right right right, are they not aware that 70% of your stopping power comes from the front wheel? Engineers they are not.

Just install a rear brake and instead of the brake handle just put a ring on the end of a cable. Reach back and yank.

this guy's not an engineer either.

You absolutely deserve the ticket. I hope you continue to get large tickets until you get some sense and install a front brake.

Uh what? Is this a joke post?

at least he didn't suggest JB Weld in the rear hub.

no like, fo real. The law requires a wheel to skid as dumb as it sounds.

Can you not read?

Here, one more time: most states require a bicycle to have a functioning REAR brake capable of making the wheel skid.

and there are laws requiring women to wear skirts past their knees after 5pm. doesn't mean they are enforced. if your city enforces the skid law, then you will get a ticket. i've ridden brakeless in NC, CA, and WA and broken the law in all three. doesn't mean i'm not just lucky that no one's issued me a ticket yet.

i'm of the opinion that cops have MUCH better things to do than write tickets for people on bikes but luckily enough for me, any cop who's noticed my brakelessness (or the rare occasions where i forget to wear a helmet) has agreed with me. i should probably duct tape a helmet to my head 24/7 and only ride my cx bike from now on but... well... life happens and track bikes look AWESOME without brakes.

lol you guys are funnies <3

Referring to the part in the law that states you have to be able to skid (rear brake), has no one attempted to show the law the physics behind the front wheel brake being more effective? just curious. I'm in school for engineering right now, and we literally just did a problem the other day discussing the stopping distances for a bike/car who's front or rear brake failed taking into account center of mass, moments, friction, angular vel and acc, etc. Obviously the front brake wins, also why cars have much larger front rotors than the back...

Read that mucky is an engineer, you've probably tried this?

based on a google search:
"21201. (a) No person shall operate a bicycle on a roadway unless it is equipped with a brake which will enable the operator to make one braked wheel skid on dry, level, clean pavement."


i think them not putting the front only solution on the language is a cover-their-ass clause to do with liability with the fact that stopping with only a front brake will fulcrum the rest of the bike including you forward which will result in injury, which we all know. also i cant find the part where they specify the issue of front only or rear only.

we all also know that front can still skid if accomanied by a rear when both brakes are applied simutaneously. i think "both at the same time" was the intent of their language and intent of the professional who wrote the language.

also yea i remember that problem~ dont think i was into bikes yet LOL

@tt <3 muckybrake™ 5.1.2011

TL : DR, that law needed to be rewritten like 4.5 years ago.

Was the cop actually of sound enough mind to notice you didn't have any brakes or did you get stopped for something else and he noticed?

our officer neeves used to race track... hes some crazy knowledable retired cycling sensei probably on par with 65er~ he used to just spot us in a second and come after us~ hes a gangster
and im sure he's passed the word onto the newb bike cops to teach them how to spot us on his days off =/ f.our.lives

This exactly, it was neves who pulled me over. he told me all about his track days in the 70s, and also asked if i knew how to "emergency stop" (skip stopping.)

That's bad ass. We just have cops that tell us to get off the road.

That sucks for you.

Why don't you just install brakes and never use them? Seems like the best way to go about this. And then you'll have brakes to use in an emergency situation.

Since when does the government have any basis in reality?

The law sucks. You can try fighting it (which seems unsuccessful), or deal with it. The best way to say "---- you" is probably to get a muckybrake. Although I believe every bike ridden on the street should have a front brake, I'm not going to recommend that since I'm sick of the brakes/brakeless arguments.

After my accident in February, my motto is better a brake than a break! (though it was not caused by being brakeless, it was inevitable. but whether you acknowledge or not, falling off your bike can F*ck you up! It may not be "Cool" but I suggest a helmet and a brake now-a-days. Being borderline brain-dead is even less cool, no body wants to be friends with the mentally disabled, for they can't relate as well. At least if you rock brakeless, use a helmet. You only have one brain, and it can be a magical and powerful thing!

The mucky brake actually looks kinda cool imo. Irony meets fixies. So hip.

If you run a front brake only I can't see an cop giving you any trouble, despite what the law says. But I don't know what its like where you live, but I know the cops in my city have a lot more sh*t to deal with than whether or not you have a front or rear brake on your bicycle. If you don't have *any* brake then there's reason for them to stop you.

Technically, it won't satisfy the law, but it will satisfy the officer who writes the tickets. It will also stop you in the event of needing to stop quickly.
Is it possible to actually make the wheel skid with a Muckybrake? With the lever in the position it is, I doubt many could actually do that.

I don't think they specify rear, they just say a brake capable of skidding the tire on dry clean pavement.

This.

Plus if a beast sees a brake on your bike, they're not gonna stop you and say, "Hey, I know you have a front brake, but where's your rear brake!?"

Front brake in this case would've gotten you out of a ticket.

Also, the muckybrake is ******** as hell. No wonder some people think the majority of fixie riders are idiots.

You do realize mucky only has that brake to avoid tickets, right? Middle finger to the law.