lol if you only ride in good weather
Originally Posted by
TejanoTrackie
If you are only using a front brake with a fixed gear setup, then your rear brake is obtained by back pedalling, which is much easier to do with foot retention. If your feet come off the pedals at high speeds, it is difficult to get them back on the pedals and you can lose control of the bike and get injured in the process. Without foot retention, you lose most of the advantages of FG, and would be better served with a SS freewheel setup and adding a rear brake.
Something to add to this - if you run a rear brake on a fixed gear, without foot retention, it's even more dangerous. I saw a lad use the brake to start a skid, obviously also locking the pedals. When he let off the brake the pedals went from 0 to maybe 100 rpm in a split second. He broke one ankle and came off the bike.
I wouldn't recommend a rear brake on a fixed gear, generally. It's another source of stress for the hub. Myself using the brake to help a skid start blew off the threading for the lockring.