One brake Single-Speed fools

Ahhh as long they don't put you in danger, I don't really care about that.

yeah Ved.. lose the hate

BMX riders do it and i dont see hundreds of threads about them

I saw one yesterday.

I saw another today at London Bridge.

WTF is with that?

For avoidance of doubt, I am referring to people who run a freewheel with one brake.

My Bob Jackson spent it's first summer like that. No problem at all, so long as the front brake is good and you're not prone to panic... all is well.

I ride brakeless to ;)

To where? Smileywinkyland?

I ride single speed, but then I live in a place with big hills.

Gears ?

BMX riders do it and i dont see hundreds of threads about them

Well I suppose the reason is that BMX rarely go up to the speed that road/singlespeed usually do?

Have I posted this before or am I just getting old in the head?

In the summer I almost only use the front brake
In the winter I almost only use the rear brake
(On my geared bike)

The front has the most power of course, but a front wheel skid (caused by winter conditions) is near impossible to recover from.

What gets me is people setting their bikes up, in a way that makes them ride slower. I just plain dont get it.

Im not saying its a good idea, but was reading a bit of sheldon the other day and he writes that the back brake is pretty much redundant in terms of stopping force with a distance 2x that of the front brake. the front is at optimum stopping power when the back wheel is at the point of almost lifting off the ground with minimal traction. The back brake comes in to effect as a stopping force for times when it would induce a front wheel skid such as wet or icey conditions. mainly as you cant recover from front skids. so i suppose for the fair weather cyclist the only front brake option could be argued as sufficient. Also raises the no brake fixed question as most argue the front brake serves as use in the wet or times when rear wheel skid traction is low... im not ready to ditch mine, but its interesting that even in the dry you are accepting the fact that your brake distance is at least double from not riding a front brake.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

Using a rear brake only is almost pointless. Unless I'm going downhill, in which case it is a lot easier for the rear to lift of the ground, I only ever use my front brake. Modern caliper brakes are powerful enough to cause a skidding stop using just 1 brake.

Skilled cyclists use the front brake alone probably 95% of the time

Many cyclists shy away from using the front brake, due to fear of flying over the handlebars. This does happen, but mainly to people who have not learned to modulate the front brake.

If you're stupid enough to use a short pull brake (dual pivot caliper) with a long pull lever (almost all MTB style levers) then you may have this problem.

http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_bo-z.html#brakelever

Paradoxically, the lever will feel very solid, the brake will engage with a very short amount of lever travel...but won't actually be squeezing very hard on the rim.

Your stopping power should be limited to how much grip your tyres have on the road. A single front OR rear brake should be good enough for this, on 700c wheels, which have an extraordinary amount of pressure on the road surface due to their low surface area.

next year in london fa'reeel

YouTube - Fixed Gears are out, Tireless is in.

sounds like a unigate milk float though :-)

Re--Po--sssssT.
that is SO last year.

Still don't get the point of single speed

I don't see the point of fixed....I think it reduces the utility of your bike, whilst freewheel enhances it.

damn, what is this new and risky subject?

*brakes are for people who dont like crashing

Less crashing = more living

To quote Mark Twain "Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live"

Heh heh, brakeless riders cussing front brake SSers, that makes me laugh ( in a nice way)

I'm still a bit dubious about Sheldon's braking hypothesis for a few reasons

If you are genuinely annoyed by people riding SSs with a front brake then I am very envious of your lifestyle that is so devoid of any other problems that how someone else sets up their bike can get on your nerves.

I know its been said before, but natural selection should rectify the problem.

Gears ?

I only use gears off road. Mainly because I can't afford a geared road bike (yet).

Cycled a very old geared bike to work everyday with virtually no rear brake and a very weak front brake. The only incidents I have ever had was when I was drunk.

On sheldons braking hypothesis, I disagree with him. But I can't be arsed to explain or argue.

Heh heh, brakeless riders cussing front brake SSers, that makes me laugh ( in a nice way)

I'm still a bit dubious about Sheldon's braking hypothesis for a few reasons

If you are genuinely annoyed by people riding SSs with a front brake then I am very envious of your lifestyle that is so devoid of any other problems that how someone else sets up their bike can get on your nerves.

I guess my argument is: That IMO a back brake (or brakeless fixed) is useable in all situations to either get you out of trouble, slow you down or stop, whereas there are many situations where using a front brake on its own is highly likely to result in a crash.

I don't see the point of fixed....I think it reduces the utility of your bike, whilst freewheel enhances it.

Funnily enough, I'd argue that running a single speed reduces the utility of your bike. Loose the ability to run a derailleur and multiple gears, while having none of the benefits that riding fixed gives you.

I know its been said before, but natural selection should rectify the problem.

true. i think its gaining popularity.

I don't see the point of fixed....I think it reduces the utility of your bike, whilst freewheel enhances it.

alot of people would argue against that, some want the feeling of fixed gears, and others the new challenge to riding.
at the end of the day it only really matters how fast your legs are spinning :P

This thread really scares me. Mind you, I've got to the stage where freewheels themselves really scare me. I even have nightmares about them. [/drama queen]

I don't see the point of fixed....I think it reduces the utility of your bike, whilst freewheel enhances it.

Funnily enough, I'd argue that running a single speed reduces the utility of your bike

I'm not sure about reducing the 'utility of my bike' - it goes when I pedal it, steers when I move the bars and stops when I apply the brake. Short of losing some fundamental parts of the bike (i.e. wheels/forks/braking mechanism) I'm not sure how else I could reduce it's utility?

I actually tried riding Fixed and not SS today, and I was scared shitless have to do a few more relaxed miles before I feel in control.