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How to Skid on a Fixed Gear Bike

greg | Aug 6, 2008 | Views: 56,974 |

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Skidding on a fixed gear bike is a challenge in itself, when you first start riding a fixie. In order to skid, you must practice a lot. The best places to start out skidding are usually underground parking garages, or any place with smooth pavement. Start off at a medium pace, not too slow, and not too fast. Get used to the pattern of the pedals, and find out which leg is your strongest. Use this leg to do the skid.

Step one: Start pedaling at a medium pace
Step two: Lean forward to displace weight over the front wheel
Step three: Your strong foot needs to be at the back pedal, when the pedals are parallel with the ground
Step four: Apply a lot of pressure on your back foot

You should skid a bit, be careful not to hurt your wrists in the process, it can get tedious and a fair bit painful if you are doing it non stop. Practice until you are able to skid, and then try to work skids into your regular riding.

There are many different types of skids you can do, like the regular skid, through the frame skid, over the handlebars, and other creative and insane variations. Skidding helps you stop on a fixed gear bike, due to most fixies being completely brakeless.

It is easy to skid, so don't give up on yourself. If you can't do it after day one, try again the next day. It takes time to learn, so if you don't want to dedicate a few hours a day to practice, you should stick to a regular road or mountain bike.

Tags: Skid; Fixed Gear Bike; Fixie; Tricks; Slide;

Category

Cycling

Comments

criticalmass

Mar 29, 2009 11:49pm

-1

Hey whats up.I was wondering where id be able to find a bike like the one that guys riding with the blue rims/spokes?

greg

Mar 30, 2009 12:26am

Ebay might have some, or any custom bike store. Lots are popping up due to the demand of fixies, now. Good luck!

criticalmass

Mar 30, 2009 6:20pm

-1

Like can you give any names of a custom bike store?thanks by the way!

joshbevilKEO

May 10, 2009 10:23pm

those rims are called aerospokes. (700c) they usually run for about $375 a peice, but in my opinion are worth it. youd prob be better off getting weinmanns or deep-vs though. im running lime green weinmanns on an old bianchi frame right now and i love it. deep-vs are a money expensive nicer version of weinamnss. they come in every color imaginable. you can customize the color. theres republicbike.com or omething like that where you can customize a bike, but those bikes are pretty cheap. your best offer is too buy a la carte of ebay or something then take it to a bikeshop for them to put it together. i know a lot about fixed gar bikes and ride them a lot. they are my life. you can contact me at joshbevil@gmail.com if you have questions about anything. ill help you customize a bike and teach you a little about them if you want.
-josh

fixiefag27

May 23, 2009 10:42am

Hey josh, i ran by your answer in this how to skid article and it really helped, I was wondering if you could give me a detailed explanation on how to skid, because im leaning forward and then wehn i try to lock my feet the pedals just slow down and the slowly stops intstead of skidding. I was also wondering if you teach me about fixies, beacuse i have one but dont know a lot. THank YOU
Alex

Jackblacksilver

May 30, 2009 11:31pm

I can do small skids on my fixie and can pretty much make it stop imediately but cant do long ones. Ive tried down hill and increasing my speed ect but still can only manage little skids. also when i go out to practise, one of my legs ends up killing after so i guess im kinda using the wrong technique. can any one provide som finer details on the technique of skidding? cheers.

nathan

Jun 30, 2009 10:56am

I think it helps if you pull up with the other foot.

nathan

Jun 30, 2009 10:59am

and also, it's easier on grass and even better, wet grass

greg

Jun 30, 2009 10:59am

make sure you lean forward over your handlebars for maximum leverage, this really helps your legs to lock up because your weight isn't over the pedals themselves.

melv

Aug 2, 2009 10:17am

i mainly pull up with my forward foot. shift weight in a fluid motion in time with the pedals just before they are in position to lock it up. i found that if i got the back wheel sideways a bit it was easier too. the way i learnt was to just take the brakes off. make sure you look ahead for any danger tho. also you learn to dodge things pretty well as well. ha