I make my living doing this, but believe me, I experience nothing but dread when I get a call from an injured cyclist, usually but not always followed by relief that the injuries weren’t worse.

Please ride carefully.

–EBR

Loads of you are events managers? That’s a lot of events!

The only place I am aware of where this went to court is Portland (big surprise) where the judge rejected the argument that the drivetrain itself was a “brake” because it could be used to slow or stop the wheel. It’s an interesting question, what constitutes a “brake” and whether fixie riders are complying with the law or not. In Portland, anyway, they probably aren’t.

EBR

“A bicycle shall be equipped with a brake that enables the operator to make the braked wheels skid on dry, level, clean pavement”
http://azbikelaw.org/excerpts.html#817

I’ve never ridden a fixie and don’t know much about them. I’m guessing that (“brakeless”) fixie riders believe they are meeting the legal equipment requirements(?) What do the police think about this? just wondering.

I also tried the fixie thing (yeah – with brakes) as a training aid back in the 80s. It may or may not have helped smooth out my cadence, but it was just too annoying to have to slow way down or modify my line through the turns to avoid scraping pedals. Seems like a rather bothersome affectation to use for serious transportation, but if you’re into useless affectation, hey – go for it! And don’t forget to remove your brakes before playing in traffic – that way everyone will know how “hardcore” you are.

TRUE, skidding a wheel is less efficient, but when done correctly it works very well.

I watched Chris Cuneely (former Ordinary mechanic) come to an unreal dead stop after mashing down the aviation path on his huge chainring and high gearing. Some people just have skills. Those who don’t need a front brake.

I disagree. In order to skid a fixie you need to take your weight off the rear wheel, diminishing it’s usefulness as a stopping mechanism. A coaster brake lets you keep weight on the wheel and slow it down without putting it into a skid. Skidding of course is way less efficient than slowing (hence anti-lock brakes on cars).

Also, it’s rare a bike with only a coaster brake is ridden as aggressively and in traffic the way fixies are very commonly used. And I doubt even a skilled fixie rider can stop his/her bike as quickly with a skid than a coaster-brake bike could be stopped.

Finally, there are only two reasons, neither of them good, to ride a fixed-gear bike without brakes: (1) vanity, (2) the bike is a track bike and is not drilled for brakes. If your bike isn’t drilled for brakes (I’m talkin’ to you NJ), ride it in the venue it was designed to be oh-so-gracefully appreciated: the velodrome. Track bikes are gorgeous, beautifully engineered machines. Let’s keep them and your skull from getting crumpled at the corner of Congress and Stone.

EBR

It’s a tossup for me, I’m hesitant to hate on anything that encourages folks who are stupid enough to be a danger to others as well as themselves to quietly Darwin out alone while they’re young and open up some breathing room for the rest of us.