The Ultimate Brakeless/Front/Rear/How many brakes? thread

with a rear brake, i would have had more control. and even if i had still gone over the bars i wouldn't have hit the ground nearly as hard.

when i jammed on the brake it felt like i'd hit a kerb with my front wheel. now imagine hitting a kerb with your front and back wheel simultaneously - sure, it'd still hurt a bit since you might fall off, but it wouldn't have sent you flying nearly as far.

When I built my first fixed bike I ran a freewheel with flats and 2 brakes for 2 weeks to get used to the riding position, skinny tyres, handling and refine the set-up etc - in other words to get aquainted with the bike. I then added foot retention and flipped over to the fixed side of my flip flop. Kept the rear brake until I found I was no longer using it and was used to riding fixed. I am now at the point where I am reasonably confident of stopping brakeless, although I will be keeping my front brake as it's very handy.

Keeping the back wheel on the ground is achieved by where you position your body weight whilst braking/slowing down, with brake fitted on the rear or otherwise, makes no difference. With a good front brake I find jamming it on as hard as you can is generally not a great idea. Controlled braking is how you stop quickly and effectively whether its a bike, motorbike, car, whatever.

If I was touring fixed I would run a rear brake also to assist with the extra weight of panniers etc, and to give your legs an easier time with all those miles.