Guys and Gals, remember that Ted's method of stopping a track bike is
not skidding the rear wheel (pretty ineffective). His method is OG Old Skool where he presses down on the front tire with his gloved hand with the shoe leather on the palm and his arm wedged against the
back of the handlebar.
Class is in session!
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California United States of America http://www.velo-retro.com (reprints, t-shirts & timelines)
Ted Ernst wrote:
> My turn, guys and gals.
> Track bikes ie. fixed gear machines are designed to ride on the
> velodrome, or flatter ground criteriums like we did before multi
> speed bikes were used in our country's racing.
> Years ago Even the road races were fixed gear, and most of the
> courses were flatter terrain for obvious reasons.
> Guys who ride track bikes in hilly areas are not using the bike to
> it's best efficiency.
> Too low a gear and you spin your foolhead off or your hip joint
> separates.
> Too big a gear and you brake your legs getting uphill and end up
> with knots in your legs trying to stop on the down hill.
> Plus the safety factor in today's traffic.
> However, when used properly on flat / or small undulating ground, a
> rider who know hows to ride correctly is able to stop a track bike
> just as fast as a road bike.
> We used to try it against each other and it was always fun to see
> the road bike guys's mouths drop open when they saw how fast a good
> track bike could stop when ridden by a real track bike rider, which
> we all were in back in the '40's to '60's.
> Keep in mind that not only did guys like me learn on fixed gears,
> but then as the road and multi speed bikes came in, we started
> riding those too, and so we could ride track and road races
> alternatingly in the same week.
> That "apprenticeship" was invaluble as riding went on, because we
> could take whatever the season threw at us without hesitation.
> So, start practicing , or else!
> Ted Ernst
> Palos Verdes Estates
> CA USA
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jerome & Elizabeth Moos"
> <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
> To: "gabriel l romeu" <romeug@comcast.net>
> Cc: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 6:46 PM
> Subject: Re: [CR] Surprising ending to Cinelli Pista frameset auction
>
>
>> Why I hope they get ridden? Or why one needs a front brake? I
>> just think bikes are made to be ridden. And without a brake, it
>> is often impossible to stop quickly enough in traffic. In fact,
>> this is precisely why brakes are forbidden on the velodrome.
>> Since fixed gear bikes cannot be stopped quickly without brakes,
>> allowing one rider to have a brake on the velodrome would create
>> the danger of him stopping suddenly and others piling into him.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Jerry Moos
>>
>> gabriel l romeu <romeug@comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>>> I hope the buyers at least ride them occasionally on the road,
>>> although that often requires drilling the fork for a front brake to
>>> do so safely.
>>
>> I am not so sure I understand this. why?
>> --
>> gabriel l romeu
>> chesterfield nj usa
>> ± http://studiofurniture.com Ø http://journalphoto.org ±