Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver

In The Art of Cycling it devotes an entire section to the car vs bike issue and it should amaze some that a skilled cyclist can generate the same stopping power as a driver of a decent car and in some cases, may even be able to stop faster.

G forces are a function of speed and distance... mass does not enter this formula.

I always thought that maximum braking on a bicycle was rough;y .66 g's but TAOC states that a very skilled cyclist can generate as much as .8 g's in a stop without having the rear wheel lift off the ground... this type of braking is nearly equal to very high end sports cars with 4 wheel disc brakes.

This means that a cyclist riding at 20 mph can stop in as little as 17 feet and a cyclist travelling at 30 mph can stop in as little as 34 feet... many cars cannot do this.

I have practised panic stops at speed and measured my stopping distances from the point of braking to my stopping point and find that these numbers are accurate.

I do have some mad stopping skills...