movingmountain

I have flip flop hub that I only use as a fix. I was thinking about putting on a cog using the freewheel for some steep climbs and the resulting steep downs here in Laguna Beach. I only have a front brake. Anyone ride SS with just a front? Should I pop for a rear brake? Endos? Thoughts?

andrewssohip

lots of people do it. i don't think it's a particularly good idea. but plenty of people do it.

IonSpeedMaster

I run only a front on my SS and I dont feel worried at all. I ride in traffic too and the bike can still stop on a dime. It takes a little getting used to not to lift the rear end up but after that its fine. Looks so much cleaner too only having 1 simple brake cable

RichPugh

Edit: Read the post wrong. F & R brakes on a SS/FW setup is best but I've ridden a SS/FW w/ only the front brake and it doesnt feel any diferent than my bike fixed with only the front brake when I dont use my legs to slow down the rear haha. F brake only will do but make sure you feel comfy with it before you go bombing any gnar hills

njm

Yeah, sheldon brown has a page on braking strategy, and even if you had two brakes, the front would do most/all of the work when used properly.

The only worry is the lack of redundancy here... if your front brake somehow failed while you're riding SS, you'd be in trouble, but I think having the cable break or something would be a very rare event. And you could always resort to emergency methods (fred flinstone or braking the tire with your foot) in that unlikely scenario.

MIN 

For me it was only ever an issue when the roads were very wet and very steep. It's nice to have a rear brake under these sort of conditions.

Yoshi

You are taking Sheldon Brown's article slightly out of context. The point of the article is that the front brake is the most important and that you should primarily brake using the front. The article is not trying to say that a rear brake is unecessary. In fact he specifically outlines many situations in which a rear brake is preferable: slippery or bumpy surfaces, when the front tire is flat, mechanical failure, etc.

Please, if you are riding a singlespeed regularly have front and rear brakes. If you rarely flip your hub then it's understandable but otherwise a rear brake is very important.

Sixty Fiver

I snapped my front brake cable the other day.

Redundancy is a good thing as I still had my legs and a rear brake to make sure I could still stop.

Ken Cox

I wonder how long the pads on a front-brake-only SS would last.

Try gearing down to 60 gear inches (39t X 17t) and riding those hills up and down as a fixed gear.

cc700

get a rear brake. i'm in dana point right now and the hills around here, it's nice to use two brakes, the first heats up pretty quick if you can't alternate or modulate both.

or go no brakes and bomb it!

the problem with 60 gear inches fixed is that your cadence is going to kill you coming down. you'll spin right off the bike. that or you'll skid through the tire before you get home.

i just went on the aliso viejo ride last thurs and i was barely keeping up at 78 gi on the flats... coming down was easy to keep a manageable, probably too-low cadence but it was murder getting up and i had to walk up selva and another hill because i can't pace for ****. it was my first ride of any length on 78 g/i.

dervish

ted shred it up

Johnny Nemo

Only poseurs trying to get their SS to look like a fixed wheel do this. It's idiotic and unsafe! But do it anyway, soon there will be one less of you.

voltrawn

just jam your foot where the back break would be....totally badass

Rusty Piton

When I see people riding ss/fw with only a front brake as a permanent setup it makes me sad in the same way as a bike with a full cassette of cogs being used as a single speed does. There's something ghetto jerryrigged about it. Set you bikes up right, people.

Enthusiast

I ride my bike with only a front brake. It is sometimes a ss, sometimes a fg, sometimes a coaster brake bike. I use the ss setup probably half the time. I have never had a problem and this is from 4 years, 10k+ miles, on rural, suburban, and urban roads.

Johnny Nemo, not everyone rides a ss to look like a fg rider. I enjoy riding ss more than fg. As a method of offing myself, riding with a brake seems pretty slow.

Rusty Piton, I am sorry that I make you sad. Please find solace in that I am enjoying riding very much, even if my bike set up is not "right".

Yoshi

He was referring to an SS bike with only a front brake, not all SS bikes. I generally agree with this, except in the case of someone with a flip-flop hub who also rides fixed. In that situation I understand riding an SS with only a front brake.

Gyeswho

Don't do it. There's a reason freewheel bikes come with two brakes. Keep two brakes on the bike even when you do ride fixed so that when you want to switch it up you are covered. I do it and it works just fine even if I don't use the rear brake when riding fixed.

~Stuart~

no seriously when does a brake go wrong?




maybe if the quick release has popped open and you dont notice... or you the cable snaps and you smash into a car (yup a friend did this, except both front and rear went at the same time)

cc700

if you do proper maintenance with two brakes... the likelyhood of complete brake failure is next to nothing. sure it's happened but it's not even an argument.

Gyeswho

:l

cizzlak

both front and rear failed at the same time? wow, someone screwed up.

Gyeswho

he said his front snapped not rear.

anyhoo, I agree you can run a freewheel with just a front brake but the man want to descend down steep hills with only a front brake SS. If he was talking about riding flat lands he should be fine, but any kind of steep descent with only 1 brake freewheel doesn't sound cool. I would think that rear brake would be nice to have since you have no control over the rear wheel like you would fixed. There is a major difference in the control of the bike when comparing a brakeless fixed bike VS. a front brake freewheeling bike.

cizzlak

^^^

Gyeswho

oops. yar your right on your original post

~Stuart~

yea it was a funny story


going down a hill, both brakes failed at the same time (one had the quick release open, and the other cable snapped/came undone) and he hit a car that had pulled out infront of him, and went over the roof of it and landed infront oh the car.

I only found it funny because he told me Single Speeds were way safer then fixed gears a couple days before (i do run a front brake on my fixed gear).


and sorry if my first post was a bit unclear, it wasn't my intention, i posted it without making sure it made sense. and my overly sarcastic nature is very hard to portray online (with out the [/sarcasm] thing... which just ruins the whole experience )