By Kenneth Rosen
My extent of bicycle knowledge was limited to the six-speed Trek bike I used to travel the two miles back and forth to high school. But that was some years ago. It wasn’t until I came to SCAD that I learned about fixies and their imminent threat.
Fixed-gear bicycles, or fixies, plague the downtown area.
One thing most students pick up on during their first few weeks at SCAD is the necessity to have a front-facing strobe or light on their bicycles for night-riding.
This seems to be a law enforced for obvious reasons, but what difference does it make if your bike is void of brakes?
Under §40-6-296 of Georgia State bicycle safety law, the same section where it announces that a light on your bike must be seen from up to 300 feet away, it states “every bicycle sold or operated shall be equipped with a brake.”
The loophole, for many, is it continues to read that “brakes” must “enable the operator to make the braked wheels skid on dry, level pavement.”
First let me address the incessant complaints overheard about close-encounters with injury or how you “almost died on my way to class.” As someone who relies on a motorcycle for his main mode of transportation, I have had my share of oh-s*** moments. I never felt the inclination to complain when I knew there was a risk, and I have three working caliper brakes.
Second, nearing the close of last quarter a police officer stopped me on my BMX bike to hand me a notice in Forsyth Park informing me of the laws in place stating where bicycles could and could not ride.
Imagine students rushing to class, running through red lights without brakes. Wouldn’t that be a more important issue to address? I proudly embrace my own recklessness on a motorcycle but protest the wannabe daredevils making turns with speed, no brakes and no suspension.
Cpl. Willet Williams, a Crime Prevention Officer with the Savannah Metropolitan Police Department, stressed the importance of bike safety.
“If a person riding a bike gets hit by a car and the officer inspects the bike to find no breaks, they [the rider] will be ticketed.”
The common response to my frustration with fixie riders is their simplistic “oh, man, you just…pedal backwards” to perform what is known as a skid-stop. It’s a worthy answer and technique as it does lock up the rear wheel, eventually bringing the rider to a stop. This is also easily achieved on a motorcycle. It’s fun to fishtail before halting.
While skid-stopping is the ideal method of breaking in suitable conditions (warm road, clear sky), riders tend to forget that 70 percent and more of their braking power on a two-wheeled transport comes from the forward wheel. The time in which you can bring the bicycle to a complete stop is altered, making unpredictable stopping distances.
I love the aesthetics of the common racing bike. They are beautiful in their simplicity and lack of exuberance. If the price tag wasn’t so hefty I would also indulge myself in the fixie feast and a side order of brakes.
When you ride on the street there are many dangers: the random stray cat, a car running a stop sign or the pedestrian you couldn’t see before turning the corner. You’re not on a track and there is not a single person trying to beat you to Arnold Hall or wherever your final destination may be.
Williams suggests that “any young person riding a bike should follow the rules of the road” and be diligent about “inspecting their bike at least once a week” for defects.
Williams has worked in the downtown precinct for seven years and has witnessed bicycle related accidents.
“We do see incidents,’ he said, “A year ago a kid ran straight through an intersection and was hit by a CAT bus. Was it the bus’ fault? No, because he should have stopped.”
So by all means, if you’re riding a fixie, remove your blinking LED. It won’t make much difference, thanks to your already heightened chances of a fatal accident.
