Originally Posted by
vinfix
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.
I would invest in some better quality inner tubes. There are a lot of cheap ones going around lately, and I'm pretty sure one of them will probably contribute to someone's death, if it has not happened already.
A flat tire can kill a cyclist, if the timing is just right, and there are enough of these cheap inner tubes going around that it's inevitable someone will die from one sooner or later. And good luck suing the manufacturer, if they can even be determined.