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

Pifko

I have riden a fixie. The most common method of stopping is a fixie skid. A skid is a very innefective method of energy conversion, thus not very safe. Also, locking up your rear reduces your ability to be on control of your bike. I quote wiki, here describing abs (ie, not locking up or skidding) which says it rather well "A rotating road wheel allows the driver to maintain steering control under heavy braking by preventing a skid and allowing the wheel to continue interacting tractively with the road surface as directed by driver steering inputs". The idea being that a skid is a bad idea.

I think you've been watching too much Mash SF. Most people just use a controlled resistance against the cranks if they want to slow down, which if done properly is pretty effective. Used in conjunction with a front brake you shouldn't have any problems. I've never intentionally resorted to a 'fixie skid' to slow down.

Either that's because I can read traffic well and know how to handle a bike or...
I'm too fuckin' slow to need to :)