Originally Posted by IchbinJay
Well, I do have a front brake on my bike already. I kinda just wanted something that didn't look as obtrusive but was reliable, especially in the winter. Also, I just like to tinker with bikes. It's fun in and of itself.
The other thing is that although my fixed gear bike can go faster than my MTB SS, I find that using a coasting bike is just easier when I'm riding around a congested campus or urban enviornment. Surprisingly I've found my fixed gear bike to be a better distance road bike rather than an urban bike. It almost makes me wonder whether a freewheeling bike would be better for messengers or not, right? I mean, just thinking ahead to winter, I can already see my poor braking on the fixed gear as opposed to the coaster brake wheel (the lesser of two evils I suppose).
Coaster brakes ARE good for winter, in that they are self-contained, and work equally well in poor or good weather. However, coaster brakes do not work as well as a well-adjusted front brake with kool-stop salmon pads in ANY weather.
The bearings also suck, and they are heavy. You really don't need rear brakes at all. In my experience, they hardly do anything unless you have discs or very good vbrakes. If you don't like your fixie in congested areas, consider lowering your gear ratio.