Originally Posted by
Hypno Toad
"cars can generally stop quicker than bikes if both are going the same speed."
That's not my experience. I understand that not every rider has the same reaction speed or bike handling skills. Bike-commuting on busy roads has done a lot for me, both looking out for the dumb driver maneuvers and keeping my spidey-senses keen.
This has nothing to do with reaction times. The basic physics of bicycle geometry limits your maximum deceleration based on where your center-of-gravity is relative to the contact patch of your front tire. Fat bikes may be a bit better than typical road bikes, but unless you can first move your weight back from the normal position your maximum deceleration is limited by the tendency of the rear of the bike to lift and eventually toss you over the bars. OTOH, a car's deceleration is just limited by the coefficient of friction between the tires and road.