Originally Posted by
Etsike
Greetings from your slow neighbours. Here in Tartu, which is a student town with many cyclists fixed-gear is also popular, I don't ride it but many do. As much as I see and hear they haven't caused accidents and they are not racing or causing dangerous situations. My opinion is that if you can ride it without puting others in danger let them do it. Let them by fashionable, it will go over soon as fashion always changes. Loads of snow here too, it's not going to melt before May, but that doesn't stop cyclists from cycling.
The problem is, FG riders without brakes or retention ARE putting others in danger.
As explained (many times) elsewhere: If your feet come off of the pedals, they're gonna keep spinning. If you don't have brakes either, you're not stopping without touching the ground, and that's typically not graceful. Retention will keep your feet on the pedals and prevent this dangerous situation from happening.