Originally Posted by
Commando303
Wow. I didn't expect so many responses so fast. It seems plenty of people have experiences with fixies, and most of those are good.
I don't remember reading fixed-gear bicycles don't have brakes. How does this work? Do you just "back-pedal" (or slow the crank with your feet) to come to a stop? If so, wouldn't it be useful to have conventional brakes, as well, just for added safety?
Fixed gears are not necessarily brakeless. Many people--myself included--run at least a front hand-brake as the front brake provides most of the stopping power.
Without a hand-brake, one can slow down by--as you said--resist the forward motion of the pedals with back-pressure. To actually stop--at higher speed--folks will perform a skip-stop or skid.
We needn't enter the hand-brake vs no-hand brake debate.
As for me, I ride a converted mixte frame with a fixed gear and front brake for my 12.75 mile one-way commute. I chose a fixed gear for commuting b/c: 1) Relatively little can go wrong on the way to work maintenance/mechanics-wise, 2) the commute is relatively flat so I wouldn't need to change gears often anyway (why wear down just a couple cogs on an expensive cassette vs one stand-alone cog, 3) I like the feel of the fixed drivetrain vs a freewheel, and 4) I cannot do the skip-stop/skid thing at all, though I do like to be able to modulate acceleration and deceleration with just my legs and have the brake for actual stopping.