UKC

I was walking home last night and coming down the pavement like a bat out of hell was a lad on a BMX that had no brakes. In order to slow himself down he had to use either both feet on the ground or a foot on the back tyre. It seems to be a craze amongst some of the youth to have bikes with no brakes.

After he passed by, seemingly out of control, another 3 lads passed by also with bikes with no brakes (no brake handles or braking mechanisms). One of the bikes was a mountain bike on the road going at some lick; I guess the emergency stop procedure’s not going to happen! They don't wear helmet's either.

I know we all like a bit of danger, but to what or who's detriment

Jason

In reply to lone:

It took a while before I learnt how to put brakes on my go-cart as a kid.

In reply to lone:

Think of it as natural selection

In reply to lone:

Did you shout "...and pull your trousers up" after them - I usually do !

In reply to Chris the Tall:
Ha ha ! I sound like an old Woman

In reply to lone:

A mate of mine used to do that in the 80s. It would wear his shoes out in no time. He had brakes, but it wasn't as much fun to use them.


Perhaps they've read the CTCs opinion statement on helmet use, including:

"The evidence on this question is complex and contradictory, providing as much support for those who are deeply sceptical of helmets as for those who swear by them.

Whether or not it is a good idea to wear a helmet may depend on both the rider and the type of cycling they are doing. However, given the extent to which the health benefits of cycling outweigh the risks involved, CTC's view is that it is more important to encourage people to cycle, than whether or not they wear helmets when doing so. Cycling should be promoted as an essentially safe, normal and enjoyable transport and leisure activity, which anyone can do in whatever clothes they prefer to wear, with or without helmets."

In reply to lone:

shoe/wheel Brake is Standard for yoof.

I had a youth court Appearance about 1980 for riding a bike with no Brakes or Lights.

3 quid fine for no Brakes.
5 quid fine for no Lights.

No fine for trying to outrun the police car.

In reply to lone:

it's really simple, if you can do it safely then fine.

if you can't don't.

if it upsets you to see, well your a dying breed anyways.

In reply to lone:

this is a bit of a craze, but one which has lasted 40 years in my experience, but my memory doesn't go beyond that.

...nothing new under the sun

In reply to lone:
Lots of fixie riders run brakeless. It's illegal but having tried riding off road without brakes on a fixie it isn't necessarily unsafe, provided you have the skills and the savvy.

I doubt the kids you saw have committed that much thought to it though and were probably not running fixed.

In reply to wintertree:

Is nt that ctc statement discussing compulsory helmet wearing and the effect it may have on the nos of people cycling and health related issues, ie compulsion to wear a helmet would deter people from cycling thus affect the nations health?

In reply to lone:

More worrying are the ones that have no seats, just a seat stem!

In reply to lone:

On fixes if you stop pedalling that brakes the back wheel. You just need a front brake to be road legal.

In reply to Mountain Llama:

It's also referring to the research that suggests that as a cyclist, wearing a helmet means you're more likely to be involved in a collision, and that the average passing distance is less.

You often hear "if I hadn't been wearing a helmet I wouldn't be here"

You never hear "if I hadn't been wearing a helmet, I might not have been knocked off my bike in the first place"

But that probably is the case sometimes.

I still wear a helmet. It's the thought of my head going through the side window of a car that prompts it.

In reply to Trevers:

Everyone quotes that fact, but it's based on a single truly awful excuse for a study.

I'm generally against compulsory helmet laws and think that some people put far too much emphasis on helmets as a way of stopping people getting hurt when cycling, but unless there's some much better evidence that I don't know about then I think people should probably stop quoting that particular argument as if it held water...

In reply to Ramblin dave:


Why's that?

In reply to lone:

I used to ride BMX without brakes, went through a few pairs of shoes while the phase lasted. It was all about simplicity for me and the people i rode with. Without brakes, cabling or levers the BMX had less to rattle, brake, loosen or make noise. The result was a very quiet solid BMX that wouldn't fall apart every day. Plus it meant you could do an infinite number of bar-spins. All of this was massively more important than safety, stopping and all that jazz.

Had a few near misses, sometimes even missing the tyre with my foot and jammed it into the spokes.

Didn't wear a helmet much. Not a care in the world beyond how noisy my BMX was.

Good times

In reply to lone:

I quite like it when gangs of kids go by on their BMXs, without lights or brakes, one leg straight, one leg bent sideways (why do they do that?). It's part of the urban environment and suggests that all is normal and ticking along.

In reply to mbh:


Hope that includes middle age man Kids on BMXs as well :-D

In reply to lone:

I ride Brakeless every now and again on my trials bike, is pretty fun and is a completely different style of riding. Having also ridden some local XC trails brakeless on the same bike, it really teaches you to control the bike using weight movement and balance instead of riding the brakes.

The one leg straight/one leg bent thing... the top tube of the bike is so low, it allows you to ride without all your weight over the front of the bars, as you can rest of the top tube.

In reply to lone:

True story: As a kid I had a bike with no brakes or mudguards and used to put my foot on the front tyre to stop. I had a pair of worn out shoes on one day with the sole detached at the front of the shoe. When I put my foot on the tyre as usual the flap of sole got jammed in the front forks and the front wheel locked. I went right over the handlebars and landed on my feet without a scratch whilst the bike somersaulted a couple of times before crashing down. Lucky or what ?

In reply to krazykid009:


Its because they ride their posts completely Slammed nu skool. Ride high retro style. Better for cruising and FlatLand =-O

In reply to Chris the Tall:

like

In reply to AlexanderRyanBanks:

Interesting the replys,

In reply to AlexanderRyanBanks:

Thanks for the replies everyone, opened my eyes a bit

Jase