Friends:
I thought every track rider knew that you can stop a track bike pretty quickly, in an emergency, just by locking up your legs. Kiss your rear tire goodbye though, but if you just escaped being run over it was probably worth the price of a tire in exchange for your life. If you're riding a fixed-gear, no brakes bike on the street, all you need to do is stay alert and watch where you are going. I have never, with hundreds, possibly thousands of miles on a no brakes track bike, ever felt like I needed a brake. If you pay attention to what's happening in front of you, it is relatively simple to slow down slightly sooner than you would with a regular road bike. I watch the traffic lights and judge their timing so that I can avoid stopping. I also try to go places where I expect less traffic. Call me crazy if you like, but I don't need no stinking brakes on a bike that was never intended to have them.
"Bicycle Mark" Perkins Fresno Cycling Club - Historian Fresno, California, U.S.A.
Just because I live in Fresno doesn't mean I don't know how to ride a real track bike. I even won a few races in my younger days. Absolutely the purest form of cycling!
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