Wow, pulling the health premiums angle against brakeless riding? That is a whole left field argument. Find me a legitimate number of how many people are injured enough to seek health care from riding this way? Id love for you to waste your time trying to find it.

I bet in the couple minutes I spent writing this post a half dozen car wrecks happened across this country. THAT is more of an issue with health premiums than brakeless riding.

And I ride with a brake these days. Im not just a brake hater. There is an attraction to riding brakeless, and it can be done with proficiency and grace. This doesnt mean that every one who hops on a brakeless fixed is good at it either. Its not right to disallow everyone from doing it though. Riding brakeless should be discouraged through education, but not enforced through law.

that's my strategy if i get stopped again. not sure if it's still going on but for a little while a handful of the portland messengers were installing 'fake brakes' and coaster brake tabs (levers? that thing that sticks out from the axle onto the frame) on their bikes to fool the po's.

Alright this might be the most asinine thing I have ever heard. Going to the trouble of installing 'fake' brakes, but not making them functional? Please tell me this is a joke.

Ive seen that ****, you can just get them off lil kids bikes

I'm sure if the cops came and busted down on Williamsburg, all the hipsters there would likely start installing 'fake brakes' over real ones too. Fortunately hipster don't have to equate bikes with their livelihood, especially when it means losing part of your paycheck because two cops downtown decide to start putting their own interprations of the law

Balzer knows the difference between a coaster and fixed drive. I told him about my "brake" being like a coaster brake and he replied by telling me the difference between the two. So just a heads up. He knows whats up. He then when on to tell me he never has dealt with or even heard of an accident involving fixed wheel bicycles, that he doesn't see a problem with them, but it's the law, and if he see's em, he cites em.

Mmm, no.

Well, yeah, but if that's the real issue then it's a simple matter of installing a brake and the paycheck remains intact. After all, don't you avoid the fine on most of these citations if you later show you've installed a brake? This seems to be more about standing on principle than economics.

+1 on NWA. It gets me out of tickets all the time!

When that fails, Ice-T and Body Count have the follow up song that usually impresses the officer even a little bit more!

So the saga continued this morning... My roomie went to court with a new brake installed. The judge said he wouldn't remove the fine and that it isn't a matter of just fixing it. What is going on in our world when the Po' can give worthless tickets and a citizen can fix the issue and still get stuck with the fine. Doesn't our justice system have bigger fish to fry? I mean if Eugene Oregon's biggest problem is a horde of vilent murderus brakeless riders I would be surprised. Not only will I not be puting a brake on my bike but I will proudly deal with any power hungry jerk of a coper who thinks my taxmoney is well spent on him issuing worthless cycling tickets. I understand the law is the law but driving without a headlight is a fix it ticket but a brake isn't come on!!!!

Immature. I don't see how you are missing this - riding without a brake in your state is illegal. A different judge may have dismissed it, but this one did not. Pay the fine, ride with a brake, move on with life.

I hope your friend keeps the brake on.

the right to ride brakeless is the 19th amendment to the constitution of the united states of america

fight this crime against humanity all the way to the supreme court!

if they wont hear the case take the streets

shut down the economy

make them listen!

Jesus rode with brakes.

I see penguins.

They're everywhere.

Shakedown
When a soccer mom can pilot an 8000 lb vehicle down the road with 10 screaming kids in the back while involved with a cell phone while putting on makeup and the police ticket a bicyclist for a brake than you know what it's about and it's not about protecting and serving.

Of course there will be more car crashes because there are much more cars on the road then there are bikes dummy.You must be really dumb if you think riding brakeless doesn't increase chance of accident. I speak from example when I say riding brakeless increases chances of an accident. When I was 13, I had a major car accident due to riding with no brakes. Even though he was wrong(and the judge agreed) it was still partly my fault because I couldn't stop right on time.My leg was f*cked up, and so was my back so I'm one of the people severely injured due to riding with no brakes. Using your foot or whatever else you use just isnt the same as good brakes.

Do you know how many other times I've rode and had an accident prevented from an accident? Do you know how many times I've seen other people saved from injury or death due to brakes? There are so many bike accidents every year and to think brakes have NOTHING to do with at least some of them then you are a fool. I don't have to do any research, it's just common sense.

Riding without brakes in New York City should definitely be illegal and should definitely be a ticketable offense. I'm all for it and I'm sure that most of the sane people would be for it too.

Still haven't paid a brakeless ticket that was due last month.

Still haven't put on a brake, I figured the cops in Eugene were mostly concerned with giving drunk college kids MIP's.

nice to see that things haven't changed round here.