Is that some kind of weird San Diego law?

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc21201.htm

Which doth state:

Also found this in reference to my tickette.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d16_7/vc39011.htm

I find braking with both wheels is often better than braking with just the front. At least when you really need to stop.

I'm not sure if the law varies much from state to state, but I believe William Karsten is correct throughout most of the US. Reading the CA law, it basically requires every bike to have a brake. That the brake must be able to lock up a wheel simply means that the brake must be powerful enough to do so. A pretty minimal requirement, really. Imagine if you had a solo rear brake that was too gutless to lock up the wheel, I suppose could lead to some rather scary moments, not because it can't lock up but because it's probably also a pretty useless brake.

hah!! i found the same law yesterday...man...so, if i have a front brake, and can make my rear wheel skid with my legs, it still doesn't count? even though i can skid and probably stop in a shorter distance than a rear brake only skid? that doesn't make any sense to me...i'll have to get kevin bacon to give ahnuld a call and explain to him the finer points of fixed gear riding...

Just to update a dying thread.

I emailed Sheldon Brown and he said that he'd drilled a pista before and it was difficult to get it centered but that overall it turned out okay. Not the most stirring recommendation I must say. He was also of the opinion that running a front brake only on a freewheel was out of the question, capital letters dangerous which I kinda figured.

Sheldon's answer for why Bianchi puts a flip-flop hub without a drilled rear bridge? They got a good deal on flip-flops! Kind of made me laugh. I keep forgeting these bike co. aren't always the high-minded artists we make them out to be.

I think I'm just going to suffer through my ride with my one gear ratio and maybe bring a couple cogs to throw on for hilly days. or get tougher or *gasp* suck it up and walk

take care,
jeff

Once again, coaster anyone? If it was good enough for Kevin B it should be good enough for everyone(Watch the scenes where he slams to a stop)

I think the Pista comes with a flipflop because that is whats out there. Look around for non-flipflop hubs that take a fixed cog and lockring that are less than $30

Coaster brake is a great idea. Simplicity. Cheap. Built in brake. All the disadvantages of single speed and fixed gear rolled into one! ;)

I've been riding a single speed coaster brake exclusively for the last two weeks. I'm loving it. I did add a front caliper, however. I'm way too attached to front brake to give it up, use it almost exclusively. Just today, I did find how well two brakes work vs. one when a car made a abrupt right turn right in front of me.