david k
Hi
- Location
- North West
motor bikers use front brake, coz back brakes a foot pedal and more likely to slip
i tend to use both the same
i tend to use both the same
How do I brake???
- Thread starter abo
- Start date
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Brandane
Legendary Member
- Location
- Costa Clyde
Motor bikers SHOULD be using BOTH front and rear! If they don't use the back brake because "it is a foot pedal and more likely to slip", then there is something seriously wrong with either their foot position, or the position of the lever (or both).
When I was taught to ride a motorbike, we were told that about 70% of your braking force should come from the front brake, and about 30% from the rear. I use pretty much the same principle on my pedal bikes.
peelywally
Active Member
on roads in dry flat conditions i use both brakes rear slightly before front and when stopping its the front i lock but as before rear takes edge off speed ,
on roads going some or in wet i use both brakes , feather till speed drops enough to apply ^ technique .
off road its mostly rear unless at slow speed when i can control more using front with rear covered for added safety and the choice of releasing front and relying solely on rear to skid me out of trouble .
id say that as a guide only because i know my bikes reactions theres no 1 rule for all imo get to know how your bike reacts and feels ,
braking while entering a bend at speed on road requires feathering any hard braking might mean a skid from the front (oh noes 50/50 chance of recovery ) or rear i tend to feather to reduce speed to within bikes and my capabilities .
on roads going some or in wet i use both brakes , feather till speed drops enough to apply ^ technique .
off road its mostly rear unless at slow speed when i can control more using front with rear covered for added safety and the choice of releasing front and relying solely on rear to skid me out of trouble .
id say that as a guide only because i know my bikes reactions theres no 1 rule for all imo get to know how your bike reacts and feels ,
braking while entering a bend at speed on road requires feathering any hard braking might mean a skid from the front (oh noes 50/50 chance of recovery ) or rear i tend to feather to reduce speed to within bikes and my capabilities .
peelywally
Active Member
a motorbike has more weight than a cycle though , use front brake on a mbike your far less likely to shift weight over handlebars when rider is lighter than the vehicle you can still be thrown over a mbikes handlebars as momentum carries you forward while mbikes rear wheel remains on the ground unlike a cycle .
takes years to learn how to get rear wheel of a mbike off the ground for a front wheelie but hit something and you will fly over the bars because of something einstein wrote .
a cycle will follow the riders momentum forward and lift the rear wheel having no resistance from weight itself it cannot override this unles cycle rider braces and moves as far back on bike as possible to compensate .
peelywally said:
So much for the responsible off-road riding rule Ride Don't Slide
Seriously you should avoid skidding and sliding off-road as it causes trail erosion. It may not seem much in itself but multiplied up by many users and accelerated by rain water running down the grooves created it can cause quite a problem.
david k
Hi
- Location
- North West
yeh sorry should have pointed out, you do use back brake on motorbike, but it supplements the front is the point i was trying to get at
i accept its alot different on a push bike, theres less weight, well unless im riding it
i use both equally
i accept its alot different on a push bike, theres less weight, well unless im riding it
i use both equally
It really is worth getting used to using just the front brake and practicing in a car park. The usual fear is going over the bars but practice will stop that happening. The problem with not mastering the front brake is when you get an emergency you automatically grab both brakes hard and are straight into the over the handlebars scenario. The rest of the time it doesn't really matter too much which brakes you use but in an emergency it's only the front brake that works for the reasons Sheldon describes and an emergency is not the time to start learning how to use it.
Moodyman
Legendary Member
Whichever brake you use, make sure you use it sparingly if you've rim brakes.
I had a front tube blowout at 26/27mph in the Dales earlier this week - found no foreign object and I'd been braking quite hard down a series of steep back to back descents. Had some scary wobbles before I was able to bring the bike to a stop.
I'd read of tube blowout due to overheating rims, but thought that only happened coming down The Alps. Never thought it would happen down a few twisty hills in the Dales.
I had a front tube blowout at 26/27mph in the Dales earlier this week - found no foreign object and I'd been braking quite hard down a series of steep back to back descents. Had some scary wobbles before I was able to bring the bike to a stop.
I'd read of tube blowout due to overheating rims, but thought that only happened coming down The Alps. Never thought it would happen down a few twisty hills in the Dales.
Angelfishsolo
A Velocipedian
- Location
- Cwmbach, South Wales
Keep in mind that I am a MTB'er but I keep two fingers on back break one finger on front break. I use rear break to slow on flat and both to slow in a controlled fashion on hills.
Angelfishsolo
A Velocipedian
- Location
- Cwmbach, South Wales
Cyclopathic
Veteran
- Location
- Leicester.
Something has occured to me whilst reading through this thread. Has there ever been a system that aplied both brakes at the same time from the same lever? A 65/35 front/rear split would be nescessary I think but has this ever been done and if not why not? Sitting here in my ignorant bliss it sounds like a good idea if perhaps a little difficult to set up.
Anybody heard of anything like this?
Anybody heard of anything like this?
Yes they are out there but mainly used on tandems or for people with disabilities. One brake lever, two cables.
I am a former motorcyclist (road and track) and I see huge similarities between motorcycles and bicycles in terms of braking.
Apart from when I rode a Guzzi (linked brakes) I tended to be a heavier user of the front on a motorcycle and remain so on a bicycle.
A road motorcyclist will use the rear brake, but generally with nowhere near as much force. The earlier post about the possibility of a foot slipping off the pedal was probably a spoof posting to get a response.
A track motorcyclist (racer) will use hardly any rear brake - or didn't in the 80s and early 90s when I was at it. This was partly because the rear wheel is MASSIVELY unweighted when braking on a track, so you can lock it very easily and maybe stall the motor. This is not good for confidence or longevity when barrelling into a corner. Back then, some racing motorcycles could have passed scruitineering with slightly starched tin foil discs at the rear....
Bicycles are different - you can't stall the motor if you lock the rear.
A huge similarity between pedal and motor is the effect of body weight and body position on the response to any braking input.
Backsides hanging over rear wheels (road and MTB) will often save the rider from going into a terminal endo.
A little squeeze on the rear when a fast descent becomes directionally random (tank slapper) will often straighten things out if you don't have the confidence to just loosen your grip - a thing I am often too afraid to do.
Don't get sucked into responding to cheeky monkeys who write that motorcyclists don't use the rear for fear of feet slipping off.
Whoever wrote it is still giggling....
Apart from when I rode a Guzzi (linked brakes) I tended to be a heavier user of the front on a motorcycle and remain so on a bicycle.
A road motorcyclist will use the rear brake, but generally with nowhere near as much force. The earlier post about the possibility of a foot slipping off the pedal was probably a spoof posting to get a response.
A track motorcyclist (racer) will use hardly any rear brake - or didn't in the 80s and early 90s when I was at it. This was partly because the rear wheel is MASSIVELY unweighted when braking on a track, so you can lock it very easily and maybe stall the motor. This is not good for confidence or longevity when barrelling into a corner. Back then, some racing motorcycles could have passed scruitineering with slightly starched tin foil discs at the rear....
Bicycles are different - you can't stall the motor if you lock the rear.
A huge similarity between pedal and motor is the effect of body weight and body position on the response to any braking input.
Backsides hanging over rear wheels (road and MTB) will often save the rider from going into a terminal endo.
A little squeeze on the rear when a fast descent becomes directionally random (tank slapper) will often straighten things out if you don't have the confidence to just loosen your grip - a thing I am often too afraid to do.
Don't get sucked into responding to cheeky monkeys who write that motorcyclists don't use the rear for fear of feet slipping off.
Whoever wrote it is still giggling....
When I was a teenager we had a tandem that did this, but it was hell to set up.
The other lever worked a rear drum.
Also, Moto Guzzi motorcycles have long had a system where the pedal works the rear disc and one front disc while the lever works the other front disc.
For any riding at below 90% it is just FABULOUS, but I could never make it work on a track.
Only race-head purists hated Guzzi brakes, because they claimed never to ride at under 100%.
Just like tubby folk claim only to eat salad.
