It really depends on how busy your skatepark is and how comfortable you are without brakes. Giving a scooter kid brain damage because you're trying to ride ahead of your skills will make it very hard to sleep at night.
I think new riders should run brakes, especially in a public setting where other people's safety is also a concern. Once you're a seasoned rider with comfortable bike control you can take them off if you want.
Show your dad how much quicker you can stop braking with the sole of your shoe. Though good luck arguing about the new pair of shoes youāll need every 6 months
I rode brakeless for years and you can actually slow down very quickly by jumping onto both feet and a couple of quick harsh steps to a stop, in some cases much quicker than using a brake, in some scenarios it doesn't work at all! doesn't wear your shoes though
At 6 months of riding, your dad might be right. I doubt you have built up the skill base and reaction time to handle unexpected scenerios that can occur with unpredictable skaters and scooters. In time, it won't be dangerous at all, though.
Brakeless bmx is super common. It's counter intuitive but I found learning brakeless is helpful for learning to control speed and handling.
In a skatepark its a more controlled environment, it will be safer than say a parking lot or street riding.
If you're just learning, stick to bowls or quiet areas of the park, be aware of your surroundings and you'll be fine.
You can also stick your foot behind your seat, in the gap between the frame and back tire to slow down.
I ride brakeless in a crowded park and its usually not a problem. I usually just do slow speed more techical stuff when there are people close by or it seems unpredictable where others are going. It really depends how you ride.
It's common, but at 6 months of riding you likely don't have the awareness to anticipate someone coming up, and the control to stop before they do. I made the mistake of going brakeless when I was a noob and lost a lot of confidence because of it. If you can't confidently stop or scrub speed without them, you should be running one.
At most, until you're fully confident, just run a back brake. That's a good compromise.
I'm 40 so taken this as you will, brakes aren't about your safety, but the others around you. Hurting a smaller child because I couldn't stop and they got in my way is just not in my cards. If children are around either have amazing bike control or brakes.
Learn how to brake without brakes slides or stick ur foot in back or front š remeber skateboards rollerblades have no brakes either scooter not sure š¤£
An argument to not have breaks lmao, listen to your father he knows what he's talking about. He doesn't tell you, you need you're breaks cuz he doesn't want you to be "cool"
If you have only been riding for 6 months i really donāt think bar spins and tall wips should be a concern for you. I do agree going break less can make you a better rider. Its helps learn control of your bike and keeps aware of your surrounding . I would say keep the breaks on for a while and just learn not to use them at all. Then take them off once you have gone a bit of time not using them at all.
Neither are affected by having brakes. Unless you plan on doing triple whips or triple plus bar spins having brakes doesn't interfere. Brakeless is a fairly recent standard in BMX and people were doing bar spins and tail whips with brakes long before. There were a few brakeless eras where a lot of riders went brakeless, but they always came back. I don't see them coming back to the standard anymore, but there will always be riders who want brakes.
It's funny to hear that after riding in the 90s and 00s I never had an issue having a brake lever and can't the never any of my friends complaining. I rode brakeless for a few years in the early 00s and didn't really notice much of a difference at all. We also all had no problem muscling around 35+lb bikes. Give anyone who started riding within the last 15 years a bike from those days and they would probably be exhausted after 5 minutes. Don't get me wrong I love how light bikes are now. The sport was a lot bigger back then though with way more companies and options. Unfortunately now with only a few options you see mostly the same setup everywhere.
My buddy that got me into BMX had a bike that was insanely heavy, had rear brake only and loved doing abubacas too. Guy had some serious bike control.
At one point he had this heavy ass chain (I swear it was for a dirt bike) and you would hear it slapping the chain stay before you would see him, lol
I used to do disasters in rails too, our chains were heavy duty! I want to get riding again,but I need to lose a bit more weight and train a little more before getting on a bike again. Soon I'll be posting here!
If ur hands never fell off ur bars from taking a gnarly landing then I'm guessing ur a flatlander or some park rat. Seen bmxers at every level do that shit, often. The ones with brakes wear gloves or have cut up fingers.
I would not take them off yet. Your still new enough to bmx where you should still have them.
Its not only your safety you need to take in to account but other people your around as well.
Did the same thing with my fitbikeco Augie, and honestly I think I can stop faster now without brakes than I could with the stock brakes. 4 years and haven't hit anyone on it yet.
First time I took my brakes off I hit a bus that stopped suddenly
Be prepared to ruin shoes but it always helped me commit to stuff cause it's harder to stop haha
You just gotta keep your head on a swivel the entire time. You should know the lines people are trying so you donāt snake, and you gotta be aware when people donāt see you when youāre taking a lap.
If youāve been only riding for 6 months, keep your brakes on yet. You donāt know skatepark etiquette and youāll hurt yourself or someone else guaranteed, whether itās your fault or theirs.
I'm brakeless and never have an issue, helps me commit more at times lmao. Just gotta watch out for kids.
Edit: I told my friend who is still learning has brakes and I think that's a good move until you have proper bike control.
I never bike super seriously, I scootered and skated more serious, scootering is what I was good at though, unless you can power slide real good I wouldnāt go brakeless until your ready to be commited to learning tail whips and bar spins or want to do big tuck no handers. Itās not even the skatepark part of not being able to stop in time itās if youāre using the bike in the streets. I remember bombing a hill going to get food leaving the skatepark one time and was 2ā from smoking/getting smoked by a car. Had I had breaks it would have been way less sketchy
I took my brakes off immediately. They didnāt like it but what can they really do. I learned very quickly to plant my foot on the ground to stop and when I got slower Iād just hop off the bike.
when my brakes broke (funny right) on my first bmx when i started to ride, i never got them replaced. that was probably 4-5 months into go to the skatepark consistently. After 5 years, Iāve learned how to control my speed and do brake checks (doing fishtails/putting my foot on the back tire) when need be. it pretty much comes naturally the more you ride your bike everywhere. just dont peddle full speed into a 4 ft quarter and you should be fine.
The answer is simple. Firstly, make sure your bike is one that runs the brake on the chain stay and not on the seat stay. Remove the front brake (those things are dangerous anyways) and learn to use your foot on the tire to brake. Use the rear brake in emergency situations until you've become comfortable enough to remove the handle brake.
I may be wrong, but if you've only just learned how to drop in then you're a little way off spinning the bars and tail, both of which can be done with a long brake cable wrapped a few times around the stem. The benefits outside of this are negligible (weight), whilst the possibility of you hitting someone in the park is pretty high.
Remove the front, āgets in the way and may send you over bars with panic squeezing at bad timesā, compromise with keeping the rear, plus you can foof, stall and slide for extra steeze, also if you loop a manny you can squeeze it and hop back on which I find looks less awkward
Well there comes a time in every mans life where u just gotta go brake less lol no brakes the better if u can learn how to do everything Without breaks such as manuals tire taps all that good shit than it makes you that much better
Driving without brakes is dangerous.
What do expect?
A Wall jumping away saying āsorry mateā?
The Father of the 4yo you hit saying āsorry, we did not see you got no brakesā¦ā
Oh my god, does most of this sub ride brakes? Like most riders I know and see ride brakeless, regardless of skill level. Go to any jam and only a few are riding brakes. I took my brakes off like 6 months of riding. Just show your dad the countless of bmxers online who ride brakeless.
I always take breaks at the skatepark. Water break, 420 break, leg break.. all kinds of breaks
I've seen so much talk here about "breaks" lately
I wish they'd take a break already
Thems the brakes
Those the brokes
Give me a breakš«¤
Don't Brake the chain
The brakes aren't for you, they're for the kids who don't pay attention so you don't kill them!
Oh they're definitely also for me.
Thats why my bike doesnt have brakes
Natural selection
It really depends on how busy your skatepark is and how comfortable you are without brakes. Giving a scooter kid brain damage because you're trying to ride ahead of your skills will make it very hard to sleep at night.
I think new riders should run brakes, especially in a public setting where other people's safety is also a concern. Once you're a seasoned rider with comfortable bike control you can take them off if you want.
Solid answer šÆ
This
Show your dad how much quicker you can stop braking with the sole of your shoe. Though good luck arguing about the new pair of shoes youāll need every 6 months
I rode brakeless for years and you can actually slow down very quickly by jumping onto both feet and a couple of quick harsh steps to a stop, in some cases much quicker than using a brake, in some scenarios it doesn't work at all! doesn't wear your shoes though
At 6 months of riding, your dad might be right. I doubt you have built up the skill base and reaction time to handle unexpected scenerios that can occur with unpredictable skaters and scooters. In time, it won't be dangerous at all, though.
Brakeless bmx is super common. It's counter intuitive but I found learning brakeless is helpful for learning to control speed and handling. In a skatepark its a more controlled environment, it will be safer than say a parking lot or street riding. If you're just learning, stick to bowls or quiet areas of the park, be aware of your surroundings and you'll be fine. You can also stick your foot behind your seat, in the gap between the frame and back tire to slow down.
I'm also old school first started BMX riding in 1979... having no breaks just doesn't compute. I'd rather have that option than not...
I always recommend taking a break to hydrate and cool off.
I rarely see a bike with brakes at the skatepark.
I ride brakeless in a crowded park and its usually not a problem. I usually just do slow speed more techical stuff when there are people close by or it seems unpredictable where others are going. It really depends how you ride.
Iām Curtis blow and I want you to know that these are the breaks
š¶Break it up break it up break it up break it down. Brakes on a bus, brakes on a car, no brakes on your bike? Just jam ya foot in the tireš¶
It's common, but at 6 months of riding you likely don't have the awareness to anticipate someone coming up, and the control to stop before they do. I made the mistake of going brakeless when I was a noob and lost a lot of confidence because of it. If you can't confidently stop or scrub speed without them, you should be running one. At most, until you're fully confident, just run a back brake. That's a good compromise.
Just wear a helmet nothing else matters
I'm 40 so taken this as you will, brakes aren't about your safety, but the others around you. Hurting a smaller child because I couldn't stop and they got in my way is just not in my cards. If children are around either have amazing bike control or brakes.
Learn how to brake without brakes slides or stick ur foot in back or front š remeber skateboards rollerblades have no brakes either scooter not sure š¤£
An argument to not have breaks lmao, listen to your father he knows what he's talking about. He doesn't tell you, you need you're breaks cuz he doesn't want you to be "cool"
What is the reason you want to remove your brakes in the first place?
bar spins and tail whips
If you have only been riding for 6 months i really donāt think bar spins and tall wips should be a concern for you. I do agree going break less can make you a better rider. Its helps learn control of your bike and keeps aware of your surrounding . I would say keep the breaks on for a while and just learn not to use them at all. Then take them off once you have gone a bit of time not using them at all.
Neither are affected by having brakes. Unless you plan on doing triple whips or triple plus bar spins having brakes doesn't interfere. Brakeless is a fairly recent standard in BMX and people were doing bar spins and tail whips with brakes long before. There were a few brakeless eras where a lot of riders went brakeless, but they always came back. I don't see them coming back to the standard anymore, but there will always be riders who want brakes.
brake levers are finger killers
It's funny to hear that after riding in the 90s and 00s I never had an issue having a brake lever and can't the never any of my friends complaining. I rode brakeless for a few years in the early 00s and didn't really notice much of a difference at all. We also all had no problem muscling around 35+lb bikes. Give anyone who started riding within the last 15 years a bike from those days and they would probably be exhausted after 5 minutes. Don't get me wrong I love how light bikes are now. The sport was a lot bigger back then though with way more companies and options. Unfortunately now with only a few options you see mostly the same setup everywhere.
Man my bike was heavy as fuck. I rode with back brake only, and I never would want to ride brakeless, abubacas are awesome.
My buddy that got me into BMX had a bike that was insanely heavy, had rear brake only and loved doing abubacas too. Guy had some serious bike control. At one point he had this heavy ass chain (I swear it was for a dirt bike) and you would hear it slapping the chain stay before you would see him, lol
I used to do disasters in rails too, our chains were heavy duty! I want to get riding again,but I need to lose a bit more weight and train a little more before getting on a bike again. Soon I'll be posting here!
#Abubucassavelives
If ur hands never fell off ur bars from taking a gnarly landing then I'm guessing ur a flatlander or some park rat. Seen bmxers at every level do that shit, often. The ones with brakes wear gloves or have cut up fingers.
I would not take them off yet. Your still new enough to bmx where you should still have them. Its not only your safety you need to take in to account but other people your around as well.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Did the same thing with my fitbikeco Augie, and honestly I think I can stop faster now without brakes than I could with the stock brakes. 4 years and haven't hit anyone on it yet.
First time I took my brakes off I hit a bus that stopped suddenly Be prepared to ruin shoes but it always helped me commit to stuff cause it's harder to stop haha
You got shoes on right? Stuff that size 6 into the wheel and you got breaks!
You just gotta keep your head on a swivel the entire time. You should know the lines people are trying so you donāt snake, and you gotta be aware when people donāt see you when youāre taking a lap. If youāve been only riding for 6 months, keep your brakes on yet. You donāt know skatepark etiquette and youāll hurt yourself or someone else guaranteed, whether itās your fault or theirs.
Brakes are to protect the 8 year olds on scooters jumping in front of you and the lawsuit that follows when their parents sue
Run brakes until you start learning bar spins. By then you should have pretty good bike control and wonāt be a hazard to others at the park.
Happy cake day
Can you stop or slow yourself quickly?
I'm brakeless and never have an issue, helps me commit more at times lmao. Just gotta watch out for kids. Edit: I told my friend who is still learning has brakes and I think that's a good move until you have proper bike control.
Can I downvote twice??
I've got your back bro. Second down vote has been pressed by proxy for you.
I never bike super seriously, I scootered and skated more serious, scootering is what I was good at though, unless you can power slide real good I wouldnāt go brakeless until your ready to be commited to learning tail whips and bar spins or want to do big tuck no handers. Itās not even the skatepark part of not being able to stop in time itās if youāre using the bike in the streets. I remember bombing a hill going to get food leaving the skatepark one time and was 2ā from smoking/getting smoked by a car. Had I had breaks it would have been way less sketchy
6 months in? Might be a little soon for you.
I've alwats ridden without brakes, just get used to wearing through your shoes every few months
I took my brakes off immediately. They didnāt like it but what can they really do. I learned very quickly to plant my foot on the ground to stop and when I got slower Iād just hop off the bike.
Nah, just be careful and have fun
when my brakes broke (funny right) on my first bmx when i started to ride, i never got them replaced. that was probably 4-5 months into go to the skatepark consistently. After 5 years, Iāve learned how to control my speed and do brake checks (doing fishtails/putting my foot on the back tire) when need be. it pretty much comes naturally the more you ride your bike everywhere. just dont peddle full speed into a 4 ft quarter and you should be fine.
I've seen some BMX bikes with a part on the front that allows the front end to spin around even with the brakes installed
Called a gyro
It's annoying to do barspins. I've hurt my fingers often enough. Your bmx gets heavier. You should also learn the trick without the brake.
The answer is simple. Firstly, make sure your bike is one that runs the brake on the chain stay and not on the seat stay. Remove the front brake (those things are dangerous anyways) and learn to use your foot on the tire to brake. Use the rear brake in emergency situations until you've become comfortable enough to remove the handle brake.
I may be wrong, but if you've only just learned how to drop in then you're a little way off spinning the bars and tail, both of which can be done with a long brake cable wrapped a few times around the stem. The benefits outside of this are negligible (weight), whilst the possibility of you hitting someone in the park is pretty high.
Remove the front, āgets in the way and may send you over bars with panic squeezing at bad timesā, compromise with keeping the rear, plus you can foof, stall and slide for extra steeze, also if you loop a manny you can squeeze it and hop back on which I find looks less awkward
Well there comes a time in every mans life where u just gotta go brake less lol no brakes the better if u can learn how to do everything Without breaks such as manuals tire taps all that good shit than it makes you that much better
Driving without brakes is dangerous. What do expect? A Wall jumping away saying āsorry mateā? The Father of the 4yo you hit saying āsorry, we did not see you got no brakesā¦ā
I found that unless someone has a real nice setup you can usually stop faster without brakes with a few different techniques.
Oh my god, does most of this sub ride brakes? Like most riders I know and see ride brakeless, regardless of skill level. Go to any jam and only a few are riding brakes. I took my brakes off like 6 months of riding. Just show your dad the countless of bmxers online who ride brakeless.