The recent comments about front brakes have got me thinking.
Is it time to put the front brakes back on?
It wasn’t too long ago that just about every freestyle rider rode front and rear brakes…now the pendulum has swung the other way with many riders seeing brakeless bikes as the new standard.
Have things gone too far?
Are we missing out by running just a rear brake or no brakes at all?
Before you answer, check out the videos below.
Exhibit A: Eben Fischer makes the case for front brakes.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Front brake tricks with Eben Fischer, posted with vodpod
Exhibit B:
Jay Miron, front brakes till the end.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
more about “Jay Miron Macneil DVD“, posted with vodpod
cruiser revolution 
I miss my front brake.Ever since I got my Model-C I’ve been thinkin about puttin one on and now I will
Believe it or not, my 17 year old son’s been wanting front brakes for a while now. He’s never been one to follow the current trends (brakeless, slammed seat etc…) It’s just kinda hard finding good forks with brake mounts. I know there out there but he’s not wanting to spend his hard earned money.
You can always try a brake plate with 990 mounts (http://www.danscomp.com/489057.php?related=811114&cat=MISC) to see how he likes it before dropping the money on new forks.
I ride front brakes on my 20″ and have been for a while. the odyssey freestyle classic fork works awesome.
Man…i don’t know about fronk brakes. i’ve never used fronk brakes…ever. But I can watch a Jay Miron video all day. He is so sic to watch.
It’s funny as an old school freestyler I used to compete in AFA contest back in the day. When rolling tricks started to surface around 1987 I started finding myself using brakes less and less. By 88/89 I had taken them off and was doing high speed flatland routines as well as a lot of street riding brake-less.
I would like to say I was progressive but the reality is I was such a crappy mechanic I could never get them to work right so I figured why have them.
Riding without them was a challenge and taught me to be much smoother and faster than other riders. I rode like this for years but certainly did not start a trend as most people scoffed at the idea. The AFA even had a requirement to have one so I put one on that didn’t work (The rule didn’t say it had too)
I put them back on after I started doing parades at Disney so I didn’t kill anyone and started to really like riding with them. Fast forward to today after a thirteen year layoff and I wouldn’t consider riding without them and can’t wait to put the front brakes back on. It is funny to be at a skate park and be one of the only ones with brakes. (Oh the irony)
I have considered having the posts welded on my CR24 and hope the new Sunday C Wave has them stock.
I say to each his own but do it because you like to not because it’s a trend.
…and please get a real freakin seat post would ya?
LoL love the seatpost comment.
me too!
are there 24inch forks with 990 mounts? I want front brakes on my model c.
Sunday is working on some prototype front brake forks right now. More info soon on these bad boys!!
Gotta use a brakeplate.
No one makes forks…yet.
Forgive my ignorance but how do you fit such a plate? I thought the model c forks don’t come with a hole? If forks don’t have such a hole how do you fit one?
Drill baby drill.
standard bykes can do a 24 fork with either 990 mounts or brake mounts plus custom rakes and a built in potts mod.
i am 35, never stopped riding. always had front and rear brakes. I also have a freecoaster on my 24 🙂
funny i checked the site out today…. because after i clock out of work i am headed straight back to our work shop to put on some prototype Sunday Morning 24.1 forks WITH 990 MOUNTS!!!!
i have rode front brakes on my 20″ for years now and always said i would love to have them on my Sunday Model C. i will be sure to let everybody know how they work!
and funny that there is an eben fischer edit on this thread as well…because he came through austin tx on the latest tree trip (video here http://www.vitalbmx.com/videos/features/Tree-Bikes-Goin-Down-South-Trip,17207/johnhicks,43308 ). Eben jumped on Jim C’s Sunday Model C at the Empire bowl and first run he did…….regular nose pick, next wall canadian nose pick, next wall an EVEN BETTER canadian nose pick, and tail tap to nose pick. all with in his first run on the bike!!! as you can see in the videos, Eben has no problems with the left brake lever, but i was very curious to see how he was going to handle the fronts on the big bike. By the end of the session he was pulling G-Turns over the hip!!
Please tell me that you have video of Eben shredding on Jim’s Model-C…
sorry, i do not. but the tree edit that was from the same trip he was on can be seen up on vital’s website.
[…] Spy photo of Model-C front brake forks 10 08 2010 Bobby Parker from Sunday/Full Factory hinted about these in the comments recently when I posted about missing my front brakes. […]
[…] out this post to see what you might be […]
Anyone know what the going price is going to be for these 990 forks? US – Thanks!
[…] old school bmx setups making comebacks these days–things like seat & seat post combos or front brakes–I thought I would make the case for something near and dear to my […]