I agree that two brakes will probably stop me faster than one. I try to take this into account with my riding - just as you might alter your riding style in rainy conditions. With only a front brake and on a fixed gear I can still stop very quickly, though. I did not mean that this man was wrong, merely that it was an interesting situation. Personally, I think riding fixed with only a front brake and a helmet is safer than riding geared with two brakes and no helmet. I made (and reaffirm) my riding choices based on this opinion. This man seems to think otherwise. I suppose I am wandering into the helmet safety debate somewhat, and I would like to avoid this thread re hashing this overdiscussed topic.