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

I suppose you best get good at jamming your foot in the back wheel. harder said than done i guess.

I don't have a brake on my snowboard.

U crazy?

^^ edges bro? Brakes let you ride faster, brakeless for me has more of a rhythm to it, like snowboarding

^^ file your edges

Take your edges off completely using the handy rocks you can find scattered over the pistes in Austria.

^ is it more zen?

I suppose you best get good at jamming your foot in the back wheel. harder said than done i guess.

I actually did this when I was running my track frame SS and hadn't sorted a clamp on rear brake. It was much easier than I thought... probably in part because its small and tight.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Deaths-Notts-roads-spark-MP-s-tighter-cycling/story-17209727-detail/story.html

More evidence that the people of Nottingham are idiots.

"Manufacturers have a lot to answer for. The latest trend to sell fixed wheel bikes without brakes is simply immoral."

"The latest trend to sell fixed wheel bikes without brakes is simply immoral."

Didn't know the trend had taken so long to reach Nottingham

Never thought Id go brakeless until about a year and a half ago when I swapped my bars and found my brake lever didn't fit anymore. Figured id go brakeless temporarily until I got a new lever but temporary quickly turned into permanent and I actualy feel more secure riding sans front brake than with.

There is a huge difference between you perception of feeeling safer and reality.

Yes you are! Law changed!

Yes you are! Law changed!

Fail.

I commute on a fixed gear Langster 2012 with one front brake lever and the rear hood disconnected. It has served me very well for about a year but I was knocked off the bike yesterday and I am wondering if I would be safer with both front and rear brake levers and callipers?

I want a minimum of a front brake, but would a rear brake help stop time on a commute as we move into wet/winter conditions?

Would dual brakes help safely slow the bike down on descents, i.e. when your legs are going over 110rpm? At this speed it can be hard to push back on the pedals.

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

some people think a rear brake on a fixed is a good idea
i've never tried it myself i can't really think how rear braking with a fixed would work
it think it's edscoble who has this .. but don't quote me on that

i'm sure any extra braking power will help you stop quicker

Will efficient and easy to use brakes help me stop? Hmm...

I've found it useful to have a rear brake for longer rides in hilly places, to give my legs an easier time on descents. For riding in town, however, I'd be surprised if having a rear brake as well as front would actually make much difference to front only. I find my stopping ability is more down to my powers of observation, my reaction time and the friction between my tyres and the road surface. I'm happy with just front for the time being.

some people think a rear brake on a fixed is a good idea
i've never tried it myself i can't really think how rear braking with a fixed would work

You pull on the rear brake and your legs slow down without having to resist the pedals. Much like a front brake really.

i guess a good pair of front brake calipers and some grippy pads will keep your rear wheel off the ground if used carefully / properly

i think braking with both front and rear simultaneously on a fixed will stop you going over the handlebars.
but in city commuting it's unlikely you'll get to such a brakedeath speed, unless you're some kind of rad shredder. or something.

Your thinking contradicts the laws of physics.

Brakes are death.

I commute with two brakes, fixed. I've never understood why people are so confused by the concept of a rear brake on a fixed gear. What do you think is going to happen when you apply the rear brake? The wheel slows down. So what if your cranks rotate with the wheel. What would happen if you were pedaling forward and pulled the brake on?

how dare you question my GCSE in physics from ages ago

Unless you modulate your braking, by the time your front brake is achieving maximum deceleration, your rear end will have lifted off the road and rotated at some speed, pivoting around your front axle (clockwise as viewed from the drive side) so that your mission workshop bag will then be rubbing on the tarmac a couple of feet ahead of your front wheel. This will cause further deceleration and possibly a drastic shortening of your wheelbase, life expectancy etc.

OP sorry to hear you got knocked off - was it because you couldn't stop in time or something, were you riding to close to the back of a car? The whole experience would be pretty disorienting for you that's for sure, but as you didn't say what happened we don't know if it was your fault or someone else's ie are you ascribing your lack of a rear brake to the accident when in fact it was because you don't check over your shoulder enough? Or it could also just be bad timing around a shit driving that's got nothing to do with your lack of a rear brake? You see what I'm getting at? Riding fixed means you have rear braking ability and a front handbrake so you have to ride within that context/skillset. If you're doing so then I wouldn't say that adding a rear handbrake to your fixed would prevent you getting knocked off.