Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Single Speed Brake: Front or back?

So I am only going to use one brake on my single speed I'm almost done with. I've got one good side-pull brake to use. I know when using two, and stopping fast, you should use about 75% front, 25% back brake. I am way more dominant with my rear brake. But, looking through a lot of pictures, I see that most people are putting solely front brakes on.

I would rather have a back brake only. I know that there is more skidding involved in a quick stop, but I grew up only using my back brake...literally. Therefore, I feel more comfortable with a back brake.

The main question:

Is there any sort of crucial advantage to having solely a front brake on a single speed?

Thanks guys!

Max

For a single speed (ie freewheel), you should have 2 brakes.

You have more stopping power on the front. But you should have both brakes so you don't fly off your bike if you have to make a hard stop.

I grew up on a single rear brake as well; gotta love BMX. :)

Most of the bikes you see on here with only a front brake are fixed gear (no coasting) so in effect, the pedals double as a rear brake. Running a rear only on a SS would be roughly equivalent to riding fixed with no brakes or a SS with a coaster brake only. Certainly, lots of folks do both of those things.

The argument for having both is similar to the argument for running a front brake with a fixed gear. There is safety in redundancy. Should something happen to your ability to brake on the rear wheel, the front is still an option. If you're comfortable putting all your faith in a single brake then that's fine. Lots of folks get by with a single method of braking everyday.

That said, I'm putting 2 brakes on my SS build because I don't trust them to be 100% reliable (and because my frame came with 2 brakes and some cool holders for the rear cable welded to the top tube that I like the look of with cable in them). My decision is based 80% on function, 5% convenience, and 15% looks.

Your decision is totally up to you.

On a true singlespeed, you should have both, as you'd have no (good) way to stop should the one go out. If, however, you're on a fixed gear, and can therefore apply back pressure as a brake - or if you really want to just have one, then the brake should be on the front.

There's nothing about having a rear brake (other than the additional, extremely minimal weight of the cable and calipers behind the center of gravity) that'll keep you from "fly[ing] off" under maximum braking, as the rear wheel will already be completely unweighted and any brake back there won't be at all effective. Now, under certain conditions, e.g. slippery roads, rear braking is safer than front braking, but it's never more effective.

if you must run a single brake on a ss, then I say rear in the rainy/snowy/muddy conditions and front in everything else. understeer on a bike is a beyotch!

looks like he's in nebraska which means ice is probably a minimal concern...

fg: front
freewheel: both

don't try to rewrite physics; definitely don't try to fake the funk.

speaking of faking the funk, anyone see the chubby guy ridding around phila with the coaster brake and too-shorts on his pretend tarck bike?

..

Why so angry careBear? Need a hug?

I rolled without a rear on my ss bike for a few months. Everything was fine but it made me nervous. Never again. Now I have a front brake on my fixed gear bike, and the ss is turning into a townie bike. It has canti bosses and will be getting the Mafac style cantis from Velo-Orange.

On my SS I added a front brake. It just makes sense to use both wheels to stop -- back pressure on the rear and calipers on the front. When all else fails, your helmet dragging on the pavement works, too.

I always wondered why people were always running one front; the fixed gear thing makes sense. I just got some new brake stuff today, so I'll be running two. Thanks soo much to those of you that reasoned in your post.

No thanks:theBEAR
WTF is your problem, man? I don't even know you. Grow up.


Max

I always wondered why people were always running one front; the fixed gear thing makes sense.

Not just the fixed gear thing, but physics as someone mentioned. In the vast vast majority of situations, a front brake is the only brake you need/should be using as it's more effective than back brakeing by a good margin. Using both brakes at once is not advised by some people as it can lead to fishtailing.

both brakes ******bag. one brake is a horribly dumb idea on your single speed. quit being stupid.

Maybe you should drop the "cool dude" part :rolleyes:

Not just the fixed gear thing, but physics as someone mentioned. In the vast vast majority of situations, a front brake is the only brake you need/should be using as it's more effective than back brakeing by a good margin. Using both brakes at once is not advised by some people as it can lead to fishtailing.
That's right, i pretty much used only front brake even on my geared bike. However it's a good idea to have two, but you'll most likely be fine with just a front. I have never had a brake fail on me ever so far, so it has to be a rare occurrence. And even if it happens, you can use your leg on the back tire to stop.

The front has more stopping power. But you should really have both so you don't fly off the bike if you have to make a hard stop.


Explain how two brakes prevents unintentional flight

both brakes ******bag. one brake is a horribly dumb idea on your single speed. quit being stupid.



Wow. Newbie on the Pista pulls out the hostility card.

Explain how two brakes prevents unintentional flight

If you only have a front brake, it is easier to flip over the bars if you slam them on?

fg: front
freewheel: both

don't try to rewrite physics; definitely don't try to fake the funk.

speaking of faking the funk, anyone see the chubby guy ridding around phila with the coaster brake and too-shorts on his pretend tarck bike?

sounds like me, but I have a real tarck bike :p

Maybe you should drop the "cool dude" part :rolleyes:


Wow. Newbie on the Pista pulls out the hostility card.

self proclaimed 'cool dude'.

what a champ.

Run both brakes on the SS or I'm not your friend. I swear.

Run both brakes on the SS or I'm not your friend. I swear.

Yeah, like I said, I'm going to run two. I was just confused, as stated before, from all the pictures I had seen. I understand the physics aspect of it; hence the reason I assumed using a back brake would be more sufficient being that only using a front brake (with no coaster) in a quick stop would not stop the momentum of the rider.

Again, thanks so much guys. I'm glad 99% of you give me the information that I need.

Max

only using a front brake (with no coaster) in a quick stop would not stop the momentum of the rider.

hmm? typo? any deceleration caused by either tire results in load transfer off the rear and onto the front. the reduced load on the rear reduces its braking ability while the increased load on the front increases the braking ability at that end. so, the harder you brake with a rear brake (or back pedal pressure with a fg) the less tractive ability it has. on the other hand, the harder you brake with the front brake the more tractive ability it gains.

anyways, using any brake (alone or with one on the other end) in any stop (quick or slow) nearly by definition stops the momentum of the rider. the exception is when you screw up (or have bad luck) and tires slide or you endo resulting in the nasty shiny-side-down sort of situation. but, the front will be able to decelerate the rider more quickly.

-kyle

go brakeless! freewheel brakeless is the new fixie!

If you only have a front brake, it is easier to flip over the bars if you slam them on?

That's only true if you're new to using just a front brake. If you get your arms straight and stiff enough you won't have any problems. I don't even use the rear brake on my road bike anymore.

I'd say go with only a front brake. I ride my track bike with only a front brake/SS sometimes and it's MUCH safer feeling than my SS with just a rear coaster brake. Then again theres a lot greater chance of a front caliper brake failing that a quality coaster brake.

sounds like me, but I have a real tarck bike :p

wait, wait-- describe. i'm this close to feeling like a pompous ******.

go brakeless! freewheel brakeless is the new fixie!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH5W1Z23wPg

brakeless!

Both.

If you only have a front brake, it is easier to flip over the bars if you slam them on?

Sorry, but I have to say from experience that slamming on BOTH brakes will STILL send you flying over the top of your bars. When stopping so quickly all your weight is shifted forward and the back wheel will do nothing.

I really wouldn't want someone else to get an extra scar because they thought slamming on both brakes means they would magically stick to the ground.

Also, on a non-fixed bike you should have two brakes in case one fails. This may seem rare, but its more likely that you don't hear about it simply because people have two brakes usually. I have seen dozens of friend's bikes this year that have one working brake and one malfunctioning brake. Slightly rotated pad on one side, a not so tight bolt holding the fraying cable, extreme friction due to cable path, unadjusted after wearing the pads and not enough gripping power with the lever hitting the bars, etc.

Riding safe is cool!

brakeless!

Practicing your hockey stop lately?

Or maybe that "Use your leg" suggestion is more effective? (OUCH!?) Perhaps they meant "Shoe".

If you only have a front brake, it is easier to flip over the bars if you slam them on?

Not any easier than if you slam on both the front and back simultaneously, because if you do that, all your weight will transfer forward, and then it's just like slamming on the front. If you just slam on the back, it'll transfer weight forward until the weight on the rear becomes so little that it skids - something that makes for long "braking" distances. It's not especially easy to do an endo; as someone else said, brace with your arms. That helps keep your system's (you + bike) center of gravity between the hubs and therefore you from going over. Really, though, it just comes down to practicing keeping your center of gravity where it should be by means of body positioning and lever regulation. Having good toe-in on your calipers helps with the latter immensly.


Yeah, like I said, I'm going to run two. I was just confused, as stated before, from all the pictures I had seen. I understand the physics aspect of it; hence the reason I assumed using a back brake would be more sufficient being that only using a front brake (with no coaster) in a quick stop would not stop the momentum of the rider.

Again, thanks so much guys. I'm glad 99% of you give me the information that I need.

Max

I think you have that bit backwards. Weight transfer makes the direction you're decellerating into grip more. In a truly quick stop, the front brake is doing ALL of the work. Case in point: "stoppies" are examples of getting awfully close to maximum potential deceleration.

Yeah I was backwards with that. Thanks!

I ride just front on a SS, and I'm A'OK...perfectly safe as long as the brake is maintained and you know your bike.

I like having two breaks on my singlespeed.

I mostly only use one but what the hell.
I'm not that desperate to look cool i'm afraid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH5W1Z23wPg

Beat me to it.


I like having two breaks on my singlespeed.

I mostly only use one but what the hell.
I'm not that desperate to look cool i'm afraid.

You don't want any breaks really though.

I'd rather have brakes

wait, wait-- describe. i'm this close to feeling like a pompous ******.

I'm kind of chubby and I ride in the city a lot (usually commuting to Temple and stopping in CC for Reading Terminal goodness or something else I need to pick up). Besides that, not me. :D

Beat me to it.



You don't want any breaks really though.

I'd rather have brakes

I'm just doing it to see if anybody catches me at this point.

both.

and white people love correct grammar, and much more so, correct spelling... we also loves bikes.

stuffwhitepeoplelike.com

Get used to it.

As well I just made the move to an SS and my more experienced highly competitive friends had made me question 2 v. 1
-Tom

For what its worth -

When I'm not biking around, I drive my scooter everywhere. I've only had a front (disc) brake for quite a while, since I broke my rear (drum) brake handle. Recently, I bought a new brake lever and reattached it to my scooter.. since then, I rarely use my rear brake, as I've learned to use the front more efficiently.

I ride a motor cycle and the quickest way to flip it is to use your front brake. In braking it is rear brake to slow and then front brake and rear to stop.

both.

and white people love correct grammar, and much more so, correct spelling... we also loves bikes.

stuffwhitepeoplelike.com

Get used to it.

Everyone should love correct grammar and spelling, regardless of skin color. Those that don't are idiots and should be treated as such.

https://unp.un.org/bookshop/covers_large/X55862.jpg

If you only have a front brake, it is easier to flip over the bars if you slam them on?


Don't slam on your brakes; modulate them. When you brake, make sure your weight is on the back wheel.

I ride a motor cycle and the quickest way to flip it is to use your front brake. In braking it is rear brake to slow and then front brake and rear to stop.

If you can't control your front brake when slowing so as to avoid an endo, how do you expect to not endo when you decide it's really time to stop? *boggle*

If the traction limit of your front tire is sufficient to flip you over the bars, then your rear brake will not help you stop faster. Unless, of course, you are unable to control your braking power so as to not cause an endo. That would be an issue of poor setup or lack of experience, not an argument against a front brake being more capable or appropriate to use. Like has been said before, learn to modulate (or more simply to control) your brakes and you won't endo except in exceptional cases such as unexpected piles of tacky glue, sand pits, potholes, roots etc.

But seriously, doesn't anyone know why you would have a rear brake? It's for those cases where you can't endo because of insufficient traction. This can be caused by poor road conditions, good CG position (from a braking perspective) or even just being in a corner. It's when you can't endo that you want a rear brake to improve your deceleration.

p.s. i have ridden motorcycles as well, and it's all the same theory. at this level, even cars are the same.

I ride a motor cycle and the quickest way to flip it is to use your front brake. In braking it is rear brake to slow and then front brake and rear to stop.

huh?

Don't get me wrong, I use both brakes while stopping.. but my front brake does 95% of the work. I've had to jam my brakes in a few instances, and I've never felt like I was going to endo.

note: on my scooter :D