"Oh Shit" moments...

I ride brakeless and I would be reluctant to revert back from, as FixedStar said, riding a bike in it's purest form. I wish I could say that all riders adjust in different weather conditions so that there is a level of relativity on the road at all times, HOWEVER... I do believe that if you have your front brake on, you are more susceptible to last minute decisions in terms of braking as there is less impending risk, which seems completely understandable, and therefore if you choose to ride brakeless you should probs be prepared for what everyone else on every other mode of transport on the road throws your way

i.e, you can't blame other peoples. braap (?)

Don't be that guy

(In all seriousness though

Montreal police Inspector André Durocher confirmed that Tyrell’s bike did not have any brakes, but said they haven’t been able to determine whether that contributed to the accident.
)

What happens if you're riding fast, behind me, then your chain breaks as you try to stop? You hit me, that's what.

Riding brakeless on the street is illegal and stupid. It endangers you - which I'm not particularly bothered about - and others.

All this talk of riding in its "purest form" is complete and utter balls.

Groundhog Day Trailer HD - YouTube

FixedStar, riding brakeless will teach you to ride differently before long. Not in a bad as such, just to be more wary of stopping distances. Especially in the wet. The heightened awareness and all that bullshit of riding brakeless comes from having to be more aware of what's happening around you or you're just going to crash.

What happens if you're riding fast, behind me, then your chain breaks as you try to stop? You hit me, that's what.

Riding brakeless on the street is illegal and stupid. It endangers you - which I'm not particularly bothered about - and others.

All this talk of riding in its "purest form" is complete and utter balls.

and what happens if I'm on my road bike riding behind you, you emergency brake then I have to and my brake cable snaps. I hit you. Same result.

Or if a bus is driving and it's brakes fails...

The driver behind you passes out...

Mechanical failures are dangerous but I think a more important factor in deciding wether or not to ride brakeless is knowing what you can do, that you can stop if you need to.

Riding brakeless has also taught me to try and avoid obstacles rather than just slamming the anchors on too.

Or if a bus is driving and it's brakes fails...

Bus brakes lock on when they fail.

and what happens if I'm on my road bike riding behind you, you emergency brake then I have to and my brake cable snaps. I hit you. Same result.

Road bikes have two brakes. The odds of both failing are virtually nil.

I think the point here is that brakeless means zero redundency and chains do fail sometimes...

Road bikes have two brakes. The odds of both failing are virtually nil.

I think the point here is that brakeless means zero redundency and chains do fail sometimes...

and my rear brake isn't going to stop me in an emergency by itself, especially if it's wet.
True, they do, but so do brake cables. And in 3 year of brakeless riding and geared riding I haven't broken either.

Even with brakes crazy shit happens, once I was pushing it out of a set of lights and got quickly overtaken by a mentalist who proceeded to stop as soon as they had got in front. I slammed the brakes, front wheel stopped at the bumper and I stayed on the bike as my head gently tapped the hatch back of the car, the back wheel in the air. The mentalist was an unapologetic old woman who was much more concerned about her Volvo!

Wiganwill - good point.

and what happens if I'm on my road bike riding behind you, you emergency brake then I have to and my brake cable snaps. I hit you. Same result.
Y U ride so close?

Riding brakeless has also taught me to try and avoid obstacles rather than just slamming the anchors on too.

Me too

Bus brakes lock on when they fail.

Kinda figured that after I posted :P

Road bikes have two brakes. The odds of both failing are virtually nil.

I think the point here is that brakeless means zero redundency and chains do fail sometimes...

Yup and to me that's a constant fear so I replaced chains very often to try and reduce the risk.

and my rear brake isn't going to stop me in an emergency by itself, especially if it's wet.
True, they do, but so do brake cables. And in 3 year of brakeless riding and geared riding I haven't broken either.

Its certainly going to slow you down a lot better than having no form of retardation at all though. Especially if you get decent brake pads such as swiss stop greens.

And I'm glad neither of those things have failed for you in those 3 years. I have also had no failures in that time frame. But 3 years isn't that long in the grand scheme of things, and it only takes one dodgy chain link to go and then everything changes.

Y U ride so close?

cos of aeros

I snapped a chain on tooley street pulling away from a ped crossing, the link was snapped clean down the middle.

but i got the chain off of dan so it was probably sabotaged.

and my rear brake isn't going to stop me in an emergency by itself, especially if it's wet.
True, they do, but so do brake cables. And in 3 year of brakeless riding and geared riding I haven't broken either.
Wasn't the first time I met you when you used the Reej as a brake when your lockring popped off? ;)

Really all this debate bullshit comes down to personal preference. The law about two functioning brakes doesn't seem to get imposed by the 5-0. If you wanna ride with or without brakes, it's fine. As long as you understand the dangers of getting on your bike and riding it on the road and don't endanger others.

Ride safe kids and play nicely.

True dat

Wasn't the first time I met you when you used the Reej as a brake when your lockring popped off? ;)

Well I can't deny that. It was, however, a quando hub, and the swapping of sprockets to use at the track then back again to ride home on was obviously too much for the threads to handle.

Its certainly going to slow you down a lot better than having no form of retardation at all though.

surely having no brakes is a form of retardation

#justtrollingidontreallycare