You are reading a single comment by @deleted and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@deleted
If you're only riding at about 15 mph, then it's unlikely that you'll ever be going fast enough to be unable to stop safely with just the front brake.
However, why not fit 2 and then feel safe in the knowledge that you can go faster?
One of my fixed wheel bikes is brakeless, with a relatively low gear, and i ride it considerably slower than my fixed wheel bike with a front brake.
And because of the difference in speed I haven't yet had a nasty crash brakeless, whereas I have done the afforementioned 'brake-hard-then-go-over-handlebars-and-hurt-oneself' routine a few times.
Despite (or maybe because of) this I wouldn't ride a free-wheel bike with one brake, just because I feel that brakes are more likely to fail than a chain getting thrown (on a bike with a straight chainline & tight chain).
If you like the visual aesthetic of the one brake, then why not give fixed a go, or even fit a coaster brake?