Originally Posted by
noglider
Very few people are skilled enough to ride fixed on the road brakeless. Most who do have inflated senses of their skills. Even with those skills, there's not much reason to do so (in my view) and plenty of reason not to....
I tried riding with only one brake on my single speed road bike, and didn't like the asymmetrical feel of the handlebar. Especially when climbing. I do practice riding without actually using the brakes, but I quickly forget. It's nice to have brakes.