Last year, list member Dennis Young helped me purchase a kit similar to this one from a Japanese bike shop. These are common for riding Keirin bikes outside of the velodrome because it's against Keirin regulations to drill the fork for a front brake:
https://cart1.fc2.com/
Anyway, the thing works well enough and after you see the photo
it should be obvious that you can make your own kit using .25
inch (6mm) thick aluminum plate and CR era compatible parts.
Cheers,
Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia (USA)
> my take on fixed-gear bits and techinque: the website
> http://www.e-framebank.com sells off-topic kits for installing rear
> (and
> occasionally front) brakes on un-drilled frames. i'll say no
> more
> here, but feel free to contact me off-list if you'd like tips
> on
> navigating the site.
>
> my experience riding fixed on the streets of san francisco
> (usually
> with a front handbrake) is that riding a bit more
> conservatively than
> i might otherwise do leads to a much smoother ride: looking
> ahead,
> planning, looking for exits, trying to guess what drivers and
> pedestrians are going to do usually pays off.
>
> when it doesn't, and there are the unavoidable panic
> situations,
> having a front brake is wonderful; get your weight right back
> over the
> rear wheel, backpedal, and crank down on the front brake and
> you can
> stop almost as quickly as you would with front and rear
> handbrakes.
>
> if i'm on a bike without handbrakes i'll get my weight over
> the rear
> wheel and start skipping, scrubbing speed of as quickly as i
> can,
> while getting ready to hop a curb if i have to. it's not
> always enough
> and crashes happen, and riding without a handbrake take a lot
> more
> focus and mental energy than riding with one does.
>
> the whole brakes/no brakes/zen of brakeless argument has been
> hashed,
> re-hashed, and hashed again all over the web, and i don't
> feel a need
> to get into it here, to get back to the original point (at
> least i
> THINK it's the original point, or a close tangent thereof),
> there are
> mutliple ways of stopping a fixed-gear bicycle, all of them
> use
> friction, all of them generate heat, but some do it faster
> than others
> (the rear bumper of a taxi is probably the fastest of all).
>
> safe riding,
>
> -galen pewtherer
> san francisco, ca
>
> On 7/11/05, ternst <ternst1@cox.net> wrote:
> > Harvey et All: I hope people comment and chime in.
> > The more the merrier We all pic up a little extra info or
> get a point we
> > didn't think of as most of our posts are fairly quick
> response and there
> > just isn't time to touch all the bases.
> > We always told our riders to shift weight a trifle to back,
> especially wi
> th
> > more upright geometry bikes, and try to apply rear a split
> second before
> > front if possible.
> > It takes a while for a rider to find his own balance and
> best personal
> > technique.
> > With a fixed it's the same on weight but the control is
> easier with the
> > fixed holding the bike and weight twaords the year with the
> gentle plus
> > backpedalling action.
> > If you really know how to ride, you should be able to glove
> the front whe
> el
> > while shifting a little to the rear with weight,
> backpedaliling and apply
> ing
> > the back hand brake while maintaining good control.
> > You'll stop PDQ.
> > Can't do the latex tub/tires tonight, Becky Quinn, a South
> Bay Wheelman
> and
> > national team member is giving a talk at our SBW club
> meeting tonight. Fr
> ee
> > refreshments, including pizza beats latex every time.
> > Ted Ernst
> > Palos Verdes Estates, CA
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "HM & SS Sachs" <sachs@erols.com>
> > To: <ternst1@cox.net>; "Classic Rendezvous"
> <classicrendezvous@bikelist.o
> rg>
> > Sent: Monday, July 11, 2005 5:14 PM
> > Subject: plate for rear brake on fixed, was [CR]Various
> Topics-continued
> >
> >
> > > Ted Ernst wrote about a number of things, and I hope he
> won't mind if I
> > > <snip> and comment on a couple of them.
> > > <snip>
> > > Ted: On the flat, if you're going too fast and have to
> panic stop lifti
> ng
> > > the back wheel and stopping pedaling or reversing pedal
> stroke is VERY
> > > skilled and I would practice before going out in traffic.
> > > Either braze a bridge in for a rear brake or use the one
> in place to sa
> ve
> > > your bod.
> > > Harvey: At Trexlertown, I bought a Raphael Geminani
> tracker from Sam
> > > Fitzgerald. It is the only bike I've ever seen which has
> such a plate
> > > permanently attached. Alas, in this case TiG-welded...
> > > Harvey:
> > > Also note that Darwin awards go to those who forget
> physics. Even under
> > > best of circumstances, the back wheel has only 1/2 the
> stopping power o
> f
> > > the front. This is because of weight transfer: as you try
> to slow the
> > > bike, the center of mass is way above the contact patch,
> so the bike te
> nds
> > > to pivot on the front wheel and unload the rear. So, I
> (almost) always
> > > use a front brake on fixed gear on the road. Even my
> beloved '38 P'moun
> t
> > > has a front brake, and yup, the paint chips show when I
> take it off so
> the
> > > bike looks original.
> > >
> > > <snip>
> > >
> > > harvey sachs
> > > mcLean va
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
>
>
> --
> -galen
> _______________________________________________
>
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