i do think I'm going to ask for the second set of brakes along the flat part of the bars. I just still get that "oh sh*t feeling" and having the breaks all the way down kind of freaked me out. I think I'd feel more comfortable having that safety net. To compensate I was riding mostly with my thumb around the top part of the brake - so I could get my fingers to the brakes quickly - but I have really weak hands - and I could tell just from the little bit I was riding that would kill me if I did it for too long.