Brake & Gear Levers

[chillyuk]

My front brake lever is on the right, as is the fixing nut/bolt on the brake calliper. this means that the cable comes out from under the bar tape then makes a route like a "?" to the calliper. I am keeping my eyes open for a cheap calliper that has the cable fixing bolt on the right hand side when viewed from the front which will allow the cable to make a more natural loop to the brake.

 

[martint235]

AAAH my last bike was bought in Germany and was German

........the 'European and US' way makes more sense to me:

1) the route from the left bar to the front caliper is smoother for the cable
2) being right handed and the rear brake being used most and to varying degrees it is easier to control with your 'good' hand


Oh well I might be rewrapping my bars and switching my cables around soon.

IIRC it's nothing to do with which is your "good" hand, it's to do with signalling. You're likely to signal right turns for longer and so don't want your available brake (ie left) to be the front during those times. This also explains why the continental/US setup is opposite.

 

[Twigman]

What?!!!! See Sheldon Brown: "Skilled cyclists use the front brake alone probably 95% of the time."

yeah the operative word there is 'skilled'......

I find that if I grab a handful of brake the rear is always safest as grabbing a handful of front is likely to see me go over the bars.
Locking the front is always going to end in tears.
Locking the rear may result in a flat spotted tyre but isn't likely to hurt.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

yeah the operative word there is 'skilled'......

I find that if I grab a handful of brake the rear is always safest as grabbing a handful of front is likely to see me go over the bars.
Locking the front is always going to end in tears.
Locking the rear may result in a flat spotted tyre but isn't likely to hurt.

There was a discussion on another thread about the best way to stop a bike in an emergency. It was put forward that it was by using the front brake only and apply pressure until the rear wheel just starts to lift from the ground. If you do that on a Hydraulic Disk MTB you will go over the bars unless you have the reactions of superman. (That said the person who stated this did ride a Brompton so I guess the brakes are not as powerful)

 

[aberal]

yeah the operative word there is 'skilled'......

I find that if I grab a handful of brake the rear is always safest as grabbing a handful of front is likely to see me go over the bars.
Locking the front is always going to end in tears.
Locking the rear may result in a flat spotted tyre but isn't likely to hurt.

This is not the case. You will not go over the bars using the front brake. Grabbing the rear brake will cause a skid. If it's an emergency grab both brakes.

 

[calibanzwei]

On a potentially slippy (wet/icy) road, I'd always go for the rear - more experience in recovering from a rear slide out than a front!

 

[Angelfishsolo]

This is not the case. You will not go over the bars using the front brake. Grabbing the rear brake will cause a skid. If it's an emergency grab both brakes.

Not according to some. It has been "scientifically proven" that the front brake alone is the best way to do an emergency stop!. I was taught to use both but there you go.

Angelfishsolo, on 11 July 2011 - 12:16:00, said:

Have you done an emergency stop with just a front brake? You see the world from a whole new perspective!

Yes, and more than that and something I would thoroughly recommend, I went out in an empty car park and practised until I got it right. I've since done two emergency stops on the Brommie where I stopped with the rear wheel folded under (that was before I installed the rear triangle catch) so the practice more than paid off as I was clearly able to brake as hard as possible without braking too hard and up-ending the bike.

But there is no difference between an emergency stop with just the front brake or with both brakes, because if you are truly braking as hard as you can, the back brake is doing nothing as there is no weight on the rear tyre. The only situation where that is not true is in very slippery conditions where the limit of adhesion of the front tyre is reached before there is significant weight transfer from the back wheel.

 

[Twigman]

This is not the case. You will not go over the bars using the front brake.

Been there, done that.

Don't tell me it won't happen coz you are wrong.


Edit: and just to be clear that was on a rim caliper rubber block braked bike albeit I was going downhill on the drops at the time

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Been there, done that.

Don't tell me it won't happen coz you are wrong.

If you have crap front brakes you will be fine - if you have Hydraulic Disks with 200mm rotors you will go over the bars.

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

Applying the brakes shifts weight from the rear wheel to the front one, irrespective of which brake you apply. Because of this, the rear brake can never give you anything like the amount of braking that the front one can. Your main brake, therefore, is your front one, just like on a motorcycle.

Given that the only way to stop quickly in an emergency is to use the front brake, I am glad that the front one is on my right hand, and that I have got a lot of practice in using it so that I can minimise the chance of getting into a skid. It also helps that the modulation on the hydraulic discs is superb.

Apart from using it to hold the bike on a hill when stationary, I think I only really use the back brake to slow down if I'm indicating with my right hand, and then I feel I have to be very cautious to avoid locking the back wheel in the wet, even with the control that hydraulic disc brakes provide.

 

[Piemaster]

I read a piece by Barry Sheen a long, long time ago. He said he always applied the rear brake very slightly before the front. Think it was something to do with pulling the bike up into a straight line. Bearing in mind I was a young teen at the time I tried it, it seemed to work, and I've stuck with it ever since. Don't know if theres actually anything in it, but it is a very ingrained habit now when wanting a quick stop.

'Going over the bars' surely has a large element of the bikes geometry/ rider position as much as braking effectiveness. A TT bike is very different to a dutch style bike.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Applying the brakes shifts weight from the rear wheel to the front one, irrespective of which brake you apply. Because of this, the rear brake can never give you anything like the amount of braking that the front one can. Your main brake, therefore, is your front one, just like on a motorcycle.

Given that the only way to stop quickly in an emergency is to use the front brake, I am glad that the front one is on my right hand, and that I have got a lot of practice in using it so that I can minimise the chance of getting into a skid. It also helps that the modulation on the hydraulic discs is superb.

Apart from using it to hold the bike on a hill when stationary, I think I only really use the back brake to slow down if I'm indicating with my right hand, and then I feel I have to be very cautious to avoid locking the back wheel in the wet, even with the control that hydraulic disc brakes provide.

What bike you you ride? I am curious as I know that if I do what you suggest on the Cube I will go over the bars. I can brake with one finger and cause this to happen.

 

[chillyuk]

I am in my mid 60's and started riding bikes when a pre teen. I have always used my front brake a lot more than the back, even on descents, and have NEVER gone over the handlebars yet.

I do accept though that decent disk brakes are a different matter.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I am in my mid 60's and started riding bikes when a pre teen. I have always used my front brake a lot more than the back, even on descents, and have NEVER gone over the handlebars yet.

I do accept though that decent disk brakes are a different matter.

Good point. The road bike has callipers and getting it to stop using both brakes is challenging.

 

[gaz]

2) being right handed and the rear brake being used most and to varying degrees it is easier to control with your 'good' hand

You want to use your good hand with the front brake. This is the one you need to have most control over as if you pull on that too hard then you could go over the bars if you are not positioned correctly. The rear brake it doesn't matter so much if you lock it up, it is much easier to recover and if you do, the fall is going to hurt less than if you go over the handle bars.

_________

On another note, with MTBing and using your front brake, with disk brakes, it is totally dependent on the surface you are on and the skill of the rider as to weather you go over the bars or not. Countless times i've used my front brake only to do an emergency stop and i've never gone over the bars. I've purposefully go over the bars several times by applying the brake very hard. It just depends on how hard you pull it, the ground surface and where your body position is.