Why is everything different in the US?

[MrJamie]

My front brakes are on the left. Calipers are designed to have them that way round, it gives a smoother cable run.

Id always thought it was a bit stupid the way the front brake cable routed round like it does and thought it would make more sense if the calipers (or levers ) were the other way round, makes sense now It seems quite easy to get the rear cable snagged on handlebar accessories too, because of how sharply it loops under to go down the left side of the bike, even causing the pads not to release properly.

I quite like having the front brake on the right, feels like i have more control over it.

 

[zizou]

According to the late Sheldon Brown it was to do with hand signals when going across traffic while still being able to reach the primary brake. But this was based on the incorrect idea that the rear brake is the primary brake.

Anyway he says the best way of setting up is pairing your dominant hand with the primary brake (ie the front brake). I think that sound pretty sensible.

 

[Globalti]

...and why do we drive on the left? Because Britain had the earliest and best organised system of long-distance mail coaches and drivers would pass mail to each other on the road; it became common to pass on the left so that the drivers could exchange mail with their right hands.

 

[Fab Foodie]

...and why do we drive on the left? Because Britain had the earliest and best organised system of long-distance mail coaches and drivers would pass mail to each other on the road; it became common to pass on the left so that the drivers could exchange mail with their right hands.

IIRC it predates that ....

It's also the reason why women walk on the left of men and why men's shirts button left over right.
It's a sword thing. On foot or horse, riding on the left meant that your right (sword) arm is available to tackle assailants coming the other way, for this reason the woman walks/rides on the LHS for protection. The shirt buttons left over right so that the hilt of the sword doesn't snag the shirt whilst being drawn by the right hand ....

I can see no good reason for driving/riding on the right.

Back to the OP, I'd agree that the front brake should be operated by the dominant hand. When it comes to signalling I can't see that it matters much as most signalling should be done at relatively low speeds and in a 'safe' environment, sudden 1 handed braking shouldn't be required and so either brake should do.

 

[Lee_M]

IIRC it predates that ....

It's also the reason why women walk on the left of men and why men's shirts button left over right.
It's a sword thing. On foot or horse, riding on the left meant that your right (sword) arm is available to tackle assailants coming the other way, for this reason the woman walks/rides on the LHS for protection. The shirt buttons left over right so that the hilt of the sword doesn't snag the shirt whilst being drawn by the right hand ....

I can see no good reason for driving/riding on the right.

Back to the OP, I'd agree that the front brake should be operated by the dominant hand. When it comes to signalling I can't see that it matters much as most signalling should be done at relatively low speeds and in a 'safe' environment, sudden 1 handed braking shouldn't be required and so either brake should do.

I could be wrong but I seem to remember the riding on the right came from Napoleon who insisted the French should do it differently from the English!

 

[byegad]

According to the late Sheldon Brown it was to do with hand signals when going across traffic while still being able to reach the primary brake. But this was based on the incorrect idea that the rear brake is the primary brake.

Anyway he says the best way of setting up is pairing your dominant hand with the primary brake (ie the front brake). I think that sound pretty sensible.

I think that's nearly right. The idea as explained to me some 50 years ago was that with your right hand out for a right turn your left hand is on the rear brake where a lock up due to loose gravel in the road is more easily controlled. A left hand front brake in that instance will lock and dump you very quickly. In countries that stupidly drive on the wrong (right) side of the road they swap the levers over.
Also in the early days of motorcycling once the hand clutch was universal, the right hand was the front brake because the poor brakes of the time needed all the strength you had to pull you up. Most people are right handed so that hand is stronger. I suspect cyclist who ride on the right AND ride a motorcycle have issues with braking one or both due to this as right hand front brake, left clutch is universal in the motorcycle world although I did once meet a motorcyclist with his the other way round (in the days of cable operation of these items) with his the other way around. This must be 40 years ago and he was an older German or Austrian rider who lived in Scotland.

 

[Drago]

Apparently, driving on the left is safer. In the event of collusion avoidance the typical human brain tends to direct us to the left, which is why head ones are a more popular pastime on European countries than here.

 

[Boris Bajic]

Apparently, driving on the left is safer. In the event of collusion avoidance the typical human brain tends to direct us to the left, which is why head ones are a more popular pastime on European countries than here.

Yes it is. It is much, much safer.

I tried driving on the right a few times.

Idiots swerving all over the road, drivng straight at me and flashing their lights.

Also, getting onto the main carriageway of the Motorway was made harder because the sliproad was clearly angled to facilitate access for drivers who intended to drive on the left.

Absolute chaos!

 

[Fab Foodie]

Apparently, driving on the left is safer. In the event of collusion avoidance the typical human brain tends to direct us to the left, .

This is also why Supermarkets are generally designed with the entrance on the RHS of the building so that we work our way round to the left ... we feel naturally more at ease doing this.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

Why is the cold tap always on the left?

 

[MontyVeda]

Why is the cold tap always on the left?

it isn't.

 

[Licramite]

its got to be because everyone drives on the wrong side of the road, its the same in my Korean car, (KIA , which to me means killed in action) flaming indicators on the left , or right can't remember either way you can tell I,m going round a corner by my windscreen wipers suddenly going on.

must admit news to me that theirs a different layout on bikes, - but not suprised its just to prove they aren,t british

 

[Fab Foodie]

Why is the cold tap always on the left?

Cos they just are OK