Originally Posted by
richmondracer
i just got my first fixie, a cayne uno and the only way my parents will let me ride it (i'm a junior in high school) is if i get a front brake installed. so my question is this: does it matter if it's there as long as i'm still using my feet to slow down and i don't use the break?
I'm building one and you should really have a front brake on the road. Having to be constantly vigilant takes all the fun out of fixed gear riding. In the velodrome, you dont need brakes because no one else can go faster than you and you can always slow the bike down to a stop. In the real world, that extra margin of safety doesn't exist. So yeah, put on a least a front brake on your bike. If you ride with with a flip flop hub and singlespeed on the other side, you'll need two brakes.