Rode through downtown Portland last weekend and counted 8 fixie riders with no front brake

I was cruising down 3rd Ave near the Saturday Market and started noticing a trend. Out of maybe 15 bikes I saw, 8 were fixed gear builds and none of them had a front brake. One guy was skidding into a crosswalk with traffic coming. Another kid almost ate it on a wet manhole cover. I run a front brake on my build because I like having teeth. Has anyone else noticed more people ditching brakes around their city lately?

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wells.brooke8d ago

Man my buddy Jake learned this the hard way. He was riding his fixie with no front brake down a hill in Seattle last spring, hit some gravel going into an intersection, and locked up the rear wheel trying to skid stop. Bike slid right out from under him and he went over the handlebars straight into a parked car. Broke his collarbone in two places and had to get like 8 stitches on his chin. Now he's got a gnarly scar and he's the first person to yell at anyone riding brakeless. I always tell people, you can have style or you can have teeth, but you probably can't have both for long.