How do I brake???

[Festina_Lente]

Front break produces most of the breaking force, 70% vs 30% of the rear wheel I read somewhere. Look at the brakes on a car... the idea is the same. With corners, like any vehicle you break into a corner, accelerate out.

In a corner you might want to use it a little less vigorously as loosing the front wheel means crashing and this is most likely to happen while breaking, against when the wheel is in motion. The rear can be used to slow down in this situation, because locking out the rear rarely means crashing, just a skid, so it's safer.

Cycling and other momentum sports utilise "vision control" in order navigate at high speed. Practice not looking at an obstacle but where the obstacle isn't and as far down the road as possible. Don't focus on apexes but on the exit. This applies to breaking because you will need a space to slow down. E.g. in a group ride you need not break, but just turn gently away from guy in front. Never look at the ground in front but straight ahead, up the road and let your subconscious peripheral vision and reflexes take care of the rest.

Oh and no fear, fear originates most f*** ups!

 

[Red Light]

With corners, like any vehicle you break into a corner, accelerate out.

You should not be braking going into a corner; the braking should all be over before you start to turn. The difference on a bike is you don't have a throttle available to balance it going through the corner or to start to accelerate out of it otherwise the old maxim of slow in fast out would apply.

 

[henshaw11]

>You should not be braking going into a corner; the braking should all be over before you start to turn

Simplistically, yes, but there's such thing as 'trail braking' where you continue braking into the corner but ease off as you're turning in - think of the grip for braking and the grip for turning as being traded-off against each other.

I think linked front/rear braking's been available on some Hondas for some years, but isn't liked much AFAIA...

 

[Festina_Lente]

In my experience you brake before and into a corner. I'm not a physicist, but on a racing bike you build inertia during breaking, then release this as the "acceleration". Brake before and then covering the first 20%-30% of a corner pretty strong on the brakes then releasing it for the mid phase, this includes braking while leaning the bike into the corner. then pedaling out at the end: The quicker the better, because it avoids you having to make such an abrupt acceleration back onto the wheel after the corner.


In fact I would bet my house that braking before a corner and then just leaning the bike in the bike can seem to disappear from beneath you. Again, something to do with the centre of mass moving back while you then lean the bike over.

Perhaps this is a question best answered in person and by example than this way.

 

[snailracer]

Unlike cars, bicycles are often ridden on trails, tracks, etc. and separate levers for front and rear brakes allow safer braking on such loose surfaces (as long as the rider knows to use the rear if slippery, obviously).

In comparison to cars, bicycles also have poorer grip (due to higher pressure tyres) and a unique tendency to fall over if the front tyre slips, and no ABS, so independent brakes are useful in maximizing braking performance.

It's also good to have two brake levers so you can cover at least one brake when giving arm signals.

For a lazy skinflint like myself, I also prefer to use the front brake because it's cheaper and easier to replace a front wheel when the rim wears out, than a rear.

 

[frank9755]

I always do what Sheldon says.

I'll only use the rear when there is gravel or ice, or on the straight bits of a long descent when I want to let the front cool down a bit.

If the front wheel doesn't lock out, and Sheldon says you can't lock it with normal bike brakes, you'll only go over the bars if your centre of gravity gets in front of the front hub. So its best to be on the drops when braking as you can brace better. Obviously it's not possible in an emergency but I always use the drops when descending and keep my weight well back.

Someone I was riding with in Gran Canaria in January went over the bars at high speed on a big descent. It was not pretty. We were worried he wouldn't survive until the ambulance arrived.

Mountain biking is completely different - use the back brake as your main brake to avoid front wheel skids on loose surfaces.

On a tandem you do use both together - because the stoker's weight keeps the back wheel down so it does give you braking power.

 

[Muddy Ground]

Mountain biking is no different! Bigger discs on the front than the rear indicate that it is the front brake that does the work, gravel or not. As this thread indicates, if you're using the rear brake as the main one, then something is amiss with your cycling abilities. Even on gravel / ice etc. the front brake does the work most of the time. I'd be very wary of advice stating to avoid or simply not use the front in any situation, especially off-road. Your front brake is your best friend. Try riding with just a rear brake one day and you'll see how ineffective the thing is.

MG