Alex11
Active Member
- Location
- South West
I'm not sure!
^ThisFront and rear. I can't see any advantage in not having a rear brake - except, arguably, aesthetics.
I'm front brake only but I don't ride in towns or cities. If I rode where there were lots of people and traffic I'd have the front back and centre brakes (as posted above)
I was going to post something myself about this so I apologise for the hijack, but it is on-topic
I think the physics says that something like 70ish percent of your breaking force goes through the front tyre.
I'm assuming it is possible to lift the rear wheel on a bike as it is on a motorbike, not that I've ever tried.
The only times I can think that you would need a back brake is to perhaps drag a bit of speed off if you were going into a corner a bit too fast or if you were on a gravelly road, maybe. Both these tasks can be done with your legs on a fixed. In an emergency stop I reckon you'd lift the rear or wash out the front on gravel. I know on the rare occasions when I've braked in an emergency I always end up locking the rear, which is then pretty useless as a brake.
So, apart from the possibility of broken cables and just feeling safe or wanting to feel safe - Do you really need an extra back brake?