Originally Posted by 46x17
I believe the same fixed wheel bicycle (no gears on those remember) can be ridden as fast with a handbrake as it can without a handbrake by the same skilled rider.
Of course it can, no one debates this.
The question is can one or the other stop faster?
(to keep this from being confounded, remember that stopping faster does not always mean safer, safer or not may depend nore on the riders overall urban cycling skills)
ps- a fixed gear bike has one gear, not none.
Al