'Why I ride a bike without a brake'

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'Why I ride a bike without a brake'


Michael - not his real name - has worked as a bike courier for the last year and a half and believes the case - which led to an Old Bailey trial and national media attention - has "whipped up hatred against cyclists".To get more news about mountain rims, you can visit zpebicycle.com official website.

"I've heard other couriers saying to me they feel on edge and that pedestrians have looked at them differently," he says."In the last couple of weeks, with every courier I've met, this has been the first thing we've talked about," the 27-year-old adds.

He spends 9-10 hours a day delivering packages on the roads of central London and is paid on a job-by-job basis, so weaving in and out of traffic to complete the work quickly is vital.A fixed-wheel bicycle has a single gear and no freewheel mechanism. The rear fixed wheel of a fixie - which a rider can slow using the pedals - counts as a brake.

People do it because it's this personal sensation of control with the bike. You never get that quick in London, it's more about how you cycle. I think most couriers who spend hours riding every day have the credentials."

He does admit you "can probably slow down quicker with a front brake"."I wouldn't advise it for an 18-year-old kid who's been watching cycling videos," he adds.

The trial of Charlie Allison over the death of Kim Briggs heard how the then teenager had compared the experience of riding without a front brake to videos by a stunt cyclist.Mrs Briggs's husband, Matthew, asked why those who rode bikes without a front brake would take that "risk with somebody else's life".

But Michael does not believe he is taking a risk: "I wouldn't ride it if I felt there was a risk to others."He does concede that it makes riding "exciting" and "fun" but says his fellow couriers are among the most trained urban cyclists in London.Following the case, Michael is planning to get a brake fitted. But this isn't for the reason you might think.

"I'm worried going out on my bike, that the police are going to take my bike off me and then I won't be able to work," he says.Mr Briggs said he hoped courier companies would communicate clearly and forcefully that bikes without two brakes are not legal.

Michael said this could have little effect as "so many [cycle] couriers are self-employed".Cycling organisations and charities have widely supported Mr Briggs. Duncan Dollimore, from Cycling UK, called riding without a front brake on a busy road "stupid".

Josh Lane - a mechanic at Look Mum, No Hands, a cafe and workshop for cyclists in central London - told BBC Radio 4's Today programme many fixie riders "just think about their own safety" rather than anyone else.