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The Joy of Minimalism: I removed something from my bike that I didn't need, and cycling got more awesome

For Christmas last year, my little brother built me a single speed / fixed gear bike. He was kind enough to add both front and rear brakes, so I could get up to speed with riding it without, uh, dying. I started riding single speed -- it felt like I always had the wrong gear. Too slow, too fast. I was bored.

Then I started riding fixed-gear. Its true what they say: You feel more in touch with the road and the bike. But I still had front and rear brakes -- and I used them quite a lot, even though I didn't need to. I still hadn't broken with my non-fixie habits.

Today, I removed the rear brake. I took off the whole mechanism -- cable, calipers, everything. (I kept the front brake just to be safe.) The bike looks a LOT cleaner. But that's not interesting. What matters: It changed my entire cycling experience. I'm right handed, and the rear brake handle was on the right side of the handlebar -- so now that it was gone, the urge to brake went away. I regulated my speed according to my surroundings. I didn't brake. I way more free to just roll naturally, as I had one less knob or control to worry about. It was liberating.

When it comes to software and products of all kinds -- think about what removing a rear brake might do. There are so many needless dialogs, radio buttons, menus, alerts, gradients, drop shadows, mouseovers, text, icons, lines, boxes, and so on. Its absurd. Every single element in a UI exerts some cognitive load -- some weight on the brain. Its slowing you down. You're trying to get to a destination, and all the inessential UI is just screaming for more of your precious brain power.

Get rid of the things you don't need. Keep the things you do. Yes, you can add to the experience by subtracting.
Posted over 3 years ago

31 responses

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Arjun Lall said
Nice post.

but be careful, only applying the front break can make you flip over the handlebars. (dunno, maybe its different on the fixie)

Garry Tan said
Haha, yeah, I definitely have to be more careful about braking and shifting weight to the rear in the case of an emergency stop.
A commenter said
Good story... your remark about naturally regulating your speed reminded me of this story:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/traffic.html
Mike Chang said
I'm the other way. I rode with no brakes for quite a while, brakeless fixed gear bikes are a beauty as objects and to ride. I only just put a front brake on for emergencies (after a few close calls), and it has completely altered my riding experience. Not as alert, maybe a little lazy even, though much more relaxed. Adding that brake and introducing a single cable to the bike does feel like a huge piece of clutter. It's all relative I suppose.
Tony said
Where's your unicycle?
karr-winn said
okay, but if you take off the front brake i'm kicking your wheels in.

and your image is incorrect. no way do i have the money to be tossing Ultegra parts around. sheesh!

sascha assbach said
nice metaphor and true indeed
Yaniel Cantelar said
nice! i've always found the rear brake on fixies as overkill but i'd never remove the front brake if its not on the track. now the important part, what bike is it? and where are the pics!
Chu Chiang said
Fundamentals of Interaction Design. The more immediate the response the better.
Deke Babamoto said
Yep, simple is best. Eventually, though, everyone goes down hard, especially on a fixie. I still have a 45-minute gap in memory after my crash. Please wear the helmet, eh. And, don't clip in if you are. Enjoy. Uh, pics of yer machina?
Evan Bartlett said
Yeah, its a big change. Fixie is definitely the most fun I"ve had on a bike, though I'm about to switch to a freewheel after 4 years...for the hills

Keep in mind almost 80%+ of your breaking power comes from you front brake, and the rest comes from your legs, so its not as risky as it sounds. I definitely always kept a front brake for those tricky situations that Mike Chang referred to

I also just got a geared road bike, because I'm realizing SF is not quite the perfect fixie terrain that NYC was :-)

cynthiaholladay said
So true. Design is not complete until nothing more can be removed.
Stephanie Lim said
well put!
Raenie said
Interesting! I had to look it up, since I'm not familiar with Fixed Gear Bicycles.
Here's a good link for anyone else, like me!
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html
Thanks for posting. :)
Parvez Halim said
Well written article to a very true point. Only keep what is necessary.
Antonio D'souza said
So you have started riding a fixie and you're moving to the Mission. I guess you'll be stocking up on ironic t-shirts soon ;-)
Stephanie Lim said
Oh Tony, Garry already has a BUNCH of ironic t-shirts, plus a studded belt and black-framed glasses.  I think he is set.
Allan said
The UK The Pedal Cycles Construction and Use Regulations 1983 requires that pedal cycles "with a saddle height over 635 mm to have two independent braking systems, with one acting on the front wheel(s) and one on the rear". It is commonly thought that a front brake and a fixed rear wheel satisfies this requirement.

Heard it is illegal to have just one brake and the police will even stop you for it.

Dewa Asmara Mulia said
Interesting thoughts. Less accessories, more bike.

Hey here's another fun thing about biking. Not for outdoors, I suppose. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWzGB3QBRUk