Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Uh, why brakeless?

Hiya, I'm new around here. ;)


This is out of curiousity, but... except for on the velodrome, why would anyone ride without brakes? And for those of you who do... how do you stop then?

Well on a freewheel bike you can fishtail
on a fixie, you can just lock your wheels and skid to a stop

Well on a freewheel bike you can fishtail
on a fixie, you can just lock your wheels and skid to a stop


...

Whats fishtail mean?

Its about having a completely simple bike with clean lines and no wires. It also has its own bada$$ factor. Its easy to stop without brakes just by using your legs but i find i ride slower without a front brake.

Because I'm an idiot and have a death wish :)

There's also the fact that I haven't found a fork that will fit my bike that allows for a front brake...

It also connects you a lot more to what's going on around you in traffic - you have to pay attention or you're dead. There's not really any if ands or buts about it - if you don't know everything happening around you, it gets bad.

The only time I want brakes anymore is when I'm going downhill. Sometimes I use that as an excuse to walk the bike and take a smoke break...

F brakes.

Because when I ride with a brake I fall asleep and careen into the sidewalk. It's distracting.

The bike doesn't have brakes. The rider provides the brakes by resisting the rotation of the cranks. It takes awhile but eventually you get used to it to the point you don't even think about it. You learn how to lock up the rear wheel and skid if you want. So really it's kind of like riding a coaster bike in that sense.

personal preference in asthetics, philosophy, budget, performance.... it's like anything else: why ride without extra gears, or without a helmet, or without an engine? we do what we do.

A few reasons...

Increased visual awareness, especially approaching intersections and road hazards. I notice a lot more, a lot quicker. I have to. :)

The smooth, silky acceleration and deceleration of a brakeless fixed gear vs. the sudden if not abrupt speed up, hard brake, speed up, hard brake of a free wheeled bike...

Whats fishtail mean?

Thats where a rider swings around his rear wheel, also its called jack knifing
You've probably seen a big 18-wheeler do it in some action moive

i use mine as a calling card to meet other fixt riders on the street. well, it worked here in copenhagen. but riding brakeless definitely does make you way more aware as to what is going on and i think i handle my road bike far better now. you always have to be thinking of escape plans if person x does action a or car x pulls out. it does add a bit of an edge to riding but i think it just makes you all the safer in the long run. i ride slower and more aware on my fixed as opposed to blazing down streets on my freewheel bike and not paying as much attention.

Here's a few good answers. Go to No Brakes.
http://www.oldskooltrack.com/files/home.frame.html

I like brakeless because you have a nice even smooth ride...no speeding up and slowing down.

Also, Always more aware of your surroundings and finding the hole in traffic.

After going brakeless you know what a car will do before they do it.

Try it out...you might just like it.

Matt

Don't think that you have to go brakeless or that you have to go brakeless cold turkey. I ride with a front brake, which allows me quick stopping power in tight traffic. I prefer this route [sic] in tight Chicago traffic, but not all do.

Let's remember what the wise Hayme said:

"All that matters is that you love the bike you ride..."

It makes your balls larger. By at least a factor of Pi.

Let's remember what the wise Hayme said:

"All that matters is that you love the bike you ride..."
Wise? Huh?

The wisest thing I have heard in a long time...

The wisest thing I have heard in a long time...

Yeah - when you find the bike you love, you love the bike you ride... I dread the day that I have to put mine up for winter. She's the first one that I didn't have the option of putting brakes on without a lot of money - maybe someday I'll have a custom fork built, or find one that fits... but I've learned a lot since I got her - riding clippless, measuring bolt diameters for a chainring... What I've learned from riding her with no brakes is more than I've learned from any other bike I've owned. She's the one that has the impeccable chain, and gets cleaned after every slightly rainy ride. The one that gets windex before photos...

If she were another road bike conversion with a front brake, she wouldn't have shown me so much. I've ridden brakeless on other bikes, and it wasn't the same. This one shouldn't have brakes. She doesn't want brakes, she doesn't need them, and I don't think she wants them.

And yeah, my bike is a she - anyone want to make something of it?

For the record, in the last month I have had two drunken wipeouts on my fixie with a front brake, and none on my brakeless track. So the moral is: Watch the movie The Drunken Master. No brakes = Zen.

"Brakes will only slow you down"

What if I have brakes but don't use them?

What if I have brakes but don't use them?

the radiation from the brakes will still make you fall asleep and make it impossible for
you to follow anything that goes on on the street. It will also make you unsuitable
for any kind of professional job except delivering packages for a low wage. or
maybe i confused something here...

Yeah - when you find the bike you love, you love the bike you ride... I dread the day that I have to put mine up for winter. She's the first one that I didn't have the option of putting brakes on without a lot of money - maybe someday I'll have a custom fork built, or find one that fits... but I've learned a lot since I got her - riding clippless, measuring bolt diameters for a chainring... What I've learned from riding her with no brakes is more than I've learned from any other bike I've owned. She's the one that has the impeccable chain, and gets cleaned after every slightly rainy ride. The one that gets windex before photos...

If she were another road bike conversion with a front brake, she wouldn't have shown me so much. I've ridden brakeless on other bikes, and it wasn't the same. This one shouldn't have brakes. She doesn't want brakes, she doesn't need them, and I don't think she wants them.

And yeah, my bike is a she - anyone want to make something of it?

My bikes a girl too, you kidding me of course I aint gonna ride no guy to work every day...

What if I have brakes but don't use them?
Than your a liar ;)

Ewww. What if you ain't got no balls?



It makes your balls larger. By at least a factor of Pi.

Ewww. What if you ain't got no balls?

You'll be getting them soon. 6-8 weeks, most likely

Double ewww. I don't want those tender bits!



You'll be getting them soon. 6-8 weeks, most likely

thanks for the replies everyone. enlightening.



i spent 41 dollars last night on a surly 19t and a lockring. for the first day on my fixed gear, all i can say is it's... hard.

fugazi dave,

i've seen the episodes of FLCL over and over, and i still don't get it.

for the first day on my fixed gear, all i can say is it's... hard.

Keep at it - you'll get it. Once you get used to it, going back to coasting and having brakes is hard. I had a dude I worked with that kept wanting me to try out his bikes - I've almost fell over several times because I forgt that it freewheeled, and didn't remember what brakes were... Kind of the opposite of most people's first fixed experience...