3speed

New country = more stuff that doesn't make sense? I too wonder why someone decided it should be the other way here. In fact, with people riding on the other side of the street in Europe, I would think they'd signal with the other hand? In that case, why don't they run their brakes like US folk do? I guess it still makes sense to have your stronger brake in your dominate hand, though.

neocaligatio

We drive on the other side, so it's probably that...

But what do the rest of the europeans do? The drivey on your side of the road and probably have our brake setup?! Must be very confusing

rhm

The reason I prefer front brake on the right is because I often carry stuff. Not that I meant to; but as an incorrigible dumpster diver I find stuff that needs carried. So if I have an old grandfather clock under one arm, I need to be able to control the bike with the other hand. So steering, braking, and shifting has to be all in the same hand. And the shifter is always on the right, so the more useful brake is too.

Roll-Monroe-Co

I'll admit that until some relatively recent time in my bikelife, I did not consciously know nor think about the fact that there was a standard. When setting up a bike, I just put the first cable I was setting up on the side closest to wherever I was standing. I still don't know how it's "supposed" to be set up.

Of course, with sidepull brakes, the front automatically goes on the left, right?

neocaligatio

Not on all mine.... Is there a reason you can think of?

rhm

I would think the natural way to route the cable for a front sidepull brake is to the opposite side; if the cable attaches on the right side of the bike, you'll want the lever on the left.

biff_rockwell

*raises hand*
me too.
Right = front.
left = rear.

everyone else is backwards!

all kidding aside, having ridden engine powered bikes (motorcycles, dirt bikes, 4 wheelers, street bikes, etc) since I can remember, it only makes sense for the right to be the front.
I am pretty sure I would kill myself if the levers were reversed.

btw... the lbs thought I was an idiot for wanting my levers switched when I purchased my bike.

bobbycorno

But for the select 11% of the population, front-left works quite well, thank you.

SP
Bend, OR

lostarchitect 

I do, same reasons as many have said above: it leaves the left arm free for signals, and I also have motorcycles.

P_M

My little Raleigh tricycle I had as a child in Northern Ireland had the front brake on the right. So that's how I started out as did everyone else over there.

Then a few years and a few bikes later, living in Canada it was left front braking. And when I'd become used to that, in the late 80s/early 90s quite a few motocross guys started getting into mountain biking and it was front brakes on the right again.

That caused a bit of confusion and more than a few surprises for some.

At the moment I've left the right brake lever for the back, left for the front. Maybe if I swap it around it will help some thief go arse over tea kettle as he pedals away...

zandoval 

Yep - Same here - Old school on motor cycles was 70% of power on braking to front and 30% to back - I guess if your left handed then left would be better for the front - I have always set mine up with right on front - Wonder how dirt bikers and dirt cyclists like it?

highonpez

I read about it via Sheldon Brown when I first got into biking and then an old Fuji Supreme I picked up at a garage sale just happened to have the right=front setup. I like it well enough and really all logical reasons point to it. But hey, if Americans were into logic we'd use the metric system...

JReade

Left = front, as I'm a lefty.

Puget Pounder

USA, USA, USA!

Amurrica!

3speed

I still get a kick out of the Team America - World Police song

NWS Link NWS Link NWS Link(NWS=Not Work Safe. And in this case, possibly offensive due to profanity.) Come to think of it, I don't quite know the rules on this forum for this kind of link. Someone please let me know if this is breaking them and I'll delete it right away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhnUgAaea4M

rootboy 

This is a good point and I hadn't really thought about it much before. With the front caliper arm cable entry/adjuster on the right, it makes it difficult and too tight to route the cable from the right position. That's why I've never tried it I suppose. Left cable bending over the stem just seemed so natural.
On my center pulls, however, I'm going to try it. Just for fun.

lostarchitect 

That does make sense, but in practice it doesn't bother me at all to route the cable the other way. You just have to be sure to leave a little slack.

3speed

That's exactly why, as I mentioned, I purposely used breaks that have the cable pull on the other side. They're not Terribly difficult to find, but the style with a right side pull for front brake is definitely more common here. Seems like there are more of the other style on the euro ebay and whatever, but it's not worth the shipping difference.

Reynolds 

+1. My 4 bicycles are set up that way. Well I didn't have an option on my rod brake Raleigh...

Lenton58 

The Colonel wrote:Ahh, it finally gets explained! The right front brake setup on common Japanese bikes stops the Nihon-jin from signalling. (They drive on the right, [edited: I mean the LEFT] but cyclists drive all over the shop!) In 20 years, I've only ever seen three people signal anything — among the millions of daily riders! One the three was me! I often signal. But I don't think any drivers know what it means. And other cyclists aren't paying any attention anyway.

I am going to do a vintage frame up build for my son in weeks to come. It will have front brake on the right.

rodentfield

I came across a pair of brakes on an old Centurion whose brake cables connected to the right on both brakes. It was clearly best to wire the cables backwards, so that's what I did. https://velospace.org/node/37963

relyt

I have use right front, left rear on all of my bikes. It took a few days to adapt but now I am used to it. However, I don't think it actually matters that much.

wahoonc

Has anyone ever seen a rod brake roadster with front on the right? Is it even possible to switch?

Aaron

jrecoi

Looking through pictures of French constructeur bikes, these have a Front-Left Brake setup. Notably they all have downtube shifters.

It could be that left-front braking was so done that the rider could shift with the right hand while keeping a hand (in this case the left) on the front brake.

With the growing popularity of handlebar shifting, this rationale doesn't make much sense anymore.

seedsbelize 

Do you signal with just one hand? I use both.