Ted Ernst wrote about a number of things, and I hope he won't mind if I <snip> and comment on a couple of them. <snip> Ted: On the flat, if you're going too fast and have to panic stop lifting the back wheel and stopping pedaling or reversing pedal stroke is VERY skilled and I would practice before going out in traffic. Either braze a bridge in for a rear brake or use the one in place to save your bod. Harvey: At Trexlertown, I bought a Raphael Geminani tracker from Sam Fitzgerald. It is the only bike I've ever seen which has such a plate permanently attached. Alas, in this case TiG-welded... Harvey: Also note that Darwin awards go to those who forget physics. Even under best of circumstances, the back wheel has only 1/2 the stopping power of the front. This is because of weight transfer: as you try to slow the bike, the center of mass is way above the contact patch, so the bike tends to pivot on the front wheel and unload the rear. So, I (almost) always use a front brake on fixed gear on the road. Even my beloved '38 P'mount has a front brake, and yup, the paint chips show when I take it off so the bike looks original.
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harvey sachs
mcLean va