One brake Single-Speed fools

That reminds me of my "Budapest bike" I used to ride when I lived there...
2 brakes: a coaster brake, and a **crazy **front brake, I don't know how you call those, with no cable, just metal bits articulated from the handle bars, but instead of pulling breakpads onto the rim like on vintage dutch bikes, it was a massive rubber block pushing directly onto the tyre...!!!! Absolutely unefficient when it rains, it was also making the whole bike vibrating if the tyre was not properly inflated... I was never using it... Nice bike though, must be 60 years old, I brought it back from Hungary and I still have it at my grand mother, for when I go visit her.

Szia

Loic

Thats a nice looking bike, surprising that it has that weird brake when it seems so well made. Old british bikes have mechanical 'rod' brakes, as well as similar styles of bikes in asia. That tyre friction just seems bizzarre.

seen one bloke in kelvingrove park glasgow on a lovely looking bike, very similar looking to the one made by fixie inc, but it was a single speed with no brakes i kid you not. he did look like jo kool right up until the time he had to brake, sorry slow down by dragging his feet on the floor....v strange.

I saw a brakeless bmxer hit some really small kid in the park on saturday, I hate to say it, but it was one of the funniest things i've ever seen, the bmxer managed to just about stop and kinda knee the kid in the face really gently, and then there was about a 30 second delay before the kid started crying and running about. To be fair though, the stupid mother should have been keeping an eye on her kid instead of chatting to her mates and letting him roll off on his bike into the paths of about 10 bmxers! As a positive note, i'm starting to get my crank timing more consistent for airing off of stuff woohooooo :)

Thats a nice looking bike, surprising that it has that weird brake when it seems so well made. Old british bikes have mechanical 'rod' brakes, as well as similar styles of bikes in asia. That tyre friction just seems bizzarre.

Yes, very strange... but it was a standard as I managed at the time to find some spare break pads that I brought back with the bike. Just a big block of rubber really...

Loic

veLLo:

Those are the old style brakes made in communist/socialist countries ... Seen a lot of them in east germany and berlin ... They're the evidence for the cheap manufacturing standards they had, really ... East german shite was usually flogges at the equivalents of pound stores in west germany, when I was a kid. No matter what it was, tools, plastic stuff ... it was all cheaply made and didn't last very long. One reason why they went down I guess.

If I'm right these one have a similar brake:
http://img.quoka.de/IFA_DDR_Fahrrad---foto-bild-43-22339243.jpg

http://www.ddrmoped.de/forum/uploads/post-15-1227446207.jpg

Have a look at this page. The guy scanned them old east german catalogues:

http://www.heikosdiamantrad.de.tl/Diamant_-Fahrr.ae.der.htm

Thinking about it, very old bikes had them brakes as well, I think. Just that the evolution didn't go as fast in the east. Still to be found on the old revision of the swiss army bicylce:

http://ruedatropical.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/swiss-army-bicycles/

I am not trying to troll, and it is only down to my style of riding and how I manage traffic when I commute that leads me to say this.

It is also down to my lack of experience of riding fixed - but that is not going to change as when I have done it I have seen no reason to do it more often.....

saw a guy riding single speed brakeless a little while ago in berlin today. had his feet strapped in, too, which logically seems like a bad idea to me since the only way he'd really be able to stop quick would be to put them down and they may be hindered by the straps. he was riding on the sidewalk though, and very slowly at that - coasting along, as many people do here.

saw a geezer today riding a touring bike (geared) with front brake only. what's that all about? fashion?

there's a guy who works in putney cycles, dunno if you're on here dude. nice chap and seems to know his bit about bikes but he rides ss front brake only.. and also didn't say anything about clips & straps to a guy who came in with a charge plug that he'd recently swapped to fixed. flat pedals.

jesus dude.

i ride a single speed with one brake in back. often holding a coffee. usually riding about 9 miles an hour. barely pedaling if i don't need to be. i'll get where i need to be.

Do you ride on the road or the pavement ?

people seem to be amazed by fixed gear riders running no brakes and single front brakes but in my experience most of the sunday traffic dodgers and pavement dwellers never service their brakes or use their bikes in winter and spend their time staring at their twist gear changes at junctions wondering if theeyre in first or nineteenth and grapping hand fulls of lever in order to dodge a pram. committed and experienced riders are safer than these clots /articulated lorry fodder.

my ss 07 hardrock is currently only running with a front brake. she is lovely and stops when needed... it`s a question of rider confidence and a basic understanding of physics...

one well set up dual pivot break and a good rider beats two plastic shitty breaks and a dozy commuter in dayglow rave gear.

by breaks im meant**brakes **thus avoiding BREAKS!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH5W1Z23wPg

/thread

Ahhhh, Ted Shred.......
East side is da best
No West side is da best
I pop a cap in yo ass homie!
I didn't realize you felt that way about me?
I've always thought of us as more than friends...
Really......me too, I love you bro.

ahhhh, ted shred.......
East side is da best
no west side is da best
i pop a cap in yo ass homie!
I didn't realize you felt that way about me?
I've always thought of us as more than friends...
Really......me too, i love you bro.

hahaha!

maybe i am going soft in my old age

i have seen quite a few ss, front brake only riders. some are good, some are bad, but the same could be said for people on any type of bike.

if there is some form of self selecting eugenics in letting people on the road who do not have the required brain then fuck em. otherwise we should just welcome more people pedalling.

I have to admit that for a short time I rode ss (track frame) with only a front brake. I met a fellow forum member that I was being extremely foolish - needless to say I added a rear brake using a couple of cable ties within a few days and feel much safer for it. I quickly realised what a mug I had been...

:)

What's the problem? No one bats a fucking eyelid at people riding around fixed and brakeless but you ride around single speed with only a front brake and people start threads???

1 front brake is at least 10 times more effective than skidding.

This forum is so divvy sometimes.

I agree, this is starting to piss me off. If you're not caining it - and caining it isn't ever your riding style, 1 brake is fine. Obviously 2 brakes are better than 1, but there are so many dickheads out there riding mountain bikes with brakes that barely/dont work.
Plus, some of these peole riding fixed style single speed bikes with one brake; how do you know that they haven't injured a knee? or, are riding to a mates to borrow a lock ring tool to fit their new sprocket*...
Can't believe there is a 175 post thread on this topic.

• I know these are unlikely options, but i'm just giving examples.
  

can't believe there is a 175 post thread on this topic.

176