I totally disagree 180 degrees with SB and the "conventional wisdom" on rear vs. front. Learned through experience that I prefer the rear as my primary brake, for safety. I only use the front if I actually need more stopping power, and then carefully. Front wheel lockup is a disaster, and happens much more easily than many will admit. IMO, you need to decide for yourself. That's another 20-page thread, though.

Last year, when I was young and impressionable, I read Sheldon Brown as well. Because of that, I taught myself to use my front brake as my primary brake, with my left hand. So far, so good.

But, as someone already mentioned, do what works!

Hi bkrownd!

Yes, front wheel lock can be a disaster, but it most often isn't. If the bike is stopping in a straight line, the front wheel will merely skid and you can release the lever a bit. If the bike is turning, front wheel lock can cause the front wheel to increase the radius of the turn. If the bike hits an obstruction with the front wheel locked, you can go over the bars (of course, this can happen even without the front wheel locked).

Physics dictate that the front wheel is the most heavily loaded in a stop. That is why (with the extra load creating additional traction) the front wheel is the most effective place to apply braking force.

I know you disagree with my statements, and I'm not trying to persuade you to change to front wheel braking - I just think that the "conventional wisdom" (as offered by Sheldon Brown) is best for most riders.

Huh? Say what? More slowly? :D

JiO

There is just so much more to this than can easily be explained in a forum post but here is my boiled down view of it.

Firstly, and irrefutably the front wheel on a bicycle has the best potential for stopping forward motion on a bike, provided there is traction under the wheel. It is also the wheel that steers and as such needs to keep traction.

Secondly, there is way more to stopping your bike under varying conditions than applying simple hand pressure to a lever.

Whichever side you chose to put your front brake lever on it should not be used as the only brake and never as a switch. (Full on, or off). Appropriate modulation is what is required.

In a carving turn on loose ground or wet cobbles even the slightest bit more front break over rear can cause a no recovery washout and you will go down.

On a steep loose down hill any breaking to the front can cause loss of steering control and failure to weight the back wheel will promote skidding and again loss of directional control.

In an emergency stop on pavement, a non modulated strong application of the front brake without a significant weight transfer to the rear can send you right over the front wheel.

These are only a few of hundreds of breaking scenarios that you will deal with as you progress. Breaking is done with both hands and a shifting of body weight.

If your hands are so week or your breaks are so poor that your handedness plays a part in the setup of your bike then you are addressing the wrong things. The truth of the matter is that today there are brakes, pads and levers available for every possible application and user.

I have the traditional left front setup on all my bikes because it is traditional, but also because I feel it is the best setup for me. I have in the past, and occasionally still ride both two and four cycle motors, but that hasn’t changed my mind about having my dominant right hand power the steering and fairly simple one finger rear brake modulation while my left hand controls the more complex front brake modulation and timing for shifting rings.

I absolutely concur. A horizontally outstretched right arm is an unambiguous signal for a right turn, and it is much more stable for the cyclist than an uplifted left arm, which younger motorists may not even recognize. The outstretched right arm is the only way to go when signalling a right merge, as when traffic enters to your right.

The first thing I did when I bought my mountain bike was to switch the brake levers so the right lever worked the front brake just like on a motorcycle. I didn't want to worry about losing valuable braking time wondering which hand to use while breaking while riding, and have been modulating the brake and throtle for so long that modulating the front brake on the bicycle isn't any big deal. I also find that I use the front brake most often on the bicycle, just like on the bike.

Here is what I learned on a 3000 mile cross country tour.
The front wheel indeed does most of the braking if both brakes are applied. So much so that I had soon wear patterns in the front rim. In an ideal world, I should have installed new wheel and brakes. That was not an option. So, I mostly used the rear brake and the front only if absolutely needed. That worked for the whole trip and on very fast declines above 35 MPH (I am 190+++ lbs). BTW, road debris such as sand got into the brake pads also. Yes we cleaned that often but it was an issue on my front wheel.
The back wheel brakes much less effective however I never worried about lock up.
Regarding hand signals: We were told to bike Vehicular Correct and we did. Hand signal for right turn was right arm point to the right. There was no confusion there. A big concern is signaling to cars so they do not cut you off if you go straight and they go right. This was done by going in the proper lanes instead of always far to the right. We had no accidents and few close calls.
Signaling right turn with the right arm while slowing down for a right turn is a safety issue if also going down hill. I found that to be very dangerous and found no good solution except a rather quick gesture pointing to the right and immediately get my hands back on the brakes.
BTW, cross country road surface quality is terrible in places. Taking a hand off the bars is not safe under those conditions. Really no fun.
Hope this helps.

It has been very enlightening reading all of these posts!
I have always had my front brake lever on the right, and it is my primary brake.
I have not applied a lot of analysis to it, I learned to ride on a bike that came setup that way (1972 Raleigh, made in Britain, not as an export model), and each new bike since then has been set up to match what I was used too. My brain is too old to learn new stuff now, so I just keep using the same configuration. - A few observations after reading this thread -
1) I always signal turns with my left hand.
2) I always enter turns with my right hand on the brake lever, often applying some braking force, but rarely a lot.
3) When braking hard, I tend to apply front brake, with some rear, and shift my weight rearward. My bike usually has rear panniers on the back, so there is weight back there anyway.

I've have never given much thought about which lever goes to which brake. All my bikes are setup the traditional way, but I normally just squeeze them both the same amount. Being left handed in a right handed world, I am somewhat ambidexterous, so I have never had a problem controlling either brake.

For routine stops, and in fact under most conditions, hitting both brakes evenly works well. In a panic stop, it is advantageous to know which brake is which, for safest possible modulation. For most people, it probably doesn't matter which hand controls which brake, but consistency from one bike to another is potentially a big safety enhancer.

After reading through this thread it has struck me that apparently many people have an issue with reprogramming for different configurations or what ever you want to call the condition of different controls being in different places and it has made me curious as to the true nature of this.

I have driven all types of rigs from a wind powered tricycle to a hang glider and an Abrams to a skip loader. Things that steer with my feet and some that steer with throttle and break. Beyond the first few minutes of learning curve I don’t seem to have any problem keeping it all straight. I do notice that unlike most people I cant hold a decent conversation when I drive unless it’s just small talk. If someone is asking me questions I will pull over to talk to them. But I can jump off my mtn bike with standard brake set up and jump right onto my Boxter and have no problem thinking that the clutch is a brake I think my mind remembers the feel of the grip and lever and that plays into it but I just don’t know.

Now I know there are people that when in an unfamiliar car will slam on the break with their left foot because they are use to having a clutch there but I never really thought about it being such a universally normal thing.

Is their any one out there that can shed some light on this? Research papers or articles etc.