4 ms·

Track bikes don't have brakes. You don't need brakes on the track as the bikes are fixed gear without a freewheel, so you can brake by slowing down your pedalin

by wl 3y ago

Track bikes don't have brakes. You don't need brakes on the track as the bikes are fixed gear without a freewheel, so you can brake by slowing down your pedaling. Stopping fast on the track can cause dangerous crashes, so velodromes typically ban brakes. For reasons that are inscrutable to me, people ride track bikes—lacking brakes—on the streets. It's such a thing to the point where people will buy track-style bikes that include brakes and remove the brakes, even though they never ride at a velodrome.

thot_experiment 3y ago
I can elucidate this for you. I ride a brakeless on the street because it changes the way I see the world. I rode with a brake for a long time, I made fun of people who rode without. I thought they were idiots, I thought they were harmful to society. One day I was "forced" (i could have just not ridden) to ride brakeless for a couple days, and those couple days have turned into 10+ years. I could not go back. Not having the option to just hit the brake forces you to be completely present, it changes the way you look at the world, that cannot be achieved in any other way. Riding brakeless on the streets is one of the most consistently joyous experiences I've ever felt. For what it's worth, a well executed whip skid lets you stop in pretty much the same distance as someone hitting full front brake, and as someone who skids ambidextrously my maximum latency is about a 1/4 turn of the pedals (~1.5m). Though because I'm always planning unplanned stops I will already be starting skids every half pedal turn when coming to intersection or seeing a car that may be trying to back out of a driveway, so it's simply a matter of holding the skid rather than having to start one if something unexpected happens. However all this is largely moot since outside of bike party/other fun events I don't tend to skid at all, generally I will go through about one rear tire every year.

by wl 3y ago

thot_experiment 3y ago

I can elucidate this for you. I ride a brakeless on the street because it changes the way I see the world. I rode with a brake for a long time, I made fun of people who rode without. I thought they were idiots, I thought they were harmful to society. One day I was "forced" (i could have just not ridden) to ride brakeless for a couple days, and those couple days have turned into 10+ years. I could not go back. Not having the option to just hit the brake forces you to be completely present, it changes the way you look at the world, that cannot be achieved in any other way. Riding brakeless on the streets is one of the most consistently joyous experiences I've ever felt. For what it's worth, a well executed whip skid lets you stop in pretty much the same distance as someone hitting full front brake, and as someone who skids ambidextrously my maximum latency is about a 1/4 turn of the pedals (~1.5m). Though because I'm always planning unplanned stops I will already be starting skids every half pedal turn when coming to intersection or seeing a car that may be trying to back out of a driveway, so it's simply a matter of holding the skid rather than having to start one if something unexpected happens. However all this is largely moot since outside of bike party/other fun events I don't tend to skid at all, generally I will go through about one rear tire every year.