I ride a single-speed freewheel bike in New York City, and here's my approach to braking:
A frame with enough clearance for fenders (in my case a 1971 Peugeot PX10) needs longer reach brakes to begin with, so the mechanical advantage will be less than with modern racing brakes. I use a Shimano RX100 long-reach brake for the front, and I doubt that could lock up the front wheel under any realistic circumstance, especially with the Dia-Compe levers I use. On the rear I use an old Universal mod.68 sidepull, very low mechanical advantage, which again makes locking up the rear wheel very unlikely. In addition, I've always configured the front brake on the right hand, and the rear on the left. I've used drum brakes in the past, and they've worked well, but I've finally reverted to caliber brakes for simplicity's sake. 33 years of riding in NYC, and never a serious accident. I know many people ride fixed in the city, but it's not for me. On Oct 28, 5:02 pm, "Michael Wise" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I did specify that you do have to configure a front brake, and you do > need to become proficient at using it, and you do have to develop the > ability to know how much traction you have on your rear wheel. I would > say that a couple of thousand miles on a fixed gear, and maybe some of > the tricks that fixed-gear riders like to learn, you will be safer > than a freewheel rider. A big disadvantage that freewheel riders have > is that they rely too much on the rear brake, both because that was > what they were taught was the more effective brake, and because it is > standardly configured under their most dexterous hand, the right. > > There's a similar principle with the configuration of faucets: the hot > water is set up on the left to prevent mostly right-handed people from > accidentally scalding themselves, so the rear brake, while less > effective, is also less likely to cause the cyclist to crash from > grabbing too much brake. > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Bicycle Lifestyle" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bicyclelifestyle?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
