Author Topic: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?  (Read 11635 times)

Offline remedy

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Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« on: May 18, 2007, 03:44:38 PM »
I got my signal last week, hadnt the opp to ride b/c im too busy SO whilst I havent been riding I was thinking about starting off brakeless....

Im thinking that I might just be making things hard for myslef and in the longrun discouraging.
but Im also thinking that if I have no breaks its like doing a heavy set at the gym WITHOUT a spotter, so you KNOW its all up to you, theres not safty nets..

I dunno. watufinks?

Offline LuvFlatland

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #1 on: May 18, 2007, 03:53:12 PM »
as a newbie myself i think u should learn a trick with brakes first then learn it without brakes, because if u learn it with brakes u get the feel for that trick and also it boosts ur confidence once u land a trick with brakes so u can land it brakeless. Well thats my theory, i would like to see ehat other ppl here think :)
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Offline oicdn

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #2 on: May 18, 2007, 04:00:28 PM »
Starting flatland seriously within the past week, I see brakes are preference.

  All the how-to's tell you to do a fire-hydrant you need to grab your brakes to bring the front end around, when I've been able to do them by mistake by just leaning back and slightly to the side after a fork glide.  I haven't been able to pull them on purpose everytime, but I know I can do it without brakes just as easy.

Tricks like a decade can be done Adam Banton style, but jumping off the rear tire, and same goes for whiplashes...just footjam it.

  there's a little innovating needed, and although I have no idea on harder tricks, I've noticed all it takes it a little bit of lean.

That said, I spent money on these $$ brakes and my fork has tabs on it, I'm keeping my brakes, lol.  That and I ride VERY LIGHT street, so I need brakes.

Offline remedy

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #3 on: May 18, 2007, 04:05:41 PM »
true true.
Im kinda looking at the whole learning with or without brakes like learning guitar:
if you learn classical first (harder) you can play anything.
flatland is way harder than guitar lol, but Im looking at it like that: without brakes = classical = harder = if can do that, can do anythin..

Offline remedy

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #4 on: May 18, 2007, 04:09:27 PM »
come to think of it, by going brakeless you're forced into learning how to manipulate the bikes movements ...'manually' f you could put it like that in stead of suing the brakes to assist....make sense?

Offline Burd

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2007, 04:26:48 PM »
Personally, I think riders should start off brakeless so that they don't learn to lean on it as a crutch when picking up the basic rolling stuff.

As an example, if you're learning basic a basic fork glide, you should learn it without using the brake when spinning 180 into it.  This will give you a better feel for how the bike rotates around the front "axis" while rolling.  Pinching the brake in this situation is a crutch.

Learning to ride out of the fork glide brakeless is important too.  With a brake, you can simply roll into a trackstand and then pedal out of that, which is lame.  Brakeless, you have to learn to keep the bike rolling, switch your feet on the pegs, lean around the bars, switch you body so it's facing forward, and then spin the bars.  Learning this helps you get a feel for how to move around the bike while it's in motion.

So, I say start off brakeless, and then once you get a feel for how the bike maneuvers while rolling without a crutch, then put the brake on and start learning switches, feathering, etc.

This is simply my opinion, btw.  I'm sure lots of other guys have a different view ;)

Offline iRobot

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #6 on: May 18, 2007, 04:28:02 PM »
I am currently making the same decision.. For me, riding brakeless is slowing my progression somewhat, so what I opt to do is put em back on and use them for learning new tricks, then simply not use them once I become comfortable.
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Offline ancientskool

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2007, 04:33:12 PM »
I'd put the brakes on.  Some people only do rolling tricks and brakes aren't a real necessity.  There are tricks out there that kind of need brakes though, or are at least 100% easier with them.  Even a lot of guys who don't use back brakes at least put the front ones on.

Once you have rolling tricks dialed in, you just don't have to use the brakes if you don't want to, or you can take them off if you decide that you don't need thm.  Learning WITH them will be easier though for transitions in and out of certain things, and I don't think it will make things harder for you to eventually go brakeless if that's your choice.

Offline LuvFlatland

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #8 on: May 18, 2007, 04:36:23 PM »
after reading ur guys posts im thinking about going brakeless too....now im confused lol i really cant land a singel trick anyways so i dont think riding brakeless will help lol but im learning a squeker and i just saw a vid of someone doing it brakeless but instead with a foot jam....im thinking about learning it liek that. Any advise?
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Prasheel

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #9 on: May 18, 2007, 05:22:59 PM »
Ughhh, this topic has been beaten to death before, but to sum it up; leave the brakes on.

Taking the brakes off are not going to make anything any easier, only a lot more difficult.  If you want to learn squeakers without brakes, don't use them.  But, if you're having trouble with squeakers, then you can use your brakes.

Sure I might be a little hypocritical because I ride without brakes, but my first 2 years + of my riding they were there.  In the early stages of riding, there is no need to be trying to push yourself to learn everything brakeless, or thinking of the brake as a crutch.

If I didn't take off my brake so early in my riding, I would probably still be riding with them and learning a lot of different/harder stuff.  But because I took it off when I did, every year when I went back and tried to ride with them, they just seemed so foreign to me.

Do all your basic tricks brakeless if you like, but down the line, for switches (especially jump and flip style ones), the brakes will definately help you out tons.

Oh, and I'm mainly talking about front brakes.  Rear brakes will help you out too, but I don't think to the same extent as front brakes, and the hassle of the gyro and everything, I could never see it as worthwhile considering half the time the rear wheel is ridden, you're usually not holding the bars.  I'll let someone older come in here and tell you the importance of rear brakes.

Offline PSchoolen

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #10 on: May 18, 2007, 05:54:49 PM »

but Im also thinking that if I have no breaks its like doing a heavy set at the gym WITHOUT a spotter, so you KNOW its all up to you, theres not safty nets..

I dunno. watufinks?

Brakes are not safety nets nor will learning to ride brakeless make you have the ability to do anything. Those analogies are just not applicable. Brakeless is a style of riding preferred by some but not by all. And truth be told, not everyone is capable of being able to excell at riding brakeless (myself included). For the vast majority of people not having brakes is going to make some tricks impossible. So why limit yourself? You always have the option of not using brakes. When doing rolling tricks my fingers are not even on the levers. But as a beginner you really need brakes to learn some of the tricks that are the building blocks of flatland.
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Offline Le_Polonais

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #11 on: May 18, 2007, 05:59:03 PM »
The thing is... With a brake you will be tempted to, in the beginning, do more scuff and squeak type tricks... I had brakes on for about 4-5 months in the beginning and i got absolutely nowhere and learned to squeak funky chickens like 4 times and a bit of squeakers...  I absolutely sucked at feathering... I just couldint grasp the concept quick, it was all or nothing when it came to the brakes...

Then i took them off to make my bike lighter (I had a tank back then) and i started to naturally work on some rolling/whiplash stuff, which came MUCH faster for me... I learned bw hikers from fork glides first and then just went from there to hang5's/crackpackers/fw hikers

Just do what feels right for you man, because most of the time you know yourself better then random people with biased opinions from their own riding (like me) on a message board  ;D

Offline griOt

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #12 on: May 18, 2007, 06:55:25 PM »
I got my signal last week, hadnt the opp to ride b/c im too busy SO whilst I havent been riding I was thinking about starting off brakeless....

Im thinking that I might just be making things hard for myslef and in the longrun discouraging.
but Im also thinking that if I have no breaks its like doing a heavy set at the gym WITHOUT a spotter, so you KNOW its all up to you, theres not safty nets..

I dunno. watufinks?

you can start brakeless becuase its been done already
« Last Edit: May 18, 2007, 07:07:19 PM by griOt »
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Offline gibby

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #13 on: May 18, 2007, 07:31:40 PM »
Don't let me influence how you want to ride your bike. Just ride... with brakes or without. It's flatland, so you're automatically cool anyway.  ;D

Offline psycho beach

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Re: Newbie starting off brakeless...bad idea?
« Reply #14 on: May 19, 2007, 12:08:00 AM »

but Im also thinking that if I have no breaks its like doing a heavy set at the gym WITHOUT a spotter, so you KNOW its all up to you, theres not safty nets..

I dunno. watufinks?

Brakes are not safety nets nor will learning to ride brakeless make you have the ability to do anything.

Brakes can save you from a nasty fall on some tricks as well as a not so nasty but still annoying fall on others. Didnt get my foot to the ground in time on a manual once and fell on my back. Brakes would have certainly been a saftey net in this case.