Originally Posted by
Andrew R Stewart
cyccomute- Having locked up a front wheel on both bicycles and motorcycles I know that endoing isn't the only result of too much front brake force. I agree that a sliding/skidding wheel is not what one wants for control. But, again, the start of a skid is a feedback that a skilled rider understands and reacts to. That i first choose to back of the rear brake to maintain rear steering control works for me and others. The key, as i tried to say previously, is to modulate the front braking force so that the rear does stay on the ground. Monitoring the rear's tendency to skid given a certain amount of rear brake application is one method of deciding how much front brake is "right". I think that the vast majority of riders who have only a front brake actually also have a rear brake, just not a caliper but a foot brake. (Fixed gear riders can slow and/or lock up their rear wheel easily enough). Another thing I don't remember ever hearing is your claim that riders will avoid using their rear brake in fear of a skid. But your circle of riding community is not mine. Just about every rider that i have taught the rear ward weight shift when braking strongly has gotten it. It only takes a few times trying it to understand. By modulating the front brake to keep the rear from skidding is not allowing full stopping force to be used. But the rider is the one who will make that choice, whether they consciencely understand or choose it.
MikeWMass- I agree completely. Having learned how to drive long before the advent of anti lock rakes and having had lots of experience driving close to the limits it took me a while to trust the anti lock brake concept.
I try to limit my posts to three per topic. By then i have found that i don't have much more to add. So thanks for the discussion all. Andy.
You, along with the "only front brake" crowd, are misunderstanding the physics. If your rear tire is starting to skid, that means that it has lost contact with the ground. You've already shifted all the weight that you can shift to the front and still maintain contact of the rear wheel for control purposes. Backing off the
rear brake does nothing for putting the rear wheel back onto the ground. The rear wheel is still in only nebulous contact with the ground at that point. If you want to put the rear wheel back on the ground, you need to stop the weight shift forward. You can move your center of gravity further back or you can get off the
front brake. If you've already moved your center of gravity rearward (you, as opposed to most people I have this discussion with, understand that part of braking), your only recourse is to back off the front brake and stop the forward weight shift.
Given that you said
Monitoring the rear's tendency to skid given a certain amount of rear brake application is one method of deciding how much front brake is "right".
I think you really do understand the idea of getting off the front brake to reduce rear brake skidding on a functional level, i.e. while on the bike but not at a theoretical level. I also monitor the skid of the rear wheel to know how much front brake pressure is "right". The only difference is that I recognize that it's the front brake that causes the rear wheel to skid and that to stop the skid, I get off the front brake.
Further, if you do modulate the front brake (a little), you lose a tiny amount of deceleration but you gain a huge amount of control.
The riding community that doesn't get the rearward brake shift isn't mine. It's the road bike community on the Bike Forums. If I show someone how to do this is person, I can see the lightbulbs going off. On-line, the roadies will react like you said their bikes were heavy. It really is astounding to me how they react.