General Cycling Discussion - Dirt bikers - Do you switch your brakes?

Hey everyone!

This is my first post, and I wanted to ask the dirt bikers out there (or motorcycle riders in general) if they switch their brake lines so that the front brake is on the right and the rear on the left.

Tell us if you do or don't, and tell us why.

One of the main reasons why I think it's a good idea is so that the rider doesn't get confused in a panic situation and grab the wrong levers by instinct. It's hard to get a 25 pound bike confused with a +200 pound motorcycle, but I can see it happening under the "pucker factor of 10" scenarios. Even sometimes when bump-starting my dirtbike down a hill, I find my feet searching for the pedals on a bike. Strange!

So, do you switch em up, or leave them normal?

~JuGGz

Not just for dirt bikers --

Refer to www.sheldonbrown.com for a cogent discussion of why right-handers and/or motorcyclists should cable the FRONT brake caliper to the RIGHT control handle. (The American left-front default is appropriate only for nonmotorcycling lefties, such as I.)

Originally posted by John E
Refer to www.sheldonbrown.com for a cogent discussion of why right-handers and/or motorcyclists should cable the FRONT brake caliper to the RIGHT control handle.

I'm not even for those... I'm right-handed, and I am definitely more gifted with the right hand, but this applies for precision tasks, not for braking.

And the rest of his argumentation makes sense, because most of the signalling I do is with the left hand.

Regards,

man i'm thinking of getting a motorcycle. I've biked my whole life and it's second or even first nature on what hand brakes what.. i'm giong to kill myself on the motorcycle.. :rolleyes:

Yeah, I switched my bikes to right/front; for the motorcycle thing and because I prefer having my dominant hand on the primary brake.

It depends on how and what you ride. Since I road raced (motocycles) for years I was used to doing most of my braking with the right brake lever(front). On my mx bikes and my dh bikes I use more rear brake then front so I leave the right lever connected to my rear brakes (rr on my mx bike is the pedal).
This way I never have to worry which lever is for what. I know that my right does most of the braking and the left is only for those times of OHHH SH**!!!! when I need a little more stoping power.
Yeh, I know some one might say that the front brakes should do more of the stopping but on the dirt I prefer the rear brakes.

Slainte:beer:

Front left, Rear left

Hey danka, you just screwin' around or do you have Grimecas new system? They actually have one that when you squeez one lever it actuates both calipers. If you do have this system how do you like it?

Slainte :beer:

No, my right hand is broken. I'm looking at that Grimeca system though.

I was told that cyclocrossers (is that a word ?) do this so that braking while doing a dismount at the same time is made easier.

regards
Dan

On a fixie, I find that front on the right is advantageous for those of us that ride on the right hand side of the road. That way, since the usual method of stopping is with the left foot on the ground, the right hand can grip the front brake whilest the right foot pulls the pedal around to an appropriate starting position, lifting the rear wheel off the ground so it can turn while you repositioning the pedal for starting off.

Dave