No, not a brakeless thread! I always use a front brake.

I've ridden fixed on the road over 10 years now, occasional close-calls with cars & potholes in my semi-rural, hilly area. Thankfully nothing serious, but reminders that a fixed gear is in some ways riskier than a derailleur bike.

Yesterday I had the biggest reminder, a front wheel blowout as I was cruising along at almost 18 mph. Fortunately I reacted quickly, got the bike slowed down & feet unclipped in a hurry, as the front wheel was getting very squirrely. I didn't get a puncture, the base of the valve stem gave out- nothing I could have done. To add insult to injury my spare tube's valve stem blew out after I changed the flat. So I was doing the walk of shame 'til I got a ride...


Yes, the same thing could have happened on a geared bike, but there's a greater margin of safety.