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

well i gotta admit that i was on a SS with a single brake until a week or so ago when i had to face up to the dangers the hard way. i bought the bike with only a front brake when i didn't really know much about bikes despite commuting for a few years.

i'm a very careful, perceptive and sensible cyclist and always thought i could get away with it "because other SS single brakers were clearly just morons and i was sensible". um, let's just say it didn't work out quite like that when i had to brake hard when a car pulled across me and i flew over my handlebars on the Bethnal Green Road. luckily i got away with grazes but it could have been a lot worse if it was busier.

So it was either get a rear brake or get a fixed wheel, and i opted for the latter because it's always been my plan but i never got round to it. i have now bought a track wheel and the bike is off-limits til i've attached it and i'm confident enough on a fixed for proper roads.

so there ya go. i learned the hard way, and i feel pretty silly for it tbh. my recommendation is don't bother with the hard way. (although peeling massive scabs off your elbow is a lot of fun.)

Not to put a damper on it,. but you could have gone over the bars just the same with a rear brake as it doesn't do much when emergency stopping!

joe smith rides faux fixed then?

;)

someone smoking a cigarette and start banging on about lung cancer. Well, some people would I suppose.

this old woman did this to me the other day, and i replied "yeah, i know" and she seemed like she thought she had offended me and said "oh, sorry" and sheepishly walked away. i think the difference is, people foolish enough to ride single brake ss generally don't know that they are endangering themselves and others, but those who smoke do know that it is bad for them.

Not to put a damper on it,. but you could have gone over the bars just the same with a rear brake as it doesn't do much when emergency stopping!

perhaps with a rear brake he would have been able to do a more controlled slowing down and thus avoiding the car.

my current feeling is that i would never ride with a single brake (i am fixed with front brake atm) just because i would rather have the control, e.g. i could only leg brake and front brake when i really need to stop, but i just don't think that single brake (ss or brakeless fixed) gives enough slowing down power, e.g. in hilly hampstead skidding takes about 4 times longer to stop as front brake, maybe longer in the wet.

Not to put a damper on it,. but you could have gone over the bars just the same with a rear brake as it doesn't do much when emergency stopping!

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.

I cannot be arsed to read the whole thread, but has anyone mentioned that you look like a cock with flat pedals a free wheel & front brake?

This is my subjective opinion & I look like a cock 24/7/365.

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.

I am guessing you weren't very hot at physics at school..?

I am guessing you weren't very hot at physics at school..?

i was one of the best in my A-level class actually. almost applied to do engineering at Oxford. what were you referring to?

front brake freewheelers:

There's a whole lot more to effective and safe use of braking than an emergency stop, this thing called "controlling speed" for instance.
This is why bicycles designed by very clever people who actually do know more than you (yes, really) about Physics and a great many other things, have front and rear brakes. You faux fixie non-skidders don't seem to understand a lot about cycling so I can see why your argument has no substance.

Now get a grip and stop being such fucking incredibly hubristic poseurs.

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.

Saw 3 guys in Brick Lane today, 2 of them have fixed wheel bikes with no pedal cages or anything and the other with a single speed and a front break... !

Their loss.

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.

totally take your point, but sometimes in the heat of the moment, controlled, smooth braking (which i do 99.999% of the time) just goes out the window. i'm sure other more experienced cyclists than myself have once or twice just freaked out and lost technique too. everyone does it. With a front and a rear braking mechanism (be it a rear brake or track wheel) the stopping force is dissipated between two wheels (i.e. two points of contact with the road) and the weight is more balanced as a result. it's not perfeect, but it's better than just one point of contact, where all the force is directed down into the road via the front wheel, thus creating a rotational force around that single pivot.

Your sentiment is spot on, but your physics are truly fucked.

Just leave that bit alone.

[i] almost applied to do engineering at Oxford.

Is that on your CV?

lol sorry it just made me laugh

its no more stupid than riding brakeless.

both are utterly retarded but as long as people are aware of the dangers then leave them in peace.

I fucking love my brake. I want to lick it.

I fucking love my brake. I want to lick it.

And I thought it was only me.

its no more stupid than riding brakeless.

both are utterly retarded but as long as people are aware of the dangers then leave them in peace.

I dunno i'd say front brake only SS is worse than fixed brakeless, rear only single speed is of course better than fixed brakeless.

Here is a fact:

a front brake on a freewheel bike gives moar stopping power than nobrakes and a fixed wheel.

/fact

for you mebbe

Oh of course it does, the rear does probably around a quater to a third of the braking, though i'd rather have a rear brake than a front as in an emergency locking up, a rear lock up is easy to save, a front lock up is pretty much impossible to save, i've got the scar to prove that.

Pointless argument as you may as well just have both, but if I had to choose, i'd go for the rear brake everytime.

I'd rather ride fixed, with no hand operated brake on the road.

Off road i'd go the other way.

Here is a fact:

a front brake on a freewheel bike gives moar stopping power than nobrakes and a fixed wheel.

/fact

Not if your front brake is shit (especially in the rain) road bike brakes can at times be pathetically weak, especially if like me your too cheap to buy decent pads.

I have dual pivot ultegra brakes on my geared bike and neither front or back can lock up the wheel.On my fixed I have an old campy single pivot which works only very slightly. But pedal braking on fixed wheel guarantees back wheel lock up just as you want it if you have the skill.

So for some, brakless fixie skidding is a faster/better controlled method of stopping. This is especially true in the rain.

Here is a fact:

a front brake on a freewheel bike gives moar stopping power than nobrakes and a fixed wheel.

/fact

Shouldn't you be doing your homework?

The English Language GCSE could do with some extra time...

The English Language GCSE could do with some extra time...

Ha!

Irony.