Bikes without brakes

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I see more an more single-speed bikes without brakes being used on the streets. Are those guys insane? One actually had the gall to yell at me "no brakes" while I was walking across a crosswalk. I think we oughta round 'em up, put 'em on their brakeless bikes and give 'em a good shove at the top of Filbert Street.
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Should use them to re-confirm the Peugeot brothers' brake testing.

Run them down a hill, and get someone to jam a broomstick into the rotating wheel to work out whether it's better to stop the front or the back wheel.

When I was 18, I had my favourite hill to ride my "Super Elliot Special 10". I could go faster than the Porsches in the area, requiring heavy braking (I did have dimpled Aluminum rims) before a "T" intersection at the bottom.

One day I replaced the brake pads with brand new $2 (K-Mart) pads.

Tore down the hill, and bedded the brakes in using a manner that the Critic would be proud of.

The rubber peeled off the pads, and I was left with squat, with an 18 wheeler with right of way.

Made it...just.

Calling "No Brakes" may have worked equally as well.
 
When I was about 15 I lost both drum brakes on a 40 year old 50 pound behemoth of a bike (a classic Dürkopp) and, coming down a steep street at about 50 km/h and slowing down with my shoes to maybe 35 km/h, jumped the curb successfully despite the mass off the bike, crashed through a picked fence and rode the bike straight into the brick wall of a house. The bike was half a meter shorter, but I didn't even get close to kissing the wall. My wrists hurt a little. The old steel frame had absorbed the brunt of the impact. I can still remember how it felt when the frame gave in. I had to pay for the fence.
 
the picket fence ?

I can see the old bikes absorbing a lot of energy. The frame uses triangulation, which is stiff. The forks introduce a bending moment into the equation.

So there's a building of resistance, then a "sagging" as forks bend and columns buckle.
 
Yes, the picket fence (one key off diagonally!).

I was just glad that I didn't buckle!
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True story: When I was a kid, my go-cart throttle stuck wide open & my brakes failed, all in the span of a 5 minute ride. I ran head-long into a fully grown pine tree at probably 20 mph. It HURT, but I didn't break anything. The front bar of the go-cart went about 4-5 inches into the tree. That's my only 'no-brakes' experience. I haven't had any desire to ride go-carts since then.
 
Originally Posted By: moribundman
I see more an more single-speed bikes without brakes being used on the streets. Are those guys insane? One actually had the gall to yell at me "no brakes" while I was walking across a crosswalk. I think we oughta round 'em up, put 'em on their brakeless bikes and give 'em a good shove at the top of Filbert Street.
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You should test counter-steering theory by grabbing their handlebar as they ride buy.
 
Originally Posted By: teven7492
Another incredibly boring topic posted by you know who.


That's a bit amusing coming from a poster who has a single post that doesn't start with "Re:"...and it's about wrist watches.
 
I'm not going to hasten their impending demise.

Braking a fixed-gear bike without brakes quickly, even locking the rear wheel without a brake is possible, but it's not really something that one should rely on when riding on public streets, especially in a city with lots of inclines and a million stop signs. 20 years ago I had a fixed-gear BMX bike that was good for trick riding. You could ride that thing in reverse. I would have never used it for riding public streets. I see bike messengers that ride fixed gear bikes here in the city. They can expect their knees to be shot in 2 years -- should they survive that long.
 
its more of a subculture then it is a real bike movement. sort of a look at me i'm different thing. we have them around here too but without the hills. notice they dress alike also.
 
Velodrome racing bikes don't have any brakes, but nor do they have a coasting feature in the hub. Braking, if needed, is done with the rider's gloved hand. I read of a racer who lost a couple fingers that way.
 
The bikes I'm talking about have no coaster hub either. You can slow down such a fixed-gear bike by putting resistance against the pedals. If you lift the rear wheel off the ground you can even lock the rear wheel. All this will quickly destroy your knees. Obviously, the rear wheel isn't ideal for braking a bike anyway0, since the front wheel carries most of the weight when braking. You can pretty much get away without a rear brake on a street bike, although having a backup is best.
 
To deliberately ride a bicycle on the street with NO brake- not even a coaster variety- is NUTSO!

Back when i was a kid the single-speed of mine did have a coaster brake but no safety hand-brake; it was a real adrenaline rush if you lost the chain when cruising!
 
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