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Permalink Reply by Katie Mae on July 8, 2009 at 6:41am

Don't give up on your front brake quite yet. pedal cages without toe straps help you feel more secure and remind you to keep pedaling, but also allow for quick foot removal while you get a feel for starting and stopping.
do you have any friends that ride? watching my friends ride fixed before i converted actually provided a lot more insight than i thought it would.
otherwise, just go out and take it slow at first. once you get used to the no coasting thing, you'll never look back!

hope that helped,
katie mae

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Permalink Reply by Currency on July 8, 2009 at 11:30am

Thank you, would you recommend any specific pedal cage?

Katie Mae said:

Don't give up on your front brake quite yet. pedal cages without toe straps help you feel more secure and remind you to keep pedaling, but also allow for quick foot removal while you get a feel for starting and stopping.
do you have any friends that ride? watching my friends ride fixed before i converted actually provided a lot more insight than i thought it would.
otherwise, just go out and take it slow at first. once you get used to the no coasting thing, you'll never look back!

hope that helped,
katie mae

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Permalink Reply by Katie Mae on July 8, 2009 at 12:04pm

plastic ones with a little bit of give are going to be your best bet. metal ones bend the first time you drop your bike and they're weird from then on. super hard plastic breaks on impact.
so i would recommend something that holds it's shape by itself, but flexes slightly when squeezed.

Katie Mae said:

Don't give up on your front brake quite yet. pedal cages without toe straps help you feel more secure and remind you to keep pedaling, but also allow for quick foot removal while you get a feel for starting and stopping.
do you have any friends that ride? watching my friends ride fixed before i converted actually provided a lot more insight than i thought it would.
otherwise, just go out and take it slow at first. once you get used to the no coasting thing, you'll never look back!

hope that helped,
katie mae

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Permalink Reply by gemma on July 8, 2009 at 9:29pm

the best advice i've had so far (being a relative noob myself) is so simple: just don't stop pedaling! And even if you have to make that emergency stop and end up scraping your pedal up your leg while on-lookers laugh at you, just keep riding, because we all had to learn at some point!

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Permalink Reply by Brent Barnett on July 10, 2009 at 6:41pm

Straight flat roads will do you wonders. I have never ridden with brakes but recently bought pedal cages and they make a huge difference. If you can find a Performance bike shop near you, you can pick up a plastic pair and straps for $10. They will help a ton with slowing down and stopping and even your pedaling.

Riding on bike paths is a great way to start because it gives you the ability to just focus on riding. You don't have to worry about stopping short or avoiding car doors. Have fun and like Katie Mae pointed out, riding with friends helps.

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Permalink Reply by John P on July 30, 2009 at 11:20am

After you fall hard the first time, it'll be stored in your long term memory that coasting is a threat when riding a fixed geared and it is unlikely to happen again though sometimes you may think coasting for a millisecond you will react once you feel that it's not coasting.

I don't know about plastic cages, I recommend chrome cages because they have a tight grip when you skid. However, just keep the strap loose enough to easily slide your toes in and out.

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Permalink Reply by House of Husar on July 30, 2009 at 7:47pm

The natural reaction to coast is really the un-natural reaction to coast. I only made the jump to fixie two months ago. I said f-it and put clip-ins on it right away after I put it together (watch video here: http://www.husar.us/blog/archives/55280). My bike doesn't have breaks either. If you are not falling then you are not learning. That is the bottom line.

To break your fear start off small. Going off a curb is a great place to start. Build up more and more speed until you break your (un-natural) reaction to coast. Then go up the curb with more and more speed. The more miles you put in on the fixie the easier it will get. So get out there and ride!

Now when I jump on my mountain bike and hit the dirt it feels un-natural to coast. :)

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Permalink Reply by Roll$aintMinna on August 26, 2009 at 9:00pm

I actually recomend the opposite, stick with platforms. You can just lift your legs on a hill, and ride everywhere, eventually you will be dying of embarassment about sticking your legs in the air and will keep them on the pedals, also, keep the brake, but put it in the middle of your bars or on the stem, thats what alot of people do around here, its there, but will almost be too much of a pain in the ass to use it.

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Permalink Reply by Minks on August 27, 2009 at 9:36pm

youtube is a great resource to learn little fixie tricks of the trade. Also, if you get rid of your brakes (should mos def keep the front brake JUST IN CASE you don't want to become a hood ornament) learn how to slow down properly and stop before you have to. Intersections take on a whole new dimension when you are caught between a bus, right trning traffic and a pothole with no brakes. Lastly don't wait to get to an intersection to practice track stands, no one can get by you and you'll be sliding around trying to get your balance while drivers get pissed off.

Most important: have fun.

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Permalink Reply by Tommy668 on October 26, 2009 at 2:15pm

I'm fairly new to the fixie stuff too...but it's actually going pretty easy. I've never been without a bike of sorts so maybe that's the ticket. I've got four bikes shoved in my little apartment! Like stated above, flat roads and bike paths make for great beginner cruising. Keeping a front brake is a nifty idea as well. It is very weird to get used to not coasting, mainly at intersections and stop signs, but you get used to it. The constant pedaling gets easy too..just use your speed to regulate your bike. I've never used the straps..and truthfully, I don't think I'd dig 'em. I hate feeling trapped in..anywhere! ha. It's possible that in few months I'll be singing a different tune..but so far..I love going strapless!

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Permalink Reply by mark lapham on October 27, 2009 at 12:03am

honestly if u ride 4 a couple days slow and dont try and go to fastyou will be fine..if u flip back to freewheel after a week of riding fixed that will feel weird....somthing ive learned is that in a way you can still coast,you just relax and let the cranks and peddals push your legs,it kinda feels good,theraputic almost lol.......ive also noticed that when i swich back to freewheel i tend to sprint and core often and it wheres me out...when i reide fixed it forces my cadance and i actually cover more distance and dont where myself out as much
i agree with the person who said to start with flats...ive been riding for years and i rode flat bmx peddals 4 years...i now use kmc strapless steel cages...work yr way up to full straps cuz they are dangerous,hard to jump out of and also hard to get into when riding fixed
you will get it if u like it and u want to

goodluck

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