Spotted in Bristol...

[quote=whatfriends;435041]as for single speed and front brake, ive said it before and i'll continue to say it. no no no no. its fucking unsafe and its not just you you put at risk. and in case people care, its against the law.quote]

This may well be me, I really don't want to start an argument but in my defence:

I don't think it's 'fucking unsafe' and I don't see how I'm putting anyone at risk.
I don't know why a bike set up inspires such strong negative feeling.

When I put my bike together I wanted it as simple as possible, one brake, one gear, that's it. I didn't put it together thinking, 'I really hope everyone thinks I'm riding fixed', I didn't put it together to be part of scene, I put it together to ride to work on, which I've been doing perfectly safely for over a year.

So my cable might snap? Yeah if I don't maintain it properly, there's more of a chance, but the chances as is are tiny. I notice people don't give the brakeless crew a hard time about their chains snapping?

I might go over the handlebars? Only if I'm shit at riding my bike, only if I don't look ahead and have to slam the brake on without warning. If I was riding fixed this would still be a problem.

But don't get me wrong, I'm not a fixed hater, in fact I have no problem with how you choose to ride your bike or what you ride. The fact is you're riding, fucking good on ya, brakeless bmx to granny shopper, I salute you!

Anyway, in an interesting plot twist, I'm fixing the falcon this week. Should be fun, got lights too!

no argument, but to explain my point...

basically, if you only have one brake you are at risk for these reasons.

on a wet downhill- front brake only might mean the front wheel washes out
on a wet roundabout and you need to scrub off some speed- the front brake isnt ideal for the above reason.
on any surface which is a bit loose, re gravelled roads etc, see point one.
wet drain covers, see point one.

see where im going with this? none of these might ever happen, and i hope they dont. but if they do, and you only have a front brake, its lips to the floor.. if you are riding by yourself, with no traffic around, then fine. you dont take anyone else out, and you dont get hit by someone in a car who will have to live with it their whole life. its not only you who gets affected you see. however, if you have a legal bike, it could be said that on that point at least (your bike roadworthy-ness, not your riding), you were, in the eyes of the law, in the right. however, if any of the above happen and you have a freewheel and only one brake, its illegal, which may not be a consideration most of the time, but if it happens and someone else is involved, there are consequenses. you could get fucked over by the legal system and sued and all sorts and cycling aint worth that in my book.. of course, its only my opinion, mixed in with a bit of law. do what you like, just dont ride in front of me while you are doing it please.

cycling can change your life, sometimes even save your life, but as far as im concerned you have a duty to represent cycling whenever you ride. and if you ride an unsafe bike, or with no lights, or with a hood up so you have no peripheral vision, ride with bad road position etc etc etc, then you arent doing the cycling community or yourselves any favors.

like you said earlier The fact is you're riding, fucking good on ya, brakeless bmx to granny shopper, I salute you!

enjoy the falcon.