| | 9/18/00 | | joel metz, ifbma/sfbma |
| | 20:00:00 |
| | Subject |
| | Re: Brakes are for Flakes |
| | Body |
| | >ON BRAKES: |
| | > My first track bike came with a set of brakes in a box. After an |
| | >hour of practice I found the track bike to be scarry so I put a brake |
| | >on. After a half hour I found that to be even scarrier. At that critical |
| | >moment you don't want to have to make the decision of which way to go. |
| | >So I slowed down and rode with "sense". In time my skill grew. I learned |
| | >to live a few seconds in the future. My mind "expanded" We were all NOT |
| | >created equal. If your brain isn't big enough (ie: not senseable) then |
| | >use a brake. But don't knock people with higher brain capacity. |
| | |
| | id quibble, but only cause i like to have a brake on as a backup. never use it |
| | when im riding fixie, but its there. more security blanket than anything else. |
| | and i like to think i have pretty good brain capacity :) |
| | |
| | the "slow down and ride with sense" statement is the jewel to glean from this |
| | all, though. |
| | |
| | >ON CLIPS VS CLIPLESS: |
| | > Clips and straps are fool-proof if you don't let your straps wear |
| | >thin. With clipless you get better power transmition but whose racing? |
| | >Racers travel more or less in a straight line. In the streets you need |
| | >to dance around. When you need to kick that sucker sideways and do |
| | >maneuvering tricks the clipless might un-clip. |
| | |
| | yeah, and most *racers* dont use clipless on their fixies. with the right |
| | shoes, you get better power transmission with tightly secured double |
| | straps, but most messengers are riding tennis shoes and loose |
| | (compared to track riders) straps. i still say anyone riding fixie with |
| | clipless |
| | and no brake is asking for trouble. |
| | |
| | >ON SKIDDING: |
| | > Skidding isn't stopping. Bikes with brakes don't skid to stop. Learn |
| | >to stop. |
| | |
| | truer words have rarely been uttered. |
| | |
| | -joel |
| | joel metz : magpie@eeph.com : www.eeph.com/~magpie |
| | bike messengers worldwide : ifbma : www.messengers.org |
| | po box 191443 san francisco ca 94119-1443 usa |
| | == |
| | i know what innocence looks like - and it wasn't there, |
| | after she got that bicycle... |