Downhill braking, what should the balance be?

[Blue Hills]

The more iffy the road conditions are (damp, mud, gravel, bends, etc) the more you need to bias your brakes towards the back brake.
How much for the conditions really comes down to experience, so your better being cautious to start.

Yes. Be particularly careful going down windy country lane descents with bends that might not look too terrible as bends. You often get gravel and debris washed/collected there. On most descents i tend to let the bike go a bit but on these i keep the speed well down before any perceived problem, particularly if wet and/or dark. If you don't, by the time you see the gravel you won't be able to brake much at all without skidding off. The consequences could be deadly.

 

[RichardB]

I would disagree with you completely, you should always use the rear brake first to steady the bike then apply the front & ALWAYS in a straight line.

I think you will find most motorcyclists would disagree with you there. Using the rear brake does nothing to load the front wheel, which is where 80-100% of your braking will be done. Front first, progressively, then add rear as required. 90 front/10 rear in the dry, 50/50 in the wet, and 10/90 if it's icy. But always the front first. Using the rear first makes the bike squat, whereas you want the weight on the front contact patch.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I think you will find most motorcyclists would disagree with you there. Using the rear brake does nothing to load the front wheel, which is where 80-100% of your braking will be done. Front first, progressively, then add rear as required. 90 front/10 rear in the dry, 50/50 in the wet, and 10/90 if it's icy. But always the front first. Using the rear first makes the bike squat, whereas you want the weight on the front contact patch.

Not what I was taught when I did my advanced test

 

[RichardB]

I'd agree with most of the above, and would add a small safety nugget: on a steep slope leading to a potential stop, brake more than you need early on the slope to in order to have a safety margin further down. On my commute is a long downhill, which gets very steep for the last 100m, and ends at a blind T-junction with a main road. By the time I get to the steep bit, I have slowed down to about 5 mph, as the consequences of brake failure/snapped cable etc on that section don't bear thinking about.

 

[RichardB]

Not what I was taught when I did my advanced test

Exactly what I was taught on my advanced test.

 

[smutchin]

The only times you don't want to be favouring the front brake is on a poor/slippery surface or while leaning into a corner.

Indeed.

Especially in wet conditions, you really ought to brake before the bend so you can leave well alone while actually going through the bend.

 

[summerdays]

Cadence braking works better on a bicycle in terms of avoiding fade and overheating.

In other words, brake the bike firmly to a slower speed, release, allow the speed to build, then repeat.

Feathering should be avoided unless the conditions are so treacherous as to make firmer braking dangerous.

Why is feathering to be avoided.... I think I'm a featherer by style but I'd need to go and find a hill to check that (not hard to find a hill but I'd have to cycle up it to come back down again!)

 

[ColinJ]

I'd agree with most of the above, and would add a small safety nugget: on a steep slope leading to a potential stop, brake more than you need early on the slope to in order to have a safety margin further down. On my commute is a long downhill, which gets very steep for the last 100m, and ends at a blind T-junction with a main road. By the time I get to the steep bit, I have slowed down to about 5 mph, as the consequences of brake failure/snapped cable etc on that section don't bear thinking about.

You are not adding it, you are seconding (or 'thirding') it!

 

[smutchin]

Cadence braking works better on a bicycle in terms of avoiding fade and overheating.

I suspect that for the situation the OP describes, the chances of overheating are negligible at best. Something to worry about on long alpine descents, perhaps, but not on yer typical British short, sharp drop.

 

[Donger]

I suspect that for the situation the OP describes, the chances of overheating are negligible at best. Something to worry about on long alpine descents, perhaps, but not on yer typical British short, sharp drop.

That might apply to overheating brakes, but there's your rims to think about too (unless you have disc brakes). My mate Lennie once descended Mont Ventoux at 60mph because he was too worried about braking too much and and blowing a tube by overheating his rims, having been warned of that possibility! Admittedly that was an extreme descent in hot weather ... but I have since witnessed someone exploding his front tube by braking too much on a shortish, steep hill near Stroud in very mild British weather conditions. In fact every single one of us who was with him that day thought there was a farmer standing behind the hedge discharging a shotgun until his mishap became apparent! To this day I greet him as "Shotgun Rob" when I see him on club rides..

 

[MarquisMatsugae]

I usually just give short sharp pumps to both the brakes at the same time.Seems to decelerate me quite well .

 

[keithmac]

I would disagree with you completely, you should always use the rear brake first to steady the bike then apply the front & ALWAYS in a straight line.

I've found a large proportion of motorcyclists don't use the back brake at all, on a roadtest more often than not I'll have to bed the back brake in as it's virtually useless (due to lack of use).

For me gradual application of the front brake settles the the bike just fine, not had a problem in over 20 years of riding..

 

[mustang1]

During flats and downhill, I brake the same 70:30 rear biased. I'll keep using this ratio until I need harder braking when I'll just get to max brakes in each tire before a skid occurs.

 

[Profpointy]

Not what I was taught when I did my advanced test

It's what I was taught doing the normal test -the one that actually entitles you to ride a motorcycle. In any case if you are braking very hard the back wheel will barely be making contact so any back brake at all will lock it up. So why do "advanced" motorcyclists apply the back brake first, when it only delays applying the brake that will actully slow the bike down? In any case they'd fail if they did that on they're non-advanced test

 

[RichardB]

So why do "advanced" motorcyclists apply the back brake first, when it only delays applying the brake that will actully slow the bike down? In any case they'd fail if they did that on they're non-advanced test

They don't, for the reason you state.