Trying to get a 'real' bike but scared of normal brakes...

[Klassikbike]

When commuting I use both front and rear brake at the same time, stops well without having to fly.
Id recommend hydro discs as these are easy to control and give the right amount of brake power needed, 160mm rotors should be enough for commuting.

 

[summerdays]

When commuting I use both front and rear brake at the same time, stops well without having to fly.
Id recommend hydro discs as these are easy to control and give the right amount of brake power needed, 160mm rotors should be enough for commuting.

And the other advantage is that you get the same power every time so that you get to know your brakes far better, and know how much pressure to apply each time.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Is that ^^^ a song?

I just tried, and with only minor changes, parts of it fit quite well to "My Old Man's a Dustman" or maybe "Knees up Mother Brown".

Ooooh, I rode a bike a while back
It had much better brakes
I was pulling stoppies
I said "for goodness sakes!"

How do you think the rear brake
Type affects the front?
For over the handlebars you must go
Ee-Ay-Ee-Ay-Oh ...

 

[Widge]

Wow..........thanks guys.......
I'm a professional musician in real life and have added this song to the set list of one of my bands. It has all the makings of a new chart-topper. I will send the royalties later.

 

[nethfel]

As mentioned before, it's best to learn to use both front and rear brakes. Just like on a motorcycle, the majority of your stopping power comes from your front brakes. Using rear brakes alone means that stopping distance is increased by 2 to 3 times compared to using front brakes alone. In dangerous situations (riding on a street) I'd never suggest to just use the rear brakes as it may get you into trouble... Proper management of your weight on the bicycle as well as bracing yourself during hard braking using the handlebars, it should be relatively hard to go over the bars (assuming you're not riding a bike like described in post #3)

 

[User16625]

Personally i think you meed to fet used to the, to get a decent bike if need be even remove the front brake from a "normal bike"

Remove the front brake!? I would feel safer camping on a railway. The rear brake on its own is far too weak due to weight transfer during braking. In good conditions you can stop very quickly using just the front brake. The same cannot be said of the rear brake, which is useless anyway if your braking so hard with the front that the rear wheel raises from the ground.

 

[sreten]

Is that ^^^ a song?

"I rode a bike, with much better brakes,
first I was popping, stopping all over the place,
its not dangerous, you do something wrong,
to get a prong", I Iearned how to get along, etc....

Hi,

The aptly titled "I will Survive"

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBR2G-iI3-I

Seems a fair bet to butcher the lyrics to suite.
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/gloriagaynor/iwillsurvive.html

I'm sure others could do much better with the source material,
and the OP's quandary, than my very tenuous connection,
i'm not known for humourous reinterpretation of anything.

Your starter for 10 is you must keep the first two lines,
"At first I was afraid, I was petrified".- (or very near).

And generally milk the original for all its worth to delay
the realisation the new lyrics are very bicycle specific.

rgds, sreten.

FWIW the lines don't have to be the same length,
the tune allows a huge of flexibility of fitting words.

 

[byegad]

The OP has used a sit up and beg bike where a huge amount of weight is on the rear wheel, so found a rear brake adequate, note I didn't say good. A 'normal' bike will have much more weight on the front wheel than he's used to and will therefore not stop effectively with just a rear brake of any kind as the rear will lock so much earlier as pressure is applied to the brake. I used to ride a Dutch style bike with a back pedal rear brake and I know what he means regarding using the rear brake.

Really the OP needs to learn to ride a bike where the rear brake will almost certainly lock up the rear wheel long before it gives him the retardation he could expect from his previous experience.

As has been well covered the front wheel is the one that does most of the work in an emergency stop. So much so that, on a dry road the rear wheel is almost, but not quite leaving the ground and so incapable of giving any real retardation. Learning to modulate the front brake in order to do this is the skill our OP so far lacks. As we all know practice is the key to gaining this skill, starting with applying both brakes fairly gently and slowly building the confidence to add more front pressure and at the same time easing off on the rear brake to avoid locking the rear wheel.

 

[Spinney]

Mod Note: - I love the idea of rewriting the song, but it is completely off topic for a serious thread asking advice about bicycle brakes. Suggest moving it to a new thread in the cafe (@sreten - I can do this if you wish).
But no more song posts on this thread, please.

 

[ianrauk]

Mod Note: - I love the idea of rewriting the song, but it is completely off topic for a serious thread asking advice about bicycle brakes. Suggest moving it to a new thread in the cafe (@sreten - I can do this if you wish).
But no more song posts on this thread, please.

Sorry Spinney... my fault.

 

[Widge]

Guilty As Charged!

sorry!

w