Protip: Don't Land on Your Elbow

[TrojanHorse]

I meant to put the H2O2 on the shoe. Who cares about his elbow! HTFU! You'd think the "scrub it around with a toothbrush" would give it away.

Sheesh.

[dnuzzomueller]

No one wants to ride behind the guy whose shoes look like they came from the set of Kill Bill

Speak for yourself. Almost as cool as bloodied up bar tape.

[ColinL]

I completely disagree with the statement "don't touch your rear brake". On a motorcycle 10-30% of your braking power comes from your rear wheel.

stop right there.

I ride motorcycles too. bicycles are in fact completely different. using your rear brake is required off road, so let's start by assuring that we are talking only about road bicycles on skinny tires.

secondly, I'm sure you are familiar with the concept of threshold braking. on a road bike, on dry, clean pavement, you cannot skid the front tire. you will endo first. you can increase your braking power by using muscles to resist weight transfer, but the rear wheel is still going to be carrying zero weight if you're braking at the limit.

you also said something about pros. what they do doesn't matter. descending you should use your rear brake but for an entirely different reason: managing the heat in your front brake. on level ground this is never a concern and thus you can avoid using the rear brake entirely.

this will let you stop as fast as possible, provided that you squeeze the lever (singular) hard enough and manage your weight transfer. and you won't skid and ruin tires or elbows.

[pallen]

I use the rear brake - you just have to learn not to yank it. Unless you are an expert at pulling the front brake at exactly the right amount to be on the edge of an endo and keeping it there, some light use of the rear will add to your stopping power. Yeah, it doesn't add much, but it can fill the gap where you aren't quite pulling the front as much as you could be.

Oh, and the elbow looks nasty, but its better than your head

[RT]

stop right there.

I ride motorcycles too. bicycles are in fact completely different. using your rear brake is required off road, so let's start by assuring that we are talking only about road bicycles on skinny tires.

secondly, I'm sure you are familiar with the concept of threshold braking. on a road bike, on dry, clean pavement, you cannot skid the front tire. you will endo first. you can increase your braking power by using muscles to resist weight transfer, but the rear wheel is still going to be carrying zero weight if you're braking at the limit.

you also said something about pros. what they do doesn't matter. descending you should use your rear brake but for an entirely different reason: managing the heat in your front brake. on level ground this is never a concern and thus you can avoid using the rear brake entirely.

this will let you stop as fast as possible, provided that you squeeze the lever (singular) hard enough and manage your weight transfer. and you won't skid and ruin tires or elbows.

Agreed. Well said.



...and Shift keys are located to the left and right of the keyboard

[San Rensho]

I completely disagree with the statement "don't touch your rear brake". On a motorcycle 10-30% of your braking power comes from your rear wheel. That number should be similar on a bike even taking in the account the suspension. In a previous hobby I spent quite a bit of time on the track with a motorcycle. Even though locking up the rear wheel on the track could cause you to lose control, the answer was never just don't use your rear brake. If you are really pushing your machine (motorcycle or bicycle) to its limits, you want to use everything you have.
I recommend practicing to use your rear brake properly over ignoring it. You never know when you may need that extra 10-30% of braking power. Also, I can't imagine the pro-riders (who we all aspire to be) are ignoring their rear brake.

And if you were using your rear brake on a moto on the track, well, you shouldn't be, unless you are Valentino Rossi or Noriuki Haga intentionally locking up the rear to get the bike sideways on the approach to a corner.

[saintsfaninks26]

And if you were using your rear brake on a moto on the track, well, you shouldn't be, unless you are Valentino Rossi or Noriuki Haga intentionally locking up the rear to get the bike sideways on the approach to a corner.

You guys have your opinion but I think the quote below sums up the rear brake question for me.

Marco Lucchinelli
USE THE REAR BRAKE
I took the Ducati Riding Experience racing course at Misano, Italy, a few years ago, and my instructor was 1981 500cc World Champion Marco Lucchinelli. The only memorable advice he gave me was, "You should use the rear brake." When I asked him why, he said, "Because there are two," and then explained how using the rear brake to scrub off unwanted speed mid-corner is safer than adding more front brake pressure.

[ColinL]

stop reading about motorcycles when talking about bicycles.

you won't lose the front on dry tarmac unless your speed causes you to exceed safe cornering angle (about 45 degrees, far less than a sportbike).