Driving home tonight, approaching a left turn with a cyclist in front of me. 100m to go so I hung back and slowed rather than overtake and risk left hooking him because we has doing 20 mph+.

As the bike slowed for the junction he slid the back end out by 45°, then did it again and again. All over the road. I jammed the anchors on because I initially thought he was going to drop it right in front of me.

The chap was achingly cool. Fixie, narrow bars, skinny tires, dark clothing and woolly hat, illegal rear light. So what. But, if scrubbing off speed involves sliding it like a speedway rider on a busy road then it is probably not the best bike for the conditions.

My question. Do all fixies do this when taking off 20 mph downhill in the ice or did this guy just not know how to ride it safely?

did this guy just not know how to ride it safely?

that

Thought so. Gave him a beep and I feel bad about it. Not as bad as I would if he’d gone under me wheels though.

Or was he just playing? I do sometimes skid about to play about and / or scare car drivers / pedestrians. I did get a bollocking from a motorcycle cop for it tho but only cos I used a defensive road position and stopped him cutting me up 🙂 . I had to explain I wasn’t out of control I was acting the fool / showing off.

considering the number of hipsters who havent riden a bike since they were kids i think its amazing there arent more deaths…
fixie…. no brakes…. 20-25c tires…
plus london traffic plus general bike haters all over
its stacked up against em

My question. Do all fixies do this when taking off 20 mph downhill in the ice or did this guy just not know how to ride it safely?

no. bit of resistance and the front brake works for me.

TJ
dangerous game to play
I once got an 80 quid fine and had to go to court for bunny hopping the central reservation (no fixed penalty for a bunny hop apparently)

copper was a ****t, but he did know it was called a bunnyhop!

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should kids.

Can you imagine the response on here if the car in front of said fixie rider was handbrake turning / hanging the arse out for fun?!

Sheesh.

IF you are sensible then fixies are much better on the ice than a geared bike.

That Mr Smith is exatly what I tought was going to happen.

+1 of what spin says, much more controllable and you won’t be going that fast to start with.

+2 for Spin- I was always much safer on my fixie than on a bike with a freewheel, it’s like using engine braking on ice in the car. Guy just probably wasn’t used to it or aware of how dangerous ice is on a bike.

That gif looks just like an accident I had last month on the tram lines in Sheffield- £1500 damage between my bike and the car. Bloody public transport.

+3 to Spin. Done more than a few sheet ice commutes home on the fixie – you get a much better idea of how much grip there is. Although like any bike with 23mm tyres on, once it does go, you have to be bloody good/lucky to get it back again.

which is far more likely with fixed than a freewheel

Although like any bike with 23mm tyres on, once it does go, you have to be bloody good/lucky to get it back again.

And when you do pull it off, nothing quite beats the feeling 😀

+4 to spin. I love cycling in the snow and ice on the my fixed gear, I feel much more in control and dont need to rely on grabbing the brakes quite so much.

And a +4 to spin here as well. I feel safer riding over ice on a fixie than on a freewheel bike. That said, riding without brakes is completely mental and very, very silly.

-1 about fixies on ice.

Fell off badly on sheet ice before Christmas. Never happened on any of my other bikes in similar conditions (ps – been riding fixed for several years). At least on a freewheel you can stop pedalling if things start going wobbly and either catch your balance or get your foot down and save your ass. 🙂

What is an illegal rear light?

Flashing only? Not mounted on the bicycle?