I've been riding my new fixie brakeless for around a week, mostly because I don't have any long reach brakes in my parts stash. Even after only a couple hundred km's, I can see the appeal. There is a fluidity and focus to riding without brakes that is intreguing. It's challenging, and it forces me look at urban riding in a different way. But, all things considered, I think it's not for me-certainly not every day. I find myself having to back off too much, way too often, where I would normally be riding fast and aggressively. I think I'll enjoy the bike more with a front brake. Just my $.02.

I totally understand. Same experience for me.

Al

yup if you want to bomb up to intersections you'll need the brake. Personally I like the slow and steady.

Exuse me.....but why do you need a brake to ride fast and aggressively**********.... I think you just dont know how to ride your bike.....just my $0.2

You're absolutely right.

Please demonstrate the proper way to ride a bike.

i just think you fall asleep with a brake.

loke said it kinda rudely (shame on you, young man) but i see his point.. oh, darkmother, darkest of mothers.. i think what rude boy is trying to say is once you get used to it and are comfortable with skidding, etc.. you can pretty much ride the bike the same as a fixie with a front brake

lots of hills here, mostly in fact. with my reliable front brake, i can put my feet up on the forks and really dig the descents.
too much "editing" without a brake.

i can drive a 5sp car without a footbrake, too, but doesnt mean its the best way around. ive been riding my bike without a brake (in the process of swapping cockpit) minimally... its possible, but not for me.

why dont you just put gears on your bike?

Your fixed drivetrain is also a rear brake. So, no fix is entirely brakeless (god how I hate that term).
Handbrakeless riding is fun for sure and can become as much a religion as brooks saddles, but it really is not as big a deal as most people think it is, or make it seem. Just give it a month or so - it will be easy and not as slow as you think.

Whoa, loke, why don't you troll somewhere else?

thats a really bad analogy.. gearing downn isnt the same as locking the wheel.. and.. locking the wheel is the same as a coaster brake.. is it not, jim bob? (assuming you know how to lock the wheel... ) i rode a coaster brake cruiser in costa rica for a while that didnt have the stopping speed my fixed gear has.. nothing against coasters.. this particular bike just had a shoddy coaster

p.s... jim-bob.. arent you the coaster expert? if not.. sorry about that

Wrong jim. You're thinking of jimv, the pope of coaster brakes.

I like cantilevers.

ah.. sorry about that..

gearing down is analogous to applying backpressure, and now the car has a full-on/off braking feature...

both are possible to operate fully, but not most efficient.

for the purist who want the utmost simplicity... why dont you get on a unicycle? who needs an extra wheel, or chain, or steering devices...

how about those who want simplicity, but not the utmost?

for utubermost simplicity, i'd chop my arms and legs off and drag myself around with my tongue

But when brake your car with your gears you change gear to slow down. But when I apply back pressure on my bicycle I don't change gear at all - in fact I can't. So the analogy might not be so good after all.

Bottom line is some people enjoy riding without handbrakes, some don't. To some it feels right to others it does not.

so if youre all-efficiency.. why are you at the ss/fixed gear forum? slinging sarcastic comments aboututmost simplicity? you are correct.. for the ultimate in efficiency.. a fixed gear bike with no hand brakes (or even with) is prob. not it.. thank you for pointing that out to us..

im here because i have both fixed and ss bikes. i like certain (well, most) aspects of them... i said initially that going handbrakeless is not suited for me Personally.. without taking pot-shots. i directed the unicyclist comment towards the person who called out others' abilities to ride their bikes--not you, so dont get your pants too wet.

why run a brake you ask?
what if you strip your rear hub and need to stop? you use the brake, unless of course youre not running a brake then youre f c k e d
even if you only have it on there for that very reason put it on
i was running my bike brakeless and this happened to me the bike was destroyed and ive been without for over a month
walking 2plus hours a day is not fun

ah.. i wish my pants were getting wet.. whatever that means.. well that being said.. the key words there are "not suited for me" .. which i guess my point was "for you" the car gearing analogy works because that is your biking ability...where as for others.. its more like the ebrake.. cause some people can stop a fixed gear pretty quick on a skid.. just as quick as handbrakes.. i think we sometimes forget that handbrakes are not the hottest contraptions either.. if someone cuts you off hard.. handbrake or skid... it doesnt matter.. neither are going to stop you in time in some situations

LOUD NOISES!!!



p.s. i agree with that feel - brakes are preventitive saftey too - like helmets

Just plain untrue. Don't complain to me, complain to physics.

I run caliper brakes front and rear because a) I have a fixed/free flip-flop. b) I like to carry baguettes nestled atop the brake hoods and held in place with the help of the brake cables. c) I like them.