Amazing Fixed Gear Tricks - Not Me!
Fixed Gear bikes are amazing. They are fun to ride… I can’t explain why… they just are. You can do amazing tricks on them… like riding backwards. And when you’re really really good at riding them it’s almost as if riding them is like poetry or speed meta or the symphony or cutting amazing curves down an untouched mountain face of perfect snow. Here’s an example…
Me, I’m not so talented. I just ride my fixed gear bike. I even have two brakes. I don’t skid stop, no-handed track stand, or ride backward circles. I’ve attempted all of these things, but I guess I’ve lost my punk rock edge as I don’t quite have the guts to go all out and really attempt to learn how to pull these stunts off. If you watch the whole video you’ll see these guys take a couple spills… that ain’t for me.
But I did ride my new fixed gear bike to a couple of meetings today. Including a brutal ride of Queen Anne hill… that’s one very steep hill.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 12/10/2007
- Time: 22:13:25
- Total Time: 00:50:00.00
- Distance: 10 miles
- Average Speed: 12 mph
Filed under: Amazing Fixed Gear Tricks, Cycle, fixed gear, fixie, video |
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3 Comments: :
Amazing Fixed Gear Tricks - Not Me!
December 11th, 2007 9:35 am
gardenmentor says:
I’m really glad the spills didn’t happen on the hill..(Noe Valley/Castro?)..at the 4-way stop where the bikes just took the right of way. The bike riders in SF are totally insane. I drove & walked among them for years. It amazes me they don’t get in serious wrecks more often. And, as the video shows, they don’t worry too much about safety gear, either. (But maybe I’m generalizing and times have changed on the safety front — I hope!)
December 11th, 2007 10:17 am
Hobbes says:
Great film Brad - thanks for sharing.
I’m curious about the ease with which these guys (who have teeth missing - coincidence?) pull skid stops. I tend to do this a bit on my fixie in traffic (for the “look I’m on a fixie, so don’t mess with me” effect), but it’s far to brutal on the legs to do routinely. So are these guys riding a low ratio (small chainring / big sprocket), or do they just have those no-grip tyres fitted?
December 12th, 2007 12:45 am
Brad Hefta-Gaub says:
Robin, I agree these riders are insane… they will say that they are “totally in tune with the world around them”… but I don’t buy it. It’s too easy for the car to be tuned out completely and run you over.
Karl, yeah, the missing teeth… I noticed that… clearly the guy has had a lot of practice. I have to admit, I don’t ever attempt the skids… I tried to teach myself… I’ve heard that you can learn easier on wet grass… but I haven’t found the time or guts to practice and learn.
Now, I’ve had a few moments when I’ve been riding my fixie, and I had a panic situation where I momentarily forgot I had to keep pedaling and I stopped for a split second and got a skid effect… but it always freaked me out enough that I never try to repeat it intentionally. I’m not afraid to, or ashamed to admit that. I’ve got a family at home, I can show off my machismo in other ways… like completing and Ironman.