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@dooks
i concur with those who have who wince at the very thought of riding fast downhill in the wet with a freewheel and no rear brake.
for the record (as i'm being somewhat forthright in this thread) i suppose i should add that i don't use a rear brake on my fixed gear. going front only on a freewheel would make me very very cautious and distinctly uncomfortable in a fair few situations i should imagine.
i should also admit that i used to have an old carlton road bike on which the brakes were so bad they might as well have not been there at all. that was terrifying. i rode it like that for weeks too. not quite sure what i was thinking at the time. in order to avoid being shot out into traffic at the bottom of southwark bridge you used to have to jam both levers against the bar and squeeeeze with your might right from the top of the bridge. in the wet you had to emply the weave and drag a foot technique too. so you can see i'm really in no position to lecture anyone.
i like to think i've learned a thing or two over the years though. hopefully i'm not as stupid as i once was and i know it's been said here a gazillion times but i think no rear brake on a s/s is fucking stupid. and it makes me grumpy when i see so many doing it.