Fair enough. I'll say in my experience, limited to what it is, no one I know that has been pulled over on a bike (myself included) has been explicitly for track standing at a light, it's been for something else (and much more blatant!).
As for why I violate that rule:
To a simple degree, it's much easier and safer for me to remain clipped into my bike fully and be able to accelerate congruously with traffic than to continuously clip/unclip at lights/stop signs, which, even to the most experienced, is an awkward, wobbly, and distracting motion.
There are plenty of (better) ways of fulfilling the safety intent of the law. Most of the time that's slowing down well ahead of the time to never fully stop and/or communicating with vehicles near you.
I've made a personal edict that I'm not allowed to buy a motorcycle. For safety reasons. Not only for the other-people problem, but I'd have too much fun until I don't in dramatic fashion (not in traffic, but off somewhere in a quiet twisty canyon, I'm sure).
Modern clinchers ride great, I promise, especially when you put those same latex tubes as your tubulars in them (I ride both, depending on need). But if you have your schick, I can't argue.
And we need FDegrove to join us in this topic.
We're going on 30 years of brakeless fixies in NYC. Obviously it's not a problem. Car drivers just need to hate. Is it really a problem that young people are out getting exercise? Even if they do something that's slightly dangerous, in all honesty, it's hard to complain considering it doesn't involve the say guns, drugs, or 100+mph speeds. Kids riding around fixed gears doing wheelies is about as harmless of an activity as you can wish on the youth if you put it into perspective.
BTW I never assume a car sees me, not even when they look right at me.
BTW I never assume a car sees me, not even when they look right at me.
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I'm not google... But I assure you we'd all know if bicycle riders where meeting their ends in mass. "If it bleeds it leads"
And actually a front brake means your wheel has to be true
It also adds weight and inconvenience for fixing flats. You can call me vain, I do enjoy the look of no brakes, too. But also I've had a fixie with rear and front brakes before that I took on long rides. I didn't really use them, but sometimes on long downhills it was nice. In general I found it was a minor detractor from my experience, but since I was doing long out of town rides on highways and such it seemed fair to have them.
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DPH,
I have a set of clincher wheels, and I even popped for nice Continental tires and rode them for a short time. All it took was going around a curve I would normally take with the sew-ups and ending up on the ground, just don't have the cornering qualities of a sew up. Went back to training tires as the nice sew ups are just so expensive for normal riding. My favorite tires were Clement Paris Roubei made for cobblestones but those are long gone history. I'm with you about motorcycles, I wouldn't let myself ride one as I knew how fast I was in a car and figured I'd ride a motorcycle the same way on the edge and figured that wasn't a smart move. I've had cars pull up to me after a decent and say do you know how fast you were going, typically 45+ downhill on tight corners and they are having a time keeping up. I was clocked at 55+ going down the road in Maui from way up the volcano, fastest I ever remember on a bike, my eyes were watering so bad I could barely see!
I have a set of clincher wheels, and I even popped for nice Continental tires and rode them for a short time. All it took was going around a curve I would normally take with the sew-ups and ending up on the ground, just don't have the cornering qualities of a sew up. Went back to training tires as the nice sew ups are just so expensive for normal riding. My favorite tires were Clement Paris Roubei made for cobblestones but those are long gone history. I'm with you about motorcycles, I wouldn't let myself ride one as I knew how fast I was in a car and figured I'd ride a motorcycle the same way on the edge and figured that wasn't a smart move. I've had cars pull up to me after a decent and say do you know how fast you were going, typically 45+ downhill on tight corners and they are having a time keeping up. I was clocked at 55+ going down the road in Maui from way up the volcano, fastest I ever remember on a bike, my eyes were watering so bad I could barely see!
I used to draft tractor trailers on the state roads. 60 plus, but no wind in my face. Even with a 54 front and 13 rear, man the legs they get a spinnin.
Sheesh, you think I'm stupid now....back then, pfffft..
Dropped on a downhill once, doin about 40 to 45. Man, it's amazing how time slows down during the event.. I bounced quite a few times.
John
Never attempted the drafting of a truck, must be nice with no headwind but just to chicken to do that. I think I had a 53-11 gear set at the time. I used to use a straight block with nothing bigger than an 18 in the back. Now I have a triple front and seven in the back, not quite the same as the ten speed rear gears today but that small front triple gear will get you up anything. It's a Campy triple by the way. Now if I could find someone in Europe to find me a cover for my Delta brakes I'd be very happy! I heard the cover drop on the road but didn't put the sound together with it being from my bike, last covers I saw were $200 for a pair of NOS stock, to much for me, I'll get newer calipers before I pay that much just for the cover.
Well, it's really quite simple, lads...
...you sit down in front of your speakers (with the rest of the gear there, connected, and ready to play), then you play something. Some time later, perhaps much later, you realize that you ought to have been doing something else, eaten, gone to the bathroom, etc.
If you get up after a cut or two, your system doesn't cut it.
Most don't.
Few do.
"...you know it ain't easy..." - Ringo Starr
_-_-
...you sit down in front of your speakers (with the rest of the gear there, connected, and ready to play), then you play something. Some time later, perhaps much later, you realize that you ought to have been doing something else, eaten, gone to the bathroom, etc.
If you get up after a cut or two, your system doesn't cut it.
Most don't.
Few do.
"...you know it ain't easy..." - Ringo Starr
_-_-
Except for the lady that got knocked out after being hit as cited at the end of the article.
There is a certain vividness that happens as the circuit design gets locked in. It must be transient response. I have heard the term "micro-transients": This is the best name I have heard for it. Once I heard it for the first time it never left me. That first time was in my cubicle at Harman on a Sony SACD player feeding a DIY tube amp and a pair GLA-55's that had the active amps removed and a DIY breadboard corssover kluged in. I heard a $130K System demonstrated this last sunday that just didn't have it. I have only heard it a few times on digital systems. MBL speakers do it very well. JBL M2, !!even with redbook sources!!, VERY vivid! Constellation at the Audio Salon did it. Kevin Gray's mastering room does it. I even get it with my own preamps feeding a mid 80's Kenwood integrated, bi-wired to my Alesis Monitor 1's, stacked on top of JBL4311's.
With my preamp this vividness is very delicate. Replace the cartridge load resistor with anything but a bulk foil resistor - vividness gone! The RIAA 4th pole needs to be a CC resistor. I have been hard soldering combinations of resistors to dial in the HF response. I just tried a Bourns trimpot in that position and the vividness was largely gone. I'm working on a trimpot in parallel with a CC resistor to see if that oh-so-important vividness can hold up.
My prototype LCR, with a tube front end, has it in spades.
A LOT of gear (price range NOT being a factor) just does NOT have this vividness.
And a lot of people (pro's that you think would know better) just don't seem to care, or know, or whatever! about this.
Once I demonstrated this to my wife she became a vividness freak just like me.
With my preamp this vividness is very delicate. Replace the cartridge load resistor with anything but a bulk foil resistor - vividness gone! The RIAA 4th pole needs to be a CC resistor. I have been hard soldering combinations of resistors to dial in the HF response. I just tried a Bourns trimpot in that position and the vividness was largely gone. I'm working on a trimpot in parallel with a CC resistor to see if that oh-so-important vividness can hold up.
My prototype LCR, with a tube front end, has it in spades.
A LOT of gear (price range NOT being a factor) just does NOT have this vividness.
And a lot of people (pro's that you think would know better) just don't seem to care, or know, or whatever! about this.
Once I demonstrated this to my wife she became a vividness freak just like me.
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Misogynist alert! - Status
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