grumpus

One man's common sense is another man's obviously misunderstood situation. In most situations when you need maximum braking you can safely ignore the back brake - the important thing is to get your weight low, brace your arms and modulate the front brake effectively. You can practice hard front braking at low speeds without lowering your centre of mass, to get a feel for how the back wheel starts to lift without going OTB, or go low and see if you can lock the front wheel. Riding off road is a great way to explore the limits of traction and balance, as well as learning how to fall without damaging yourself - you can test combinations of front and rear braking downhill or on loose surfaces, when you'll likely find the only situation the rear brake is much use is for wiping off some speed when the front wheel is threatening to slide out from under you. On my road bike the rear brake squeals when I apply it, a handy warning to pedestrians that I'm there (and that's my main use for it, unless I'm riding over particularly slippery road features like manhole covers).