Originally Posted by
Velo Dog
But has anybody really BEEN over the bars on braking force alone? I'm sure you can manage a front endo (in fact I've been there), but in braking the rider will shift his weight to the rear, and if the back wheel lifts, he'll ease up on the lever a little.
I've done it while drunk. I guess the alcohol caused me to pull the lever stupidly hard. Then my face hit the ground before my impaired reactions had a chance to kick in.
I think if you have good brakes and really yank the lever you don't have a lot of time to react. The key is to know the limit so if you do have to brake in a panic you are less likely to exceed it.