The Case for Brakeless Fixed Gear Bikes

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In the fixed gear scene, nothing is more hotly contested than brakeless riding. Some people claim that riding brakeless fixed gears is stupid, and puts you and other people that are unlucky enough to come across you in danger. While I will admit that there’s a lot of people that ARE riding brakeless that really SHOULDN’T be, there is a time and place for brakeless street riding. This is The Case for Brakeless Fixed Gears.

It’s no secret. Brakeless riding doesn’t make a whole lot of logical sense, so why do people do it? Basically, it comes down to feeling which guides the way we act more often than we’d like to admit.
Some people ride brakeless for the feeling of mastery and control. It’s confidence inspiring to know that you have complete control over your bike, and that you can ride something a bit riskier and do something most people can’t.

Riding brakeless becomes more about managing your direction and keeping your outs open instead of managing your speed with a brake. It can give a smoother riding experience since it encourages you to flow to conserve energy, albeit even if you have to ride a bit more slowly, instead of pedaling up to a light. Stopping. Pedaling up to a light. Stopping.

Brakeless has a lot of downsides, and it’s a wonder that people ever ride brakeless on the street in the first place.

If you decide you want to give brakeless riding a go, here’s how to practice brakeless riding responsibly.

Know that if you decide to go brakeless, it will take about twice the distance to stop compared to stopping with a front brake. No matter how experienced you are, you can’t change the laws of physics and stop as effectively as brakes. Know that you’ll have to ride much more cautiously, which means slower. My recommendation is if you even have to ask whether you should have a brake, keep your brake on your bike.

There’s a lot of downsides to brakeless street riding, but there is a time and place for it, and it is possible to ride brakeless responsibly.

#brakelessfixedgear #brakelessfixie #fixedgearriding

[edkrassenstein]

I deliver with my fixed gear in a city and broke my brake cable 2 weeks ago so now I'm riding brakeless. I've always primarily stopped with my legs anyways, but honestly brakeless sucks so I'm fixing the brake with weekend. You just have to ride so much more cautiously around intersections and alleys which is really slowing me down. While I agree it definitely looks better without brakes, at the end of the day the only people who notice are hipsters. Who cares what hipsters think?

[assis]

front break only team lives life reasonably dangerously

[masonhancock]

Respect to brakeless fixie riders however, the fact is no matter how skilled you are there is a massive texting-while-driving epidemic out there. They aren't looking at the other cars, much less a cyclist - so "feeling" and anticipating traffic flow assumes the drivers are (mostly) rational. Anyway, I dig your vids even though I'm not a fixie guy.

[BanacaNation]

Brakeless is slow and way too dangerous for Los Angeles streets and hills. I see a lot of teens riding brakeless, hardly any of them are ever going over 12 mph. They're just cruising around looking cool, they also get frames too big for their size, no helmet, no lights and earbuds in for extra fixie idiot points.

[trekkie]

Put on a front brake and forget about it. :-) You won't have to use it 99% of the time, but it'll be there in an emergency.

[originalchristianvogt]

my general thought before watching:
allways have at least one Brake, just in case the chain breaks

[ibikeunfolded]

I rode brakeless for years, then one day going down hill my fixed gear cog failed under the stress and pulled out all the treads with it when it came off. Yes it was tightened with the proper tools and even red lock tight applied to the treads. The pressure I was constantly putting on it was enough to eventually strip the treads out. I was lucky I survived. Now I will always ride with a front brake as it’s always wise to have a backup.

[Banananaish]

i live in a major city and i've been riding fixed for about 6 years. Without a front brake i would have had so many crashes by now. It's always nice to be able to skid and to be super hardcore. But you can't always predict the other peoples actions. Yesterday a tiny dog ran infront of my bike while i was riding at about 30 kmh. The dog would probably be dead if i had to rely on skidding.

[bluetickhound]

I love the aesthetic of a brakeless bike but I also love staying alive... the multi use path system here where I live is also not really conducive to riding brakeless... the tree roots make the paths bumpy and they’re only about 5 feet wide anyway. Barely enough room to dodge the middle aged drunks on golf carts...

[sparkvideos]

Brakeless on the track is a necessity, brakeless on city streets is stupid and selfish. I was a cycle courier riding fixed gear in london from 1988 - 1991. Yes, fixed gear riding in the city was not invented in 2010.

[michaellimbert]

Brakeless requires a heightened level of awareness which I find meditative. I also find that a smaller gear ratio allows for easier stops and faster acceleration, which is often necessary when riding in heavy traffic.

[adityajonathanmamahit]

Some fixed gear aficionados: "Brakes are death"

Me: doubt that

[chris.hoy]

While I don't disagree with riding brakeless, most people I see doing it are cycling around super slow on too-big gears and running red lights in slow-motion. Riding brakeless can be cool, but not if you're doing it like a grandma. I'd rather be able to smash it around the city and have brakes to help slow me down.

[caseylafran]

This video is four years old and still the most complete, insightful summary on riding brakeless.

[TheBallsthewalls]

I've been riding brakeless for 2 years now. It took me a long time before i got really comfortable with it. When i tell people i ride brakeless they probably judge me but some of these people smoke, have unprotected sex, text while they drive etc.... A lot of people do dangerous things. I personally feel proud to have learned this skill because i was a fatty my whole life and biking changed my life and then fixed gear changed it again and i can't go back. Montreal downtown is a little crazy brakeless and super illegal but my crashes are mostly potholes, not brakeless related.

I know my lines well, the places i ride, i have very good spatial awareness and can almost see when a driver is about to turn with no turn signals, i have strong legs and know how to stop rather quickly or slow down enough to avoid the danger. But it took a long time to get to this level. You have to start slow and first few times going down hills is scary and sometimes, i hop off and walk down the hill, like Atwater hill in Montreal for those familiar with it. And i love to share the road, give space to cars, salute and thank them when they let me go through or give me space when passing.

Honestly though, i should probably get a front brake because at some point, i will probably need it.

[Poler]

Riding brakeless is like drifting in cars. It's cool and demands/demonstrates greater skill, but.... it's also the slowest way to get around.
Road race bikes all have brake and F1 cars don't drift. It's that way for a reason.
As for me..I'm slow enough, I don't need any more help. Hell, I've even started commuting on flat pedals.

[ThePreAmpChannel]

When I restored my 90s era Redline I ordered the wrong brakes, unable to attach them but all too excited about finishing my bike I just had to take it for a ride. Although I knew I had no brakes I kept forgetting and came to love the feeling of panic when I reached for the break and it wasn't there thus giving birth to my new pro-brakeless LIFE altering bicycling journeys." I just love my breakless Redline"!!.

[painexotic]

Ive almost been hit toooo many times to go brakeless. I can't even count how many times I've been saved by my brakes. Can't imagine going without them.

[quanv.]

Forgot to mention that riding breakless does put a beating on your knees after a while. #Save your knees, don’t drop on them.

[Potato-munu]

Just bought a fixie with no brakes, and I love it. I'm a more cautious rider because of it.