That's what I thought, but the shop guy said he would have to remove the gear shifts

He may have misunderstood what you wanted. I'd try bringing it back in and saying "I'd like the left brake lever to actuate the rear brake and right lever to actuate the front brake. I've heard all you need to do is swap the cables."

That's all I did on my mountain bike. The hard part was figuring out how to arrange the cables, and that turned out to be mainly for looks and not for function.

I got them reversed today! It was another, more experienced guy (the owner), who knew about this. The previous guy had no clue why some people would want the brakes reversed and thought he would have to remove all the nearby parts. It took only several minutes. Thanks for the encouragement from this thread

My bike mechanic calls this 'moto style'. I prefer it, even though I'm not a motorcycle rider, because it is easier for me to signal while braking that way.

I like being able to brake (rather than attenuate or skid) with one hand and signal with the other. So my brakes are "switched." Simple as that.

Another bike shop I went said they charge $30 for reversing the brake setup even if you buy the bike from them, because of "the time involved" to change the cables...

Depending on the shop rate that probably isn't too far out of line, however if I bought a brand new bike and asked, I think they should do it as part of the initial set up. I know my LBS would.

Aaron

Dude, since I restarted cycling in the 80's after years of motorcycling, the front brake is ALWAYS on the right.

And the UK--just don't loan the bike out to anyone--No matter how experienced a rider they are.

It's good to have your signaling arm on the same side as the front brake. That way you can do the rear brake with one hand and slow while signaling. I don't know if people have tried one-handed braking. But mashing on the front brake while having only one hand on the handlbars is a recipe for disaster, where as one-handed braking with the rear brake is much more controllable.

Some of us are pretty good at using the right hand for the front brake after motorcycling.

Maybe. I rode a motorcycle for a number of years. The rotational inertia of the bigger tire, hub, rim and brakes provide more damping of steering input when compared to a bicycle.

But the reason for braking with the back brake while signaling is pure physics. I'm not a physicist, but with real world experimentation, there was a dramatic difference in how much the front end turns when braking with the rear brake as opposed to the front brake. Try it.

Between the slower speeds I ride at (my commute involves lots of speeding up and slowing down, keeping my average speed pretty low) and the habit of using the front brake for most of my braking it may take me a while to notice this. One thing I do use the rear brake for is for making noise when stopping around people standing in the MUP I commute on. The rear brake is easy to lock and skid, making it more effective at attracting the attention of the imobile pedestrians.

Or, ya know, practice until you get good at it.

All of my bikes are set up right/front. It's saved my bacon more than once. It's tremendously handy to be able to brake, signal, and shift all at the same time

If you're emergency braking, you shouldn't be bothering to signal.

If you are having trouble modulating braking force, then you should consider adjusting your cabling or getting better pads (or practice).

If you find yourself applying steering input while you're braking one-handed, you simply need more practice. When you brake, you're applying torque to the back of the handlebar through your arm/wrist due to pushing yourself back as you brake. With two hands, you can counteract this torque with your other hand. With one hand, you need to rely on the stability of your bike to counteract this force. There is a maximum point after which your steering deflection is no longer negligible which is a direct result of your braking intensity. This specific braking intensity will be about as much (depending on your bike's stability characteristics) intensity as will be provided by your rear brakes, as your rear tires will begin to slip around that point (which, in fact, causes MUCH lower braking power, since the coefficient of kinetic friction is much less than the coefficient of static friction).

Personally, I signal with light braking force, and then use as much as I want after putting my hand back down.