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

Sammyz, do you work in trend forecasting?

Have requested thread be merged, but after we have had cinema snack time.

Gad!

Pint?

could do a quick one, for sure.
where are you?

What happens if I google twerk at work?

.....oh.

So only recently i've started riding fixed
gear bike with a front brake...and as a
result i've started noticing more fixie
riders, and i find myself looking at bikes
with no brakes or front brakes...for
aesthetic inspiration, but also looking at
the way the riders ride and hoping to
pickup technique through watching.

but i'm starting to notice a trend, which
i am seeing a lot of...guys riding single
speed bikes but only having a front brake!

maybe i'm missing something here...but i
would have assumed that if your riding
single speed (which i use to) the back
brake is of utmost importance...more
important than a front brake.

are these guys just trying to have the fixie
look without riding fixie???

to me it just looks like a massive accident
waiting to happen!

Dope rhymes bro

I agree , I have a single speed with only a front break purely because I used to have fixed and changed my mind - after cycling in rain recently and my brake pads wearing down I have discovered how dangerous it is to just have the one: I'm putting a back one on asap!

no most of your braking should be done with the front regardless of fixed or not , if you only go for one brake make it your front you won't just go over the bars like you'd think , it does look so much better too than having a cable all over your lovely frame

As bikergirl has pointed out the reason for having 2 brakes on everything (except direct drive vehicles like most unicycles[*]) is so you have a back up if one brake breaks.

What would you do if you were going down a hill and your front brake cable snapped? (Aimed at James, I know plenty of people know the answer to this, but most one brake single speeders don't).

Cars, vans, bikes, all have to have two independent braking mechanisms in case the first one fails.

Cars, vans, bikes, all have to have two independent braking mechanisms in case the first one fails.

You sure. I hope you are not referring to the handbrake as the second braking mechanism?

Dual circuit brakes. You're still fucked if the brake pedal snaps, but one hydraulic leak won't take out your whole braking system.

Except if you're running two separate master cylinders linked by an adjustable bias bar, without travel-limiting washers. As I discovered at Silverstone.

no most of your braking should be done with the front regardless of fixed or not , if you only go for one brake make it your front you won't just go over the bars like you'd think , it does look so much better too than having a cable all over your lovely frame

Nope. Doing it wrong. Both brakes... and yes that goes for fixed as well. If you are riding fixed and only using your front brake to stop and slow down, you are doing it wrong.

If you're doing front braking right, your back wheel is off the ground. Nothing your brake can do in those circumstances. There are times when a more balanced approach is needed, and you should practice that too, but a maximum stop in a straight line in the dry will make the back brake redundant, and you need to know how to do that if you want to get the best out of your bike.

For people who's weight is greater than the front brake can lift off the ground, is the rear brake going to have an effect?

'you calling me fat?

Weak wrist or huge arse?

...or as the case might be, a bit of both. Theoretically speaking of course...

Is this a Middle Aged man only question? :)

Had my first proper go at Braklz today, albeit not out of my own choice. Not fun experimenting with 80GI during rush hour on Walworth Road.

Didn't mean to insult you Lynch, you just beat me to the smart(arse) reply! However.....

^^Khornight, who're you calling middle aged, I'm fucking ancient!

^Stevo, glad you lived to photograph the tale, shoot your mechanic!

For people who's weight is greater than the front brake can lift off the ground, is the rear brake going to have an effect?

If the back tyre is pressing on the ground, you can use it to add some braking, but absolute mass has no influence on whether that's the case, it's just a matter of where the centre of mass is relative to the pivot point. If you have weak hands or weak brakes, you might not be able to lift the back wheel, which typically happens at about -0.6g acceleration, which is about double the rate required by bicycle safety standards (proper ones - some 'merkin standards require just a back brake which can lock the wheel on dry pavement)

"Didn't mean to insult you Lynch, you just beat me to the smart(arse) reply! However..."

Not sure... [jpg]futuramafry[/jpeg]

:)

^Stevo, glad you lived to photograph the tale, shoot your mechanic!

I do all my own stunts/mechanics. Nowt wrong with the install, just a cheap cable failing at the nipple/barrel end.

If the back tyre is pressing on the ground, you can use it to add some braking, but absolute mass has no influence on whether that's the case, it's just a matter of where the centre of mass is relative to the pivot point. If you have weak hands or weak brakes, you might not be able to lift the back wheel, which typically happens at about -0.6g acceleration, which is about double the rate required by bicycle safety standards (proper ones - some 'merkin standards require just a back brake which can lock the wheel on dry pavement)

I can lock the front wheel before the back wheel lifts off the ground.

But I do shift my (not inconsiderable) weight backwards when braking, if I try to endo by moving forward I can, but it seems counter productive to braking.

I exercise my wrist every night so I doubt it's weak wrists :)