear protection.
User102.19.09 - 6:45 pm
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Well apparently this cop's first statement to nelson was "you need a brake on that fixed gear bike" as in, he at least had some idea what kind of bike is what.
Lance K02.19.09 - 7:15 pm
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what not have a brake?
Gav02.19.09 - 7:16 pm
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Why not have a brake?****************
Gav02.19.09 - 7:17 pm
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brakes are too heavy, if my bike weighed over 10lbs my 120lbs body wouldnt be able to power it.
larsenf02.19.09 - 7:42 pm
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It wins me no street cred, but I rock two brakes on my fixed-gear road bike. I like riding on the hoods of the brake levers and I don't like seeing cable guides without a cable running through them.
cabhauler02.19.09 - 7:42 pm
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That's an old law that was around when I was a kid.
It goes back to the coaster brake era of the 50s
yes you can, stop a fixie wth no brakes, even skiding,
but in a panic brakes will stop you much quicker.
It's natural selection;
The smart riders with brakes live
The dumb asses without brakes die.
Dedicated81802.19.09 - 8:16 pm
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So its literally a ticket? Not a fix it one? That sucks
Avis_One02.19.09 - 8:18 pm
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RBI i hope we rear end the same bus.
larsenf02.19.09 - 9:32 pm
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BORN TO LIVE, LIVE TO DIE!
or
If I had to explain, you wouldn't understand.
User102.19.09 - 10:13 pm
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21201. (a) No person shall operate a bicycle on a roadway unless it
is equipped with a brake which will enable the operator to make one
braked wheel skid on dry, level, clean pavement.
(b) No person shall operate on the highway any bicycle equipped
with handlebars so raised that the operator must elevate his hands
above the level of his shoulders in order to grasp the normal
steering grip area.
(c) No person shall operate upon any highway a bicycle which is of
such a size as to prevent the operator from safely stopping the
bicycle, supporting it in an upright position with at least one foot
on the ground, and restarting it in a safe manner.
(d) Every bicycle operated upon any highway during darkness shall
be equipped (1) with a lamp emitting a white light which, while the
bicycle is in motion, illuminates the highway in front of the
bicyclist and is visible from a distance of 300 feet in front and
from the sides of the bicycle; (2) with a red reflector on the rear
which shall be visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear when
directly in front of lawful upper beams of headlamps on a motor
vehicle; (3) with a white or yellow reflector on each pedal visible
from the front and rear of the bicycle from a distance of 200 feet;
and (4) with a white or yellow reflector on each side forward of the
center of the bicycle, and with a white or red reflector on each side
to the rear of the center of the bicycle, except that bicycles which
are equipped with reflectorized tires on the front and the rear need
not be equipped with these side reflectors. Such reflectors and
reflectorized tires shall be of a type meeting requirements
established by the department.
(e) A lamp or lamp combination, emitting a white light, attached
to the operator and visible from a distance of 300 feet in front and
from the sides of the bicycle, may be used in lieu of the lamp
required by clause (1) of subdivision (d).
Man, I clearly need to stock up on reflectors...
JB02.19.09 - 10:49 pm
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buy them in wholesale, and sell them. from the looks of it i'll need to get about 20 or so
theladiesman02.19.09 - 10:55 pm
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This is WAR on the cops.
Nobody fucks with Nelson. A42
sexy02.19.09 - 11:16 pm
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He was stopped while brown. So what else is new?
User102.19.09 - 11:40 pm
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It sounds like the cops are getting to know bikes (being that he called it a fixie). I would watch out that the cops are going to start to target the no break fixie riders since they cannot write a ticket for no bike license.
can't a guy get a break.
thegodofthor02.20.09 - 9:18 am
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gonna take a lot of smooth talkin to get out of these kind of tix... carry a copy of the cvc and demonstrate that YES fixed gear DOES HAVE A BACK BRAKE. don't give up!
Roadblock02.20.09 - 9:21 am
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the difference between a roadway and a highway is....
_iJunes02.20.09 - 9:27 am
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so why not just get a brake ...i dont see the problem
TheRaquel02.20.09 - 9:30 am
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some nice track bikes that people ride on the street are not drilled for front or rear brakes. this one to the right is made by the valleys own torelli.
they do make brakes that clamp on to the fork blades to get around the hole in the middle of the fork crown, but those brakes are ugly. like a campy delta brake. shudder.
ruinedbyidiots02.20.09 - 9:41 am
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It's all about the look!
Yeah RBI?
User102.20.09 - 12:22 pm
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"brakes are too heavy, if my bike weighed over 10lbs my 120lbs body wouldnt be able to power it."
AHHAHAHAHAHAHAH
KiMS102.20.09 - 12:46 pm
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