Hey everyone, today i saw a messenger riding a fixie with only a rear brake. "how does it feel ride?" I wondered. Might try it out. Any way let me know what you think.

No.

this.

When I ride my bike with gears that has 2 brakes I hardly ever use the rear.
I wonder why? The front works so well on it's on? Could be....

quick hijack: So would it be okay to ride a singlespeed (freewheel) with just a front brake? Using just the back brake seems to work fairly well just to bleed some speed.

just a front brake? sure. if i were riding it aggressively, i'd want two brakes (there are some situations where a rear brake is beneficial), but for more casual use, front only is fine.

No. It's for basic redundancy.

Hey,

I see many of those guys. I think it's because a keirin frame doesn't have front-brake mount and front-brake mounts are in demand and not usually available. I also think many people are taught to slam rear-brakes in case of emergencies. (THIS IS WRONG; THIS IS DANGEROUS. https://sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html )

I think this rear brake option is poor. For one thing, you aren't going to get good braking. And, you are attaching brake as the secondary "independent" braking system in case your rear tire fails from flat or skidding too much. (Am I wrong?)

Then again, there are many people who are extremely skilled at skid-stopping. Many of these people may have some brake system to show police officers when they get stopped and stuff. And, let me tell you front-brake attachment is big and ugly.

T

There really is no point to running rear-brake only over front-brake only. As stated earlier, according to Sheldon Brown, in most situations, the front brake provides all the possible stopping force possible.

Personally, if I were running a brake, I would choose a 1-brake, front-brake setup because it is functional and also doesn't result in ugly cable routing all over your frame.

Yes. Most fixed gear riders I know who don't ride brakeless have just the front.

Just like a car, the majority of your braking power is in the front. I believe it was a 70/30 ratio....

Dead on.

According to SB:

"If you ride a fixed gear with only a front brake, your legs will tell you exactly when you are at the maximum brake capacity of the front brake. Once your fixed gear has taught you this, you will be able to stop any bicycle better, using the front brake alone."

Yeah, that's a terrible idea. Don't do it.

+1. I've had brake-cable failure on my front brake before. I was really happy to have that rear brake at that point. They're also helpful for giving your front brake some relief on steep downhills

Okay if you can't stop with your front brake because of a failure, and you cant stop with your legs (maybe you're on a SS), then you can always wedge your shoe over your seatstays.

I mean, how many contingencies are we going to plan for here?

Maybe you are shoeless also??? I mean come on.

That is the new preference.

I agree, redundancy of braking techniques is not as big a deal as it's made out to be. The main reason that I would always want some means of stopping the rear wheel (fixed gear, coaster brake, caliper, disc, whatever) is that a rear brake is preferable when traction is bad.

Thats a good quote, but I think it's often taken out of context. If your stopping in a straight line, with no dirt, incline, or ice and slush, a front brake is all you need. However, most other times having both brakes is nice.

lol. You don't ride hard or live near any big hills do you?

Yeah, I can't think of a SB quotation that's more frequently misinterpreted. Sheldon means (more or less) that a front brake alone gives the fastest means of stopping on a clean, dry, level, paved surface. But people often bring up this passage when arguing (more or less) that a front brake is all you need in any situation.

You didn't understand my original post. My point is about "backup" brake systems, in case the first one fails. I'm not really sure what issue you're thinking about, but whatever it might be, I don't like your tone.

Only one brake is a horrible idea if:

a) You ride hard at all.
b) Live near hills.

Having a redundant stopping system is critical if you ride more than a couple miles an hour.

You say it isn't a big deal. I laughed.

Here are a couple examples:

1. You ride down a hill and overheat your rim/tire/tube scrubbing speed.
2. You have a brake failure on a downhill with turns.
3. You have a brake failure in traffic.
4. Someone/something moves into your path.
5. You get a flat on the wheel with your only means of braking.
etc.
etc.
etc.

Brakes usually fail at the worst possible time. I know this from experience. IMO a rudundant system is a no-brainer.

"how does it feel ride?"

I do a lot of riding on the hoods, so I like having two levers. If I have two levers, I might as well hook them both up to functioning brakes.

Don't mean to sound like an arse, but losing your only form of stopping is not fun, trust me.