Road Cycling - Bar Position and Emergency/panic stops

Have you ever needed to have an unplanned panic/emergency stop when your hands were in the bar position?

If so, how did you handle it?

I know I try to anticipate every need, and so far so good, but I was curious - were you able to move your hands quickly to hoods or drops in time to effect the stop or slowing?

ANy thoughts?

Sorry but I had to chime in here about those old safety levers everyone says are worthless crap. It's great to be able to grab onto them from the bar without moving your hands. The downside of course is that the "regular" levers that are accessed from the hood ARE worthless crap.

Originally posted by oceanrider
Sorry but I had to chime in here about those old safety levers everyone says are worthless crap. It's great to be able to grab onto them from the bar without moving your hands. The downside of course is that the "regular" levers that are accessed from the hood ARE worthless crap.

But, they don't work at all with STI shifters!!

I must say it's never happened.

First, I spend 80% of my time on the hoods anyway, and most of the rest on the drops. I sit up only to relax and take a drink or stretch; I've set up my bike so that hands-on-hoods is the most comfortable position.

If I need to move a hand I generally move them one at a time, so there's always one hand on a hood. I practice braking front-only, since it's the front brakes that determine your minimum stopping distance anyway.

Regarding those "safety levers" -- I've always hated them. They came on many of the bikes I owned in the 60's and 70's, and I always removed them. They're difficult to modulate, difficult to adjust, and make proper front-braking technique very hard to achieve because you can't modulate them properly. And they're a pretty sure sign that the rider should be on some other kind of bike, or that they're on a bike that doesn't fit right.

RichC

Oh hey, don't misunderstand, I'd rather not have the safety levers as they were manufactured. There is something to be said for the concept though. Unfortunately they keep me on the bar more than I'd like to be because the regular levers are so stiff they're nearly impossible for my small hands to grab. That a major reason why I'm looking for a new bike. It will be hard to break out of the habit of reaching for the brakes on the bar though.

That's something I've thought about too, and because of that I always try to look and plan ahead so I'm on the hoods if there's any traffic or any chance that I might have to use the brakes. There definitely would be a time delay if you had to go from the tops of the bars and grab the brakes.

I also have thought about this. First, I TRY to anticipate situations where such a stop might be necessary and switch to the hoods or drops during the vulnerable period. If I do need to go quickly to the hoods I go right hand first and follow with the left immediately. I even practice this from time to time.

Originally posted by DnvrFox
Have you ever needed to have an unplanned panic/emergency stop when your hands were in the bar position?

If so, how did you handle it?...

I deftly applied my face to the rear cab corner on the passenger side of the pick up that right hooked me while I was traveling at about 17 MPH, this brought me to an immediate stop... :(

Headbutting the back window of an SUV had a similar effect as my bike clattered to the floor between my legs.

That was soon after getting my first road bike. I quickly learnt to ride on the hoods in trafffic, saving upright positions for hills/feeding/admiring women.

When I am on the open roads, I'll get down into the aero bars. If there is anything that looks like trouble, I'll go to the hoods or down into the drops to get more power. So far, I have always been able to hit the brakes and/or steer my way out of panic situations.

I've never had a problem moving from tops to hoods in the event of a quick brake. I'm re-speccing my cyclocross bike, and I briefly considered getting supplementary top-mount levers like the Paul's:
http://www.paulcomp.com/crosscrp.jpg
Then I realized that I probably would never use them. On the other hand, if this is the kind of thing that interests you, you can buy them online at cyclocrossworld.com (http://stores.yahoo.com/cyclocrossworld/topmounbrakl.html). They're quite elegant in function, easy to install and much more effective than chicken levers.

top mounts are great. you can leverage the bar and modulate the brakes- I forgot how similar they were to the "safety brake levers" of the old school bikes!
they add weight and complication but they might be good for a "recreational" bike too.

Velocipedio, do I understand that those top-mount levers are used in conjunction with a set of regular levers? From the picture, on what would be the right break, it seems that the brake cable comes from the normal brakes, underneath the h-bar tape, and then passes through the top-mount levers. Does this mean that when you pull the regular breaks, the top mount levers move too?

It looks like a very cool design. I don't think I need it, but it might be the very thing for small-handed folks like Oceanrider.

Cheers,
Jamie

Oh, to the original question.... My suspicion is that the extra time needed to move to the hoods is much smaller than the time needed to brake to avoid a bad situation. I.e. in such a situation, even being on the hoods in the first place might not be fast enough.

I have had a couple of situations where I had to get to the levers lightning fast, and I was always able to do it.

Also, sometimes a quick dodge right or left is better than hitting the breaks. I always give myself an escape route--minimally 1 meter between me and the edge of the road.

And I agree, the key is riding aware. Whether in a car or on a bike, awareness and anticipation is the true key to safety.

Cheers,
Jamie

Those top mounts look like a workable alternative to safety levers. Very interesting.

Today's bikes don't have stiff brake levers so I shouldn't have a problem with whatever bike I end up with but if there is a problem, I'll know what to do. Safety is number one over anything else in my book.

That's right -- one cable actuates both sets of brakes. That's what makes them easy to install.

The downside, of course, si that they're still pretty new and a little pricey, and your LBS may not know what you're talking about.

I ride my 'cross bike mostly in the hoods and drops, so I probably woulnd't use them, but they are pretty cool.

I wouldn't recommend top mounts for "emergency" purposes. They are good if you need to control speed but there is a reason "safety levers" are not made. They are not safe!
Grab top mounts or saftey levers in a panic situation and you will endo. That is why levers are actuated from the drops or hoods. It gets your weight down on the front wheel and gives you more stopping power.

It is different with mtb because of different geometry but it is still easy to endo on any bike, especially in panic situations.

top mounts are great for cx and maybe for touring bikes but I can't see any other good reason for them.