Some thoughts on riding a fixed and using brakes, or not.

I have been riding fixie predominantly for a while now. Of course, there's an ongoing discussion about whether a fixie should or should not have a brake. I have run with and without a brake on the hack-together Motobecane. I can ride either way, with reasonable control without a brake.

I do, however, refute the argument that one can stop faster by skidding the back tire. This is patently false. Stopping with traction is considerably faster and more controllable than losing all traction. Anyone who has ever raced an automobile can affirm that locking up the tires isn't much of a way to control the car, and the same is true for a bicycle. In short, it's possible to ride the city streets without a brake, but it is not the safest way to go. A decently set up front brake will stop the bike way faster, and in a more controlled matter.

For the most part, I have considered that choice a matter of personal safety. Riding without a brake has always required more attentiveness, and more grace, than with, and that in and of itself might have made me safer.

A recent experience forced me to reconsider. I was shooting down a long hill of medium grade, part of my daily commute. For the most part, I muscle up to the top, then shoot down the other side at a rapid cadence, easily breaking 20 miles an hour. If the light was working out right at the bottom, I'd shoot through the intersection and ride this all the way into downtown.

Then, one day, a little girl ran out into the street. She might have known to look for cars, but maybe not for bikes. I shouted, and she stopped within inches of being hit in the head by my bars. At the speed I was going, she would have been seriously injured, or possibly even killed. Nothing I was able to do would have prevented this. I passed her within inches, still moving at something between 20-25 miles per hour.

Thinking about it, If I had had a brake, I still might have hit her, if she hadn't stopped in time, but at considerably slower speed, and maybe she would have gotten a broken arm, something that would have healed soon and left nothing more permanent than a lesson. At the uncontrolled pace I was moving, she could have been in a wheelchair for the rest of her life...a high cost for her mistake.

I will not ride the city streets without a brake any further, because that incident taught me that it was not just my neck being risked against SUVs, but the safety of innocent pedestrians. If I want respect from the cars, I also need to show respect for the pedestrians, and riding without a brake presents an unacceptable risk to others.

About the commuter bike.

My hacker commuter bike started her life as a 10 speed French Mixte, about 30 lbs with steel wheels, 27 inch tires, and steel accessories all around. She's a 1976ish Motobecane Mirage, originally sold in the Peddler bike shop in downtown Huntsville, Alabama, which was then in the location of the Kaffeeklatsch bar. A friend found her in a thrift store for $20, rode the crap out of her, bent the wheels, and eventually gave her to me.

Now she's a much lighter, faster fixed gear. It's been an evolutionary process, scouring and picking up parts as I could find and afford them. The only new parts on the bike are the wheels and the seat post, everything else has been scavenged, mostly from a shop called Outdoor Omnibus in Huntsville.

I dug around in the parts bins to put together a functional french thread bottom bracket, finally scavenging an old Nervar crank axle, which is presently attached to a very light 170mm Nervar crank set, with the original 52 tooth chainring attached by shorter bolts. The wheels are Mavic Open Sports, laced to Formula hubs, with classic looking gumwall 23c tires. I found an old Sekai stem and handlebar, and that's bolted on, with some cushy black cork tape and a pre-aero Shimano 600 brake lever that runs to an antique sidepull brake, maker unknown but it had just the right reach to work with the 700c rim on a 27 inch frame. I replaced the old fashioned seatpost with a Kalin, since they are cheap and available in many sizes. I got the closest one, but still had to ream the seat tube a bit. It works great now, attached to a nice Sella Italia saddle with prostate relief and titanium rails.

On the back is a Delta rack, which I use to strap down extra layers of clothing, and to carry some cheap but functional Sunlight panniers, though I usually use one of my Timbuk2 bags, a medium for most day, and an XL for grocery shopping.

There's an SKS raceblade rear fender on the front, which I'm about to extend with mudflaps. I may end up getting some Planet Bike fenders, but I'd rather just keep it to this one little fender. On the front is a vintage headlight from a generator setup that I'm converting to a slf contained battery powered LED light.

I'll post some pics soon.

Upcoming Hacks

Here are some hacks I'm working on for the commuter fixie, documented here to keep me motivated to work on them.

I have an old chrome cased generator light, for the front of the bike. It looks really beautiful mounted above the font brake, and matches the overall vintage style of the bike. I don't have any desire to actually run a generator, though. I am much happier with modern battery powered LED lights. They have no drag, weigh very little, and can be seen from along way off.

The plan is to fit the circuit board from a 2-mode blinky into the casing, along with a tray for AAA batteries, and build up an LED light bulb that will fit naturally into the housing. In this way, I can keep the vintage theme of the bike and still enjoy the benefits of modern lights.

The other hack is to make a mudflap for the front fender, preferably out of old tubes, because I have a ton of that material laying around. This one is very much on my mind after this mornings very wet ride, with soaking feet.

Wet Friday Riding

It is a raining morning in 5 points, my feet are already wet even though I have a long front fender on the bike. That's the first .5 miles of my day. Thank goodness for waterproof messenger bags, so at least the computer survives to write this journal note at the coffee shop. Presently, I'm praying that the rain will slack off before I have to move on with my day, for a few mile trip to the bank and another, in a different direction, to campus for an exciting day of class.

I don't care if it continues raining a little, but this is an Alabama downpour, not the worst we get but not at all like Portland, either. I came into the coffee shop dripping, but everyone is used to that now, so no one looks at me funny anymore. The old single speed gives good traction control, so that much is a blessing.

I enjoy the rain, the sound and the feel and the taste of it, but riding in weather like this is more of an endurance trial than a pleasure. I think I should have brought spare socks and shoes, because my fender cannot win against this.