Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Yes, it is physics. But I've not seen anyone here suggest using only the rear brake. The 0.5g deceleration number I posted is for a normal rider sitting in a normal position using both brakes or even using only the front brake. If you are using only the rear brake, the deceleration is, of course, going to be lower. You don't approach 1g of deceleration until you shift the center of gravity back and down.
I would also suggest that Andy_K work on his braking technique rather than try to add more brakes to the bike. You really don't want to skid the front wheel, Andy. A locked up front wheel is a recipe for disaster. The best place to learn braking technique...and bike handling skills in general...is on a mountain bike off-road. If you can handle a bike in the bad conditions you experience on dirt, think of how much easier good conditions will be.
Was just comparing how much braking power you can get from the rear compared to the front.
Technique is really important and something that one should be practising constantly... sometimes one might want to treat every stop as a panic stop to get a really good feel for how their bike performs. As I am pretty light it is not hard for me to max out my braking and once you can do nose wheelies and not kiss the pavement, you are probably stopping as fast as your bike will allow.
When my daughters were learning how to ride I told them they would be able to go on longer rides once they mastered panic stops which was 90% technique and 10% response to me calling for them to STOP.