kenseth03

I am new to the singlespeed thing and I notice alot of road and mountain bikes on this forum that don't have brakes. Where do you ride these bikes and how do you stop? Sorry if this is a dumb question but at least i'll know.

Grasschopper

I think most if not all of the brakeless bikes are fixed gears...you use back pressure to slow yourself down and blow out your knees.

I have no clue other than looks why you wouldn't want brakes...I run both front and rear on my fixer.

MIN 

Only fixed gears can ride brakeless. It's because they don't have a freewheel-they can't coast so they use their leg resistance to stop. It works, just not nearly as well as brakes. Think of it as downshifting your car to stop.

dmotoguy

How would you know if you never try?

but with skidding/skipping you can stop in almost the same distance of brakes..

MIN 

C'mon not this again. Brakeless riding on a fixed-gear works in a pinch but if you are decending a hill with an 80 gear inch drivetrain, you are not going to stop as fast as with brakes. You just can't. Brakeless riding can be fun but only if you live where it is flat and you are pushing less than, say, 65 gear inches.

It's a matter of physics. That's why cars and motorcycles have large front brake rotors and smaller rear rotors - the front wheel does most of the stopping because of the forward weight transfer that occurs while braking.

However, if you want to ride around brakeless, I'm not some proselytizing brake-or-die lunatic. Ride brakeless all you want. Just stop dissemination false information about brakeless riding or at least follow through with qualifying statements.

deathhare

If we have another one of THESE threads, its because of you now.

deegs

i'll take the blame for this one

MIN 

A glimpse into deathhare's mind, moments before posting to this thread:

"I know what I will do! Let's enter a thread about brakes and singleout the only person who was able to form a complete sentence while maintaining some semblance of logic because that person has a sense of self-preservation and chooses to use brakes! That would make me feel better about myself."

PDXJeff

MIN.

I see by your location that you're probably all too familiar with this topic. I don't quite understand why people put cards in their spokes, pipe insulation on their top tube, and cover their bikes in electrical tape, but refuse a front brake because it will take away from the simple look of their fixie. Seems like in Portland, a fixie is little more than a wallet chain with wheels. I wish I was an Orthopedist. Let the attacks begin.

deathhare

A glimpse into MIN's mind, moments before posting to this thread:

"Ill say the same **** ive seen 29 other people say in 101 other threads about brakes in a failed attempt to make myself look more intelligent. "
(meanwhile creating YET ANOTHER useless brake vs. no brakes thread that goes nowhere)

..and then when he cant think of anything else to say he just basically insults people. He's a cool guy to have around.

littledjahn

Some SS riders go brakeless. Thankfully, they're documenting their plummet into extinction for posterity's sake.

Grasschopper

Almost only counts in horseshoes, hand gernades and nuclear weapons.

Yea I was almost able to stop before hitting that kid...or I was almost able to stop and avoid being hit by that truck.

No thanks.

SaltyDog

+1

I agree with you and MIN. It's not just OR either, I'm sure it's every major city now. Though, Hare has a point too, it doesn't need to be argued, what with it being a long dead horse and all.

PDXJeff

Yeah, you're right. Dead horse.

illogique

i have my fixed for 1 year now and didn't use my brake for the past 11 months

not compare to a front hydrolic disc brake?

roadgator

that is the most asinine video in the history of you-tube.

Fugazi Dave

There's a hell of a lot more to brakes vs brakeless than stopping distance. Turning the brake debate into a simple argument of stopping distance is quite myopic. Riding brakeless forces you to be more aware of what's going on, be more aware of your options, develop better bike-handling skills, and overall be a more competent rider. In a do-or-die situation, I'd honestly much rather have the improved bike handling skills and situation-evaluation ability from riding brakeless than the ability to stop three feet shorter. Stopping more quickly doesn't matter if you still get hit in a situation where if you were more aware of what was going on, you could have fairly easily maneuvered through the situation instead of just stopping and assuming that was going to fix the problem. Last week I actually took the brake OFF my bike because I could feel it starting to make me lazy, less attentive, and less skilled as a rider.

MIN 

^ True, but not conceding that brakes are necessary on a descent with a high GI is equally myopic, to ones own detriment. Whatever floats your respective brakeless boats.

I live on a 10 deg grade on a busy street. Situational awareness won't pay the bills here.

deathhare

Well of course man...everyone knows boats dont have brakes. Duh.

Fugazi Dave

And if you live in a place with crazy hills and don't feel up to the task of riding brakeless and doing so safely given your surroundings, run a brake! It all comes down to people's skill levels and what they're comfortable with. I'll condemn nobody for riding brakeless competently or choosing to run a brake.

MIN 

You are the man. No hard feelings.

deathhare

Never