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OPINION

Don't try this at home! Ted Shred on the streets of San Francisco

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by Tony Farrelly
Tue, Jun 30, 2009 23:00
8

Here's a man with an interesting take on bike handling, San Francisco DJ Fred Shred. I like the music, but I'm not sure his braking technique is quite as sound, basically he rides freewheel with no brakes and uses his foot as a brake on the back wheel. And If he isn't sponsored by Vans he should be. On the other hand he is probably responsible for a fair chunk of their turnover.

This film was shot for the 2005 Bicycle Film Festival and features his music and his bike riding exploits (more of the latter) on the steep hills of San Francisco. Enjoy. And you'll be pleased to know that as far as the interweb is concerned at least Ted's still Shredding - which if he still rides his bike the way he did back in '05 is a remarkable achievement in itself. Thanks to Jack at the Bike Show for putting us on to it.

The Bike Show
Ted Shred
Tony Farrelly

road.cc's founder and first editor, nowadays to be found riding a spreadsheet. Tony's journey in cycling media started in 1997 as production editor and then deputy editor of Total Bike, acting editor of Total Mountain Bike and then seven years as editor of Cycling Plus. He launched his first cycling website - the Cycling Plus Forum at the turn of the century. In 2006 he left C+ to head up the launch team for Bike Radar which he edited until 2008, when he co-launched the multi-award winning road.cc - finally handing on the reins in 2021 to Jack Sexty. His favourite ride is his ‘commute’ - which he does most days inc weekends and he’s been cycle-commuting since 1994. His favourite bikes are titanium and have disc brakes, though he'd like to own a carbon bike one day.

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8 comments

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OldRidgeback | 15 years ago
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Plenty of people seem to think riding a fixie with no brakes is fine for urban commuting - I think they've a screw loose myself.

I'll ride my BMX for short distances (wouldn't want to go on it too far anyway) as it's only got one brake but I wouldn't risk riding it in heavy traffic.

I think the subject of brakes/no brakes might be a good one for a poll myself. What say the masses?

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cat1commuter | 15 years ago
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Saw a woman the other day on a bike with non-functioning brakes slowing herself by sliding her feet along the ground. She was wearing flip-flops.

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Jon Burrage | 15 years ago
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effemm - sounds far too comlicated to me, will never catch on.

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Denzil Dexter | 15 years ago
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The B.R.A.K.F.E - Bicycle Retarding Acceleration & Kinetic Force Eliminator - something tells me it's not quite right yet, but I'm sure with the right marketing investment we can knock it into something snappy and easy to remember which will turn your cunning invention in to a 'must have' for cyclists everywhere… can I have a percentage?

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dave atkinson | 15 years ago
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lol 1

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effemm | 15 years ago
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I've had an idea for a ground-breaking mechanical contrivance that should ease the wear on this guy's tyres and Vans. It involves pressing small, replacable chunks of rubber against a hard-wearing surface to slow the wheels' rotation. It should be possible to use some kind of lever to achieve a mechanical advantage, allowing significant pressure to be applied with only the strength of, say, a single hand. Furthermore, I anticipate that further development (and if someone can come up with a way of making long, strong, lightweight cables) will allow the contrivance to be operated by a secondary device attached to the handlebars, a remote control if you will. Anyone think such a thing would catch on? Any snappy ideas for a name?

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TRs Blurb n Blog | 15 years ago
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good job the streets aren't bumpy

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Denzil Dexter | 15 years ago
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Wonder how quickly he goes through his tyres… fairly quickly by the looks of it

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