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spring 2001
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Chase Rules and You Suck

I got through watching E-Clips, a video featuring Chase Gouin, and I've come to a conclusion: Chase rules and you suck.

Chase (with brakes), inverted megaspin from many years ago.

Well, not you specifically; just practically anyone who isn't Chase. Why? Back brakes (or lack thereof). Forget the fact that Chase was one of the first riders (if not the first) to really ride brakeless, though that is true. What makes him a better rider than other brakeless riders is his style: you don't even notice he's brakeless. And maybe "suck" is too strong a word; I should say other back-brakeless riders aren't as good, since they rarely use the back wheel.

Let me first go on record by saying that I'm against brakelessness. Okay, not "against" it, but I'm definitely from the school of 2-brakes (3, if you count my coaster brake in the old days). I believe that if you don't want to use your brake in a trick, just take your finger off the lever; there's no real need to remove them completely.

There are too many riders (flatland and otherwise) who take their brakes off that just shouldn't.
Is it cool to see a guy hit a trick without using brakes? Yeah! But if that guy is all sketchy and out of control, what the hell is that? I'd rather see someone pull something cleanly with brakes than all squirrelly without them.

Many flatlanders take their back brakes off their bike because "I never do back wheel tricks". Rad front wheel strings are great (with brakes or without), but that's only half the bike. Forcing yourself to spend all your time on the front wheel seems very limiting, and why would you want to limit yourself?

So back to Chase:
Despite having no back brakes, he still does tricks as if he did have them: megaspins to decades, G-roll undertakers, junkyards to decade, and other rear-wheel combos. If you just casually watched him ride, you might not even notice that he's riding brakeless.

Meanwhile, too many other riders never touch the back wheel at all (except to do a time machine, of course). This just accentuates the fact that (a) they have no back brakes and (b) they can't do anything without them. Give everyone another five years to catch up with Chase, but until then they're only half as good.


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