dirtyphotons

i'd say everyone gets curious about skidding. it's relatively easy to learn and can be fun, what more reason do you need?

when i first learned to skid i did it all the time. i didn't mind going through a few tires and learned pretty quickly how to do it without being too hard on my knees. after awhile the novelty wore off for me i gradually started challenging myself not to skid, which imo requires more control of the bike.

years after that i'd decided i'd proven whatever i had to prove to myself and started using my brake when i felt like it (prior to that i'd made an attempt not to, for whatever reasons). sounds like this is where you are currently and it's a good place to be. these days i'll skid once in awhile just for fun but not often enough to worry about things like skid patches.

i'd say cross that bridge when you get there. if you do decide to skid, do it because you enjoy it and if you enjoy it enough to be burning through tires then it's time to rethink your gearing. don't put the cart ahead of the horse.