Originally Posted by b-ride

Y'know, I don't wanna be "that guy", but seriously? What happens when your wheel collapses dropping off a curb? What happens when you bust a crank? What happens when your handlebar breaks?

These are all things that have happened to me or people I know on freewheel bikes with brakes. If your whole mindset is "what happens when disaster strikes?", why even bother cycling? Stick to something relatively safe like walking or planes.

What happens when you drop your chain on your single speed as you are accelerating? In my case, you go over the bars and face first into the pavement, brakes notwithstanding.

Personal anecdote: 9 years on brakeless fixy, never broke a chain, never broke a strap. Is this evidence that it's completely safe? No, of course not, but then again I change my chain once a year, use double straps and keep my bike impeccably maintained. I can't speak for other riders, but I know there are a lot of people riding unsafe bikes in an unsafe manner. Unfortunately, we can't scare those people into riding smarter.

Originally Posted by prooftheory

Marriage has obviously mellowed scrod out.