Front brake by Hal Johnson

Recently there have been a lot of people boasting that they ride sans brakes without fear. I rode without a brake this summer and didn't seem to have any troubles stopping or negotiating tight situations. Now that the "no brakes, no problem" (thank you Nike) ads are up around the fashionable areas and photos of people standing with track bikes are in every magazine another issue has arisen. Several members of the rode racer bike clubs have started posting blurbs on Japan wide message boards about the brake less menace. They have drawn the attention of the police to the issue and that equals tickets. If you're caught riding without a brake you might have to pay up to 50,000 yen (about 500 CDN$). Also if you're in an accident and you are riding sans brake you are automatically at fault regardless of the situation. That could also lead to lawsuit and further monetary damage to the little one's college fund. So putting a $50 brake on didn't seem like a big deal. I've found that I can actually relax a bit more while riding and I don't get the shivers when I pass by police. Another thing to be taken into consideration is gear ratio. If you're pushing a 2.5 to 2.7 stopping quickly by way of skid is an option. Once you pass into the 3. sumptins it becomes less viable. Not to say that it's impossible but for for me it is. Lately I have been experimenting with the gear ring thing fling and it's been scaryfun. After riding 30km pushing a 3.26 my right knee convinced me to gear down. now comfortably at 3.16 with a brake I don't get that "monster's gonna jump out the closet" at every intersection. Go fuck a wood chipper.