Top tube brake
 

Hey Guys,

Been thinking about this a while and wanna throw the idea out there to hear what you guys think and see if you have any advice for this sort of thing.

I bought my bike back in March as a Singlespeed and about a month or two later, converted it to a fixie. It had a surly flip flop so that was easy peasy. I love love love the simple and clean look of a bike without a rear brake. I like my front brake and actually love the way it compliments the bike, but as of now, am riding with no rear brake.

I would love to be able to climb these massive long hills here in Hawaii like this one Hwy that takes you to the other side of the island, and at the top, flip my rear wheel and cruise down without killing my legs. I would just kind of cruise at my own pace but its actually a highway so I'd need to be going at least 30-40 to not be in too much danger.

I want to be able to carry around my rear brake and very very easily pop it on to my bike complete with lever. I've been envisioning this as a really short brake wire (a foot or less) which would somehow quick-snap onto my seatstays (the little bridge area for the rear brake) sort of like those garden hose attachments that you can easily pop on and off of a garden hose.

Also, I want to velcro mount the brake lever to my top tube. Not velcro in the sense of stick it on/stick it off, but more like the sense of velcro shoes or those velcro bike pump things, so that I can wrap it around the top tube and vecro it to stay on.

This way I can sort of use it like the e-brake of a car. Plus, if I am about to totally crash and eat it, passersby will think that I was some crazy dude grabbing my nuts to try and save them. Hah. I kid, I kid.

So with this I would be able to flip my rear wheel really fast, snap my sidepull on to its mount, velcro my lever to the top tube, and bomb the hill.

Aiight so what do you guys think of this idea haha.

Well I for one think it is terrible. In an emergency, going down a mountain, the last thing you want to do is let go of the handlebar to grab a goofy velcro'd on brake lever on the frame, operating a glued on rear brake caliper.

If you need a rear brake, just put on a rear brake. The right way.

Not to sound like a Luddite, but there's a reason no one's thought of this before....

Yeah. epicl'y bad idea.

saw someone with this in oakland.

it's not the worst idea i've seen in oakland but it's up there, scrapers and sideshowz as well.

the brake on the toptube isn't a terrible idea... the velcro/plastic clip on brake is a bad idea... why do you care about not having a brake on all the time? do your friends make fun of the fixed gear kids with brakes? cause they're not your friends if they do.

how about just mounting the rear brake like a normal person?

Don't

everything i could say has already been said.^^

we all know the only reason to use an e-brake in a moving car is to drift turns. nobody uses that thing to stop. not even in an emergency. thats just crazy.

there are easy clip on rear brake sets that use two plates to sandwich the seat stays together using the brake bolt. they work fine and are easy to remove and put back on.

the lever on the top tube idea sounds exceedingly dumb, especially for bombing hills. dangerous and not very useful. it would be easy enough to use a regular brake lever on the handlebar, no? an allen wrench is all that stand between you and safe powerful braking.

This idea = epic fail.

Horrible idea. Why wouldn't you just put on a rear brake and forget about all this futzing around? It's sounds like you are really fashion conscious, and a brake lever mounted to your TT would make you look like much more of an idiot than a rear brake ever would.

Airheaded
Lame
Obnoxious
Heinous
Annoying

Why not flip your wheel with a much smaller cog--- as much as your frame can handle, so you can spin down the hill without spinning out? It isn't is good as coasting, but it isn't unreasonable to softpedal a fast cadence at 30+ mph with the right gearing.

Well, if you want a low-profile brake lever, just strap on an old weinmann straight-lever.

Tell me your gonna bomb the poly from the tunnel or the likelike!!!!!!! do it !

You need a rear "Keirin Brake" kit. It can be installed and removed without tools.

http://www.benscycle.net/images/Keirin%20Brake.jpg

The irony in this is that you want the brake to "help" you, but its more likely to kill you if you do it the way you plan.

I think he's talking about more than just a little hill here. Regardless of whether he running fixed or free, a second brake is warrented, I don't think the "my legs are my brake" rational works well here.

I pretty much live in the "mountains" and would find no use for a rear brake. The key is not spinning out of control, and that requires the right gearing. I take my fixed on routes that I can easily hit 60 - 70 kph coasting on my geared bike-- and it is not a problem to bomb them on the fixed, scrubbing off a bit of speed with a front brake when needed. Options are a lighter gear where the legs can do more work slowing things down as I spin out vs. a tall gear where I can comfortably fly down at a slower cadence.

So why is a second brake warranted?

why not a front brake, eh?

i think i know the hill he's talking about...... It is a highway that i have dreamed of bombing for ever! If it were me id opt for two brakes.....

I think you should just add a rear brake... does your frame have brazes for brakes? If so, who cares, just put it on there. I'd rather live to see tomorrow than find myself with one less hipster point.

Fail.

I haz front brake right now. I'm not a hipster. I wear baggy dickie pants and linux tshirts. I'm anything but a hipster.

That keirin brake kit is essentially exactly what I am looking for.