Someone at the LBS said that a rear brake shouldn't be used with fixed but only with a freewheel. Is there any validity to this?


-Tim-

Chacon a son gout, as they say in Canada.

I am no expert, having actually ridden very few miles on single speed and fixed gear bikes, but I can say that I once had a gorgeous Claud Butler fixed gear track bike and the total absence of brakes made me a menace to myself and others when on it, so I got rid of it. Maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance.

The three factory SS/FG bikes I have ridden on since then (a Norco Heart, and then the VISP TRX 790, and a Gary Fisher Triton I acquired just a few days ago) have all had decent brakes fore and aft. I wouldn't have it any other way, but I am an older man than most of the riders on this forum, and am determined not to damage my knees.

Binky

Thanks Blinky. I appreciate your thoughts on why you should run both brakes.

My question however, is whether there is a reason not to have rear brakes on a fixed gear bike. Is there any reason why you shouldn't run a rear brake on FG?

A rear brake is unnecessary on a fixed gear, however, it doesn't hurt to have one. It does provide a degree of redundancy in the event your chain comes off and you are unable to brake your rear wheel with your legs. Needless to say, you should always have a front brake on any type of bike that is ridden on the road.

I don't know of any reasons that it would be detrimental to run a rear brake on a fixed gear. I think the person at your LBS probably got mixed up and meant to say a rear brake wasn't necessary on a fixed gear, but is on a single speed with a freewheel.

Guy at your LBS doesn't make any sense. I usually have two brakes because there are canyons here to be ridden.

I ride in a lot of hills, so I prefer two brakes .The rear is not strictly necessary (on a fixed gear), but is still nice to have.

If you run a freewheel on the other side, then you will need the rear brake if you intend "flip" the wheel over to the freewheel side.

No.

Except that you will look less kewl.

Especially if you use zipties to strap the rear brake cable housing to the top tube.

You already have a rear brake on a fixed gear: your legs. So a rear caliper is superfluous. But a front caliper is always more effective than a rear wheel brake of any kind, so if you're riding on the road, it's good to have a front caliper brake.

Yes, cables must be routed according to proper fixiebro regulations:

Maybe I misunderstood her but you guys pretty much confirmed my gut.

Thanks everyone!


-Tim-

Doesn't that sort of depend on the gearing one is running, and the average speeds they run at?

For example, let's say a rider uses a 14-tooth rear cog, 46 tooth front gear, and regularly rides with that while maintaining a great crank spin speed - then someone, or some dog, jumps out in front of him. That's a mighty tall gear to impose stoppage from, ain't it?

I'm a new fixed-gear rider using 46/16 gears, and at a good spin I know that I don't have much leverage to the rear wheel while using the 170mm cranks this bike came with. Perhaps 175's would be different, but it doesn't seem like many fixies are built with those.

Time is a flat circle...

That Leader is complete JA.

LOL, i think given this choice, i'll keep the zip ties.

Absolutely. That's why any fixed gear bike ridden on the road should have a caliper brake, preferably installed on the front wheel where it will be most effective.

Same here.
Two brake levers on drop bars are efficient for the inevitable FG out of saddle climbing efforts, feathering a rear brake on descents to prevent hamster-on-wheel over-spin is useful.


-Bandera

I recently converted from SS to FG and removed the rear brake. I didn't have any issues braking on on flat land, but still had to adjust with hills. The only other reason of removing it was because my hitch mounted platform bike rack clamps down onto the top tube... where the rear brake cable runs. Of course I can run the cable along the side of the top tube, but my bike came with the metal cable clamps that would look weird to do so on the side or bottom.

If for some reason, your rear wheel is built up with a disc only rim that doesn't have a brake track, running a rear brake would be detrimental, but I'd imagine the chances of that are rather small.

Exactly. Hill country. You get it.

48/16 and the hills here in North Georgia don't mix. I can't seem to get enough leverage out of the narrow curved track bar when climbing and am constantly on the front brake going down the other side.

I've all but given up the idea of an all out track bike for the street and have no aspirations to be the next star of a Lucas Brunelle video. I thought that's what I wanted but some of the Soma's and Wabi's I've seen here started opening my eyes to what a really nice single speed bike for the built for the open road could be.

I guess I'm still learning here and am thinking of going with a Nitto M106 bar with Sram S500 levers. The rear brake went back onto the Bianchi last night and this morning's ride was much more enjoyable... until the lockring came loose. Like I said, still learning.

Oddly enough the designs for a bicycle to perform well on the banking of a velodrome are not the same as for one that is used on open public roads in hilly terrain.
There are very few potholes, blind off camber corners at the bottom of steep descents or left turning semis on the track anymore.

A good performance road bike, regardless of it's drivetrain flavor, will share similar requirements for climbing and descending on rough surfaces at pace with nimble/predictable handing and well modulated brakes. Road drop bars, two brakes, waterbottle fittings, pump, flats kit and a frameset that fits designed for long hours on secondary roads is a good recipe: decide on the drivetrain required and proceed.

-Bandera

I agree completely.

A few things to consider...

Some laws require a front and rear brake that can "skid the tire." If you're concerned with such things or have local law enforcement that cares, then you might need a rear brake.

If it's really hilly, a back brake might be useful. Sure you can back pedal, but that's a weird force on your knees.

If you ride a road bike, you may want a consistent interface across bikes, that is two brake levers that actually do something rather than just one lever or two levers where one is a dummy.

And I agree with Bandera above. A true track geo frame is not comfortable or practical on the most metro area roads that are beat up with cracks, patches and potholes.

Well, Alkek has most of that, but it's not the common case.