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@retrorider
surely common sense has got to prevail. i've just got intot the fixie thing, infact cycling fullstop and was intrigued as to how people could ride with no brakes and was probably under the misguided concept that the back wheel would do all the work, stop pedalling and you would stop. Infact the whole concept of having to pedal all the time freaked me out but out of curiousity i tried it. None the less on my first build i have kept the front brake because surely someone who is nt into cycling would have concerns about having to brake hard to avoid a herd of cows or something crossing Oxford st!
Since i have tried to get a bit more confidence and use the brake less but its no easy feat and is definately an art form and one which non cyclist will not just be able to just naturally do as it seems to take incredible leg stength.If someone is foolish enough to assume that is easy then they deserve what they get and perhaps people should be guided more whern they buy the bike but thats probably a whole other issue. None the less fast moving object + no brakes has got to make alarm bells ring in anyones head and if it doesnt then good luck!