Do you cover your brakes?

[Downward]

Only downhill.

 

[Arch]

Most of the time in town, not so much out in the country.

 

[HLaB]

Paid attention to what I done tonight, most of the time I was covering the shifters (rapid fire) particularly the 'up' trigger for the cassette but only covered the hoods when I anticipated having to slow down for: peds (&pets), traffic, steep downhills, etc.

 

[sheddy]

same as when driving - when a hazard appears

 

[Joe24]

I find it depends. If ive been doing alot of braking, or i need to brake, then will come up to something else where i need to brake, i will have my hands near my brake.
But, if im going along, often ill have my hands on the flats, or the drops, and no-where near my brake lever, and if i will need to brake, just quickly shoot my hands to the brake and brake, rather then hover near it.
I do try and be more fluid though, and leave space so in theory i don't have to brake.

 

[GrasB]

Yes on both bikes, but that's due to the handlebar setup, I grip the bar with the lower 3 fingers but my index finger doesn't really sit on the bar properly so I just rest it up against the brake lever ready to go.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Usually just in busy areas/junctions.

 

[CotterPin]

Like others, in urban situations, nearly all the time. There may be occasions when my hands drift away but then I consciously return them to the brake levers when I realise. In the countryside, less so. On a country lane the cycling tends to be less stop start and I guess I think (possibly unwisely) there might be less hazards.

 

[MacB]

yes around heavy traffic or at junctions, no the rest of the time. Problem is my butterfly bars have no access to the brakes from my favoured side position for riding. Hence why I'm moving to drops with STI for the weekend bike and considering H-Tec bars for the commuter.

 

[Ian H]

Hands are never too far from the levers on drop-bars, especially using ergos or sti. I do actually cover them in high-alert situations - traffic near junctions and the like.

 

[BentMikey]

So... my reason for posting is that Bikeability teaches to cover your brakes ALL the time, and given that a large portion of braking distance is taken up by reaction time, covering the brakes is an excellent way to reduce this.

I wish I was better, I often catch myself and have to put my fingers back on the levers. Going by this poll, I'm not the only one who could benefit a lot by improving.

 

[Origamist]

What happens if you want to change hand positions and ride on the "tops"?!

I'd argue that reaction time is far more closely allied to reading the road (i.e. hazard perception) well in advance - a couple of inches of hand movement is of considerably less importance when it comes to collision avoidance.

That said, on a commute I cover the brakes 90% of the time. On a long tour, quite a bit less.

I'm surprised Bikeability is that prescriptive - I'll ask a couple of instructors I know.

 

[BentMikey]

Yes, I totally agree on anticipation, but I'd argue that comes before reaction time.

 

[CotterPin]

What happens if you want to change hand positions and ride on the "tops"?!

I'd argue that reaction time is far more closely allied to reading the road (i.e. hazard perception) well in advance - a couple of inches of hand movement is of considerably less importance when it comes to collision avoidance.

That said, on a commute I cover the brakes 90% of the time. On a long tour, quite a bit less.

I'm surprised Bikeability is that prescriptive - I'll ask a couple of instructors I know.

When I did my cycle instructor training earlier this year, that was something drummed home to us rookie instructors (amongst other things!). I guess the issue is with a newbie cyclist how good they are at reading the road and moving to the brakes in anticipation of a hazard. Possibly it is a simpler message to say keep your hands over the brakes at all times?

 

[Origamist]

Yes, I totally agree on anticipation, but I'd argue that comes before reaction time.

The two are inseperable:

"Reation Time is the elapsed time between the presentation of a sensory stimulus and the subsequent behavioral response" Wiki

If you spot a problem early, you have more reaction time and can therefore repond quicker.