General: skidding with giant bowery

Hey I was wondering if anyone could give me some input that may have ridden or has a giant bowery. I have had the 2007 (I believe) Black model for about 2 years and have been riding with the fixed hub for a little over a year. I kept the front brake on as precaution (I dont think anyone has the balls to ride in Mexico City without a brake) but try not to use it very much because I actually prefer slowing down resisting the pedals and stopping gradually (unless I need to stop suddenly, in which case i use both the brake and the pedals). However, I have a really hard time skid stopping with this bike. I am not sure if its because the crank is flimsy or the chain and cog are not too good (each is stock), but when I am going reasonable fast and I stop the movement of my legs to lock the back wheel, the crank seems to struggle a lot and the back wheel hops up one or two times in the process, even when I keep my weight even or even lean back as opposed to forward.

Could it be the geometry of the frame? The only other thing I changed on the bike, other than the wheels, is the fork, to a winwood carbon fork.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I would much appreciate. In the end, it may just be that I am not skidding right or I need more practice. But I figured that over a year with the fixed hub should have been enough. Thanks

Thanks for your advice iron jaiden

I figured the lifting was natural, I guess it just catches me off guard when I try when Im going relatively fast. I need to get out of mexico city traffic to try the distance skid...but I started watching some videos and its about time I put a helmet and some elbow pads on and tried to replicate what I see on youtube.

But if you could please explain to me about the low gear ratio. When I got the bike I think I asked a question about this...the question was whether I could change the fixed "position" of the gear to a more difficult pedaling level (apparently I got into the fixed gear world without paying any attention to what was actually being discussed). Is this the gear ratio? Does it have to do with the size of the cog and the length of the chain or something else? Thanks again

Posted By: Mancha150even when I keep my weight even or even lean back as opposed to forward.

There is your problem right there. You need to lean FORWARD, over your bars even. Unless you have a really low gear ratio, it's really difficult to skid sitting down or over the seat, and nearly impossible to skid while leaning BACK!

Thank you guys. And believe me, I ask for advice so that I understand the mechanics of riding my bike for any potential situation where I would need to skid stop. I know what abusing of that move does to tires. And I am not about to go out and make youtube videos after spending one fifth of the value of the bike on kenda tires...

they are nice though.

Does anyone have any ideas on a reasonably priced crankset that I could get to replace my stock giant one?

Your comments have all been very helpful. Thank again

Not sure what cranks you have, but I think the Giant Bowery comes with FSA cranks. They are the same as all other entry level stock track bike cranks. Any "reasonably priced" cranks are not going to be THAT much better. If you say your cranks are "flimsy", I really question what you mean by that. Is everything tighten down properly?

If you want to cranks though, I suggest the Omnium track cranks. Best cranks for the money.

Posted By: fixedpuchSo, whats the point of skidding? I mean, its kinda fun, but it just eats through your tires and doesn't stop you. I'm just being serious here, don't mean to rain on the hipster parade. I just see a lot of hipsters coming into the shop I work at with skidded out tires.

Am I wrong?

Depends I suppose. Now I'm not really one for distance skids. I learned em way back when, had fun skidding a block in portland rain, let the novelty wear off, and haven't really done any since. Skip stops on the other hand are infinitely useful to me. I'd say well over half the time I stop I skip stop. I just don't ride slow enough to gently come to a stop when some jackass pulls out in front of me or the light don't work out how I wanted it to. Skip stops don't rub much surface off my tire though and once I do get a funky spot I just rotate the tire (please tell me you guys either use odd-number gearing or at least rotate the tire). On average I'd say I get a year out of a Soma Everwear. If I never skid it'd last longer but $40 a year isn't too big a deal to me.

Posted By: Mancha150Thank you guys. And believe me, I ask for advice so that I understand the mechanics of riding my bike for any potential situation where I would need to skid stop. I know what abusing of that move does to tires. And I am not about to go out and make youtube videos after spending one fifth of the value of the bike on kenda tires...

they are nice though.

Does anyone have any ideas on a reasonably priced crankset that I could get to replace my stock giant one?

Your comments have all been very helpful. Thank again

So you've got those entry level FSAs on here huh? Not a horrible crankset by any means. What is it about the cranks you feel is off? Even cheap cranks should work fine if everything is tightened and greased properly. No reason for crank arms to be "shaky".
And yeah your gear ratio is the difference between your chainring and your cog. 48 teeth on the chainring and 16 teeth on the cog will give you a ratio of 48/16 (or about 78 gear inches). The closer those two numbers are (smaller chainring / larger cog) the lower the gear ratio and the easier it is to pedal (and subsequently skid). Do bear in mind though that as you get into lower gear ratios you sacrifice speed and power so it's good to find balance.
I'd say most riders I know tend to be comfortable at about 48/16. Keeps you in good speed but doesn't explode your knees on hills and skids. YMMV.

also dont you all feel as if skip stopping throws your wheel out of true? id rather burn tire personally...

Posted By: iron jaidenOn average I'd say I get a year out of a Soma Everwear

you lucky bastard. I got mine a month ago and threads are already showing

"how is the riding in mexico city btw? " - Frey

It was quite the transition from washington, dc. Not only do people not respect and hate cyclist here, but they pretend you are not there. I got plowed by a taxi who made a right turn on a 3 lane street (Insurgentes) from the left hand lane when i riding on the right hand lane. And he claimed he didnt see me.

I think the problem is that there is no culture of bikes here, and no enforcement of the law when someone gets hit (pedestrian or cyclist). The only people you ever see on bikes are the street vendors and every once in a while a businessman on a $3000 trek road bike. I would like to see a transition to more bike use, but given all the citys transportation and traffic problems, i dont think its gonna happen. But then again, they make an effort. They close a huge main avenue on sundays for cyclists, rollerbladers, and the like. Quite impressive.

And I agree with Iron jaiden on the skid stops. I have tended to do a few short skids when going 20 and being able to stop reasonable fast. I just never was able to do a long constant skid before stopping. I had the same stock alex rims for the year i rode fixed and despite how crummy they really were, they stayed fine. I only replace them because i hit a huge mexico city pothole which left it out of shape for good.

Thanks again for everyones input

pics of tire? 1 month on an everwear and it's showing threads just seems unattainable unless you're skidding like crazy.