I have ridden with a front brake since I started riding fixed. I hardly ever used it except down steep hills for general safety but never in a true emergency. It was kind of a nice "just in case". However I switched the handlebars on my bike a few weeks ago and have gone brakeless. Went from drops to a riser. I bought a different brake lever, just wanted to try riding brakeless for a short time. I love it, but I wouldn't recommend it as I now find myself being much more conscious about stopping and you spend more time thinking about slowing down then I would ever on a bike with brakes. If I didn't know how to skid I'd never consider brakeless to be an option.