Gear ratios for no brakes riding...

A skilled brakeless rider can stop faster and ride more safely than than an unskilled rider with poorly adjusted brakes. I know what I see more off when am out an about!
(no real argument as the skilled brakeless rider could stop even quicker if they also had a brake!)

I suppose the reason I feel safe brakeless is because I was brought up on rear brake only BMXs with very shit brakes (1980s brake technology). I would still admit I could stop faster if I had a brake now though but feel I can stop fast enough as it is.

bicycle chains don't snap unless they are ridden beyond their service life, fitted incorrectly, subject to forces they aren't designed for or come from the bad batch of CN-6700s

Fixed.

Here's my 2c: I drive around W1 all day, so I get to see a lot of brakeless riders. They are invariably forced to ride slower than people with proper road legal bicycles, while putting in more effort. Occasionally they bump into things like vehicles, people or kerbs because they can't stop fast enough. Running into the back of cars in traffic is funny (to the audience) and mostly harmless. The maximum deceleration of a bicycle with enough front brake on it to lift the back wheel is about 0.6g; the weight distribution makes any more than that tun into an endo. Very ordinary road cars have been capable of about 1.0g for 30 years, and now they can all do it all the time thanks to ABS, EBD, Emergency Brake Assist, and tyres which grip well even on damp tarmac. The pedestrians can't be trusted not to step off the kerb without looking, and the roads are sometimes quite narrow, so if you're following a car which does an emergency stop, your choice is the kerb, the car, or the oncoming traffic. With proper brakes operated by levers on the bit of the handlebar you're actually holding, it's fairly easy to ride in a position where you can stop before you have to choose between these 3 equally unattractive fates. With no brake other than your fixed wheel, you have much less than half the available deceleration and you may have travelled fifteen feet or more before the emergent situation is communicated into the requisite reversal of leg force coincident with the necessary crank angle. Genuinely to ride in traffic with sufficient space to account for these colossal shortcomings would require that you always keep a clear 5v yards behind the vehicle in front, where v is the speed in mph. It is not enough to create this space, you also have to maintain that huge open area by successfully blocking any cars which would overtake to fill up the yawning chasm.

Nothing about having proper working brakes on your bicycle forces you to abandon the situational awareness which you hope (usually wrongly) that you have perfected and think (always wrongly) will invariably save you and others from the perils of reckless drivers and pedestrians. Neither will having brakes diminish the dimensions of your wedding tackle, which seems to be the main fear of the morons who continue to ride dangerous and illegal bicycles, when it comes right down to it.

if you did that much analysis into people riding bmx's or gymnastics or (insert any common sport with aspect of danger) then nobody would be allowed to do anything

Riding on the road in traffic isn't a sport.

tl;dr

Riding on the road in traffic isn't a sport.

really? i thought i heard something about commuter racing being in 2012?

People who ride brakeless must be mentally deficient. Why would you intentionally choose to endanger other road users? A bit selfish don't ya think. It's not like you can't fit a brake but not use it. The annoying thing, no matter you say to them, it's win-win. If you tell them you think it's really cool and edgy, they feel great about themselves and see themselves as bicycling pioneers. If you tell them it's dangerous and irresponsible they feel like Mad Max, an outlawed rebel who refuses to live by rules imposed by the powers that be.

But hey it's your choice, feel free to indulge in this trend. I'll be laughing when you go head first into the back of a minicab and then need reconstructive surgery on your entire face, not to mention getting sued.

Enjoy your trip to A&E.

im sure when i met you lpg you were brakeless?

although it was a year or so ago and i have a shitty memory so dont get mad if i'm wrong

tl;dr

exactly what i thought

People riding without helmets. Whats that all about?

I know its more dangerous that front brake + fixed, but still think ss front brakers are the most dangerous.

So? You're still dangerous.

taking a shower with out feet grippys on the bottom of the tub is dangerous too

taking a shower with out grippys on the bottom of the tub is dangerous too

Living on the edge of the bathtub dude.

People who ride brakeless must be mentally deficient...

well, I am deaf after all...

tl;dr

I figured to get all the bases covered in one hit. Out.

some sanctimonious blah..

What mental would use a thin-as-shit 10-speed racing chain if they were relying on it to slow them down?

Again it is your own physical limitations that are forming your holier-than-thou responses.

With practice and awareness the human is capable of riding a bicycle without rim brakes safely around town.

I don't believe I ride any slower without a brake, as anyone who has ridden with me will attest.

I am thinking of getting a brake for my polo bike so this thread has been food for thought.

if you did that much analysis into people riding bmx's or gymnastics or (insert any common sport with aspect of danger) then nobody would be allowed to do anything

those sports generally only involve injury to yourself. brakeless riding increases the risk of hitting a pedestrian, and probably antagonizes drivers towards cyclists making them less likely for cycling to become normalized, or for them to look out for cyclists.

Fixed.

i'd rep if i could.

What mental would use a thin-as-shit 10-speed racing chain if they were relying on it to slow them down?

10-speed chains are still 3/32" wide, I can't see how their perceived "thinness" would contribute to them being weaker, it is pretty much impossible to "snap" a chain link plate.

I would generally advise using the 3/32" (derailer) size. It is lighter, more compatible with your existing chainwheels, and likely to run smoother if the chainline is less than perfect, due to beveled side plates. In my experience, 3/32" chain is no less durable or reliable than 1/8".

mdcc's post is the best analysis of brakeless riding I have ever read, he backs his claims up with evidence.

Hearsay, misdirection and assumption more like.

brakeless riding increases the risk of hitting a pedestrian.

says who?

only if the rider's an idiot.

62 gi's

im sure when i met you lpg you were brakeless?

Naw dude. The only place I ride w/out brakes is at HH :)

Naw dude. The only place I ride w/out brakes is at HH :)

although it was a year or so ago and i have a shitty memory

i rest my case