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Oh,
come on. Gimme a brake
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Cowboy types are buying brakeless bikes. You can't stop pedalling. In
fact, it's hard to stop at all
MacLean’s, August 07, 2006
By John Intini
James Thompson's legs are "frighteningly large" -- thanks, in part, to
a gruelling 13-day, 2,500-km trek between Emporia, Kan., and Boston
this month on a single-speed, fixed-gear bike. "Climbs take forever and
you need every ounce of muscle you've got because there's no shifting
into a lower gear," says Thompson, a grad student at the University of
British Columbia. "Coming down you have to spin like a demon. You can't
coast on a fixie."
The pedals on a fixed-gear bike -- like on a child's tricycle -- are
chained directly to the rear wheel (fixies don't have a freewheel --
the device on most bikes that allow the wheels to revolve with the
pedals at rest). If the back tire of a fixed-gear spins, so do the
pedals, which requires riders to pump their legs non-stop. "There is
little separation between your motion and the bike's," says Thompson,
26, who built his first fixie last year by converting an old 10-speed.
"You can spot a fixie rider from a mile away before even seeing the
bike. They're so graceful, so elegant. If you don't ride smoothly the
bike will throw you."
Despite the challenges, an increasing number of biking enthusiasts --
inspired by couriers and velodrome racers -- are using these
stripped-down speedsters for downtown commutes. The appeal: fixed-gear
bikes are lighter and cheaper and, because they have fewer parts, they
don't have as many maintenance problems. They're also less attractive
to thieves. "At a casual glance, a fixed-gear bike doesn't look like
much," says Keith MacDonald, who owns Toronto's Cavern Cycles.
"Fixed-gears don't have fancy shifters and suspension parts. It's
essentially the most basic bike you can have."
The simplest models -- and the ones preferred by purists -- don't even
have brakes (those caught riding without brakes are subject to a fine
in many North American cities). "Some people think having brakes is
less cool," says MacDonald, a former courier who rides without brakes.
"I try to talk new fixed-gear riders into brakes because it's a steep
learning curve. Most understand, but I still get the cowboy types who
think if one guy can do it, so can they. There's a big difference
between a messenger who has been riding for five years and the average
commuter."
Stopping a fixed-gear without brakes requires a great deal of strength.
One technique involves shifting your weight to the front, lifting the
rear wheel off the ground, holding the pedals in a horizontal position
to stop the forward momentum, and skidding the rear wheel on the
pavement. "If you ride brakeless you have to be aware of everything at
all times," says MacDonald. "You always need to be thinking two or
three steps ahead."
Although it's still just a tiny sliver of the overall market, many of
the world's biggest bike manufacturers want in on the action.
Specialized sold 5,000 of its fixed-gear Langsters last year -- up from
600 when it debuted in 2001. Earlier this year, Giant rolled out the
US$500 street-ready Bowery, and Raleigh USA introduced the US$600 Rush
Hour, its first fixed-gear model since 1980. Since many are building
their own fixies, the parts business is also booming. "I'm calling my
suppliers and they're sold out," says Paul Bogaert, who owns the Bike
Doctor in Vancouver. "They can't keep up with demand."
In addition to simplicity, MacDonald thinks that spinning classes --
which use fixed-gear bikes -- have contributed to the popularity of
fixies. "People are telling me that they want to take that workout on
the road," he says, "rather than being stuck in a studio."
Fixed-gears are tougher to ride -- and more dangerous -- for the novice
than your average 18-speed. "City streets are filled with potholes,
sewer grates and streetcar tracks, and your natural inclination is to
level out the pedals and coast over them," says Marty Vanderhoek, 30,
who works at Toronto's Urbane Cyclist and switched to a fixie this
spring. "Since you can't coast, you need to avoid or get really steady
before going over them."
The larger the gear on a fixie, the harder it is to accelerate from a
stop position. But bigger gears allow for greater maximum speeds. "It's
easy to wind the bike up on an open stretch of road, but if you lose
your concentration, even for a moment, and stop pedaling, a fixed-gear
bike will bite you," says MacDonald. "If you're going fast enough,
it'll send you flying over the handlebars. The last thing I tell new
riders when they're leaving my store with their bikes is to keep saying
to themselves, 'Don't stop pedalling, don't stop pedalling, don't stop
pedalling.' "
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