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Are you street legal?

First, no, I'm not a cop ;). That said, how many of you ride without at least one brake? I ask because I would never ride brakeless, just in case of emergency. I've known too many people that have crashed and burned (in an ugly way) because of a chain coming off, breaking, etc. To me the benefits of brakeless are outweighed by the cost.
Is it a conscience choice to "live on the edge"?
If you go brakeless, Why?

Curious about the logic and reasoning behind this choice...

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sean Sliwinski on October 26, 2008 at 2:06pm

i ride with a front brake. using resistance braking is enough for most situations, but for steep downhills and quick stops having a front brake is really nice, and it eliminates the panic feeling that you get in hairy situations.

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Permalink Reply by skyler irish on October 26, 2008 at 4:53pm

i ride brakeless
i have gotten so used to it, that when i ride a coaster bike with brakes it freaks me out a bit because i get so use to just braking with my legs.
i have a had a chain break on me once, but that was a cheaper set up with a slightly bent frame.
from my experience and research on the internet, if you have a proper built fixed gear bike you shouldnt worry about your chain breaking or falling off, or any other emergency situation in which a cause for a brake would be completely necessary.

i do believe though, if you are new to fixed gear riding, you should ride with at least a front brake until you are accustom to your fixed gear. because, for an inexperienced rider to ride a fixed gear, it could be very dangerous.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Sliwinski on October 26, 2008 at 8:08pm

i just dont think that having one brake on a bike takes away from the aesthetics of it enough to make it worth the risk.

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Permalink Reply by SingletrackMind on October 27, 2008 at 1:03pm

The other thing to consider, is that you simply will not ride as fast if you are brakeless. Unless you truly have no regard whatsoever for your personal safety, if you're brakeless, you're going to check you speed in more instances than you would with a front brake. We just had an alleycat last weekend. The brakeless guys I was riding with for the last half all had to start checking their speed a good ten to fifteen feet before I did at each intersection. Suffice to say they were constantly catching up to me and wasting a lot of speed. Ultimately I got to the end quite a bit ahead. There's just really no reason other than aesthetics to ride without a brake.

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Permalink Reply by Dan on October 15, 2009 at 6:43pm

I ride brakeless and love it. The brakeless guy in your example must suck, I can stop fast, not as fast as those with front and rear brakes, but I ride all the time with reg road bike riders and I have no problem keeping up or slowing down with them.

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Permalink Reply by tyson on October 28, 2008 at 1:18am

i have a front brake. i have gotten to not using it much but it is nice to have.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Bossom on October 28, 2008 at 7:52am

I too only ride with one break, in the front. I find it extremely helpful when going down some of the bigger hills in downtown Denver. Just not worth taking the chance I may or may not be able to stop in time via skidding.

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Permalink Reply by Alex B on December 16, 2009 at 1:44pm

what big hills in downtown denver? there are none.

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Permalink Reply by girlmeetsbike on October 28, 2008 at 9:04am

I'm surprised to see that attitudes have changed about front brakes (since the 1980s). I think it's a smart thing for most, though I'd never try to convince an experienced and capable rider, if that's their choice. I do however, strongly recommend a good strong chain, like Wipperman, to keep chain breakage down to a minimum.
There's another thing about brakeless, and that's tire expense; doesn't brakeless wear out your tires more often, via skidding?

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Permalink Reply by Krutin on October 28, 2008 at 10:24am

living on the edge, is more like living in a dream...i like to think of myself as a realist. i too ride with a front brake...dont use it normally, but its a good "oh-shit" bail out.

skidding does form flat spots on tires, eventually cording them, plus, at high speeds, you get that wobwobwob feeling. isnt low-maintenance one reason for goingn fixed? constant tire swaps are def not low-main.

it is good to see the attitude changing...it shows people today do in fact use their brains
__
what traffic?

girlmeetsbike said:

I'm surprised to see that attitudes have changed about front brakes (since the 1980s). I think it's a smart thing for most, though I'd never try to convince an experienced and capable rider, if that's their choice. I do however, strongly recommend a good strong chain, like Wipperman, to keep chain breakage down to a minimum.
There's another thing about brakeless, and that's tire expense; doesn't brakeless wear out your tires more often, via skidding?

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Permalink Reply by Fixed Gear Republic on October 28, 2008 at 11:42am

Really like this discussion, good question to bring up.

I'm currently riding brakeless and have done so since I got into fixed gears. For me it's not a pride thing, its really just stupidity. I went to go get the brake stuff and just did not want to spend the money to put one on, so I decided not to get a brake (i know, a life is work putting a brake on a spending a few bucks). The fact of the matter is, I've been riding for a decent amount of time now and I don't have a brake - not too smart in my opinion. Maybe this discussion will actually force me to go get one.