Rimmer

Do you people never hand signal?

Monster Pete

I normally use both brakes, with a bit of front bias. If I'm braking hard enough that my rear wheel starts to skid, I reduce the rear braking force. My bike usually has stuff on the rear rack, and I sit quite upright, so you can use a little more rear brake than you would be able to when leaning forward on a road bike.

There's nothing wrong with using the rear brake for a controlled, planned stop, but not being used to using the front brake (possibly through fear of going over the handlebars) can lead to going over the handlebars when you can't stop on rear brake alone during a panic stop and grab a fistful of front- essentially it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Correct use of the front brake will give the quickest stop. Both brakes do have their uses, but the front is by far more useful. If I had to choose only one brake, it would be the front one.

SweetLou

That is just nonsense! If just using the front brake in a panic stop will not likely end well, how will adding the rear brake make it better? If you panic and squeeze the front brake too hard or don't use proper braking technique and do an endo, then using or not using the rear brake will make no difference.

Tigerprawn

This thread is confusing. Mostly due to the fact that Sheldon says there are times when you should use the front and rear brakes. He just makes it a point that using both brakes at the same time, all the time, is not a good habit and learning to use both brakes individually and as a pair will make you a better cyclist.

I think it's muscle memory for me now, but whenever I brake VERY hard in a panic I shift my weight back. Probably stems from my initial fear of descents and going over my bars when braking.

If it's a true panic stop your #1 goal is to stop. Using both brakes will do that. Shifting your weight back can, most times, prevent you from flying over. I don't even know if I'm doing it properly, but the times that it does happen my body shifts down and back and I've never gone over.

pallen

Theoretically, you can only stop as fast as your front brake can stop you and the rear brake is not "necessary". Practically, it makes a lot of sense to use both since we probably don't all have perfectly finely honed skills with front braking only. I also use both because I'm cheap and want to distribute wear to both brake pads as evenly as possible.

I dont think most adults need to worry as much as they do about an endo from braking with the front brake. That's actually fairly difficult to do unless you are a serious lightweight and/or going down a steep grade.

dcrowell

I use both brakes, but adjust pressure depending on traction, speed, turning, and a million other little variables. There aren't "rules" about it, you just learn what works for you.

I also figure that using both brakes will mean longer brake pad life.

cyccommute 

There is, mostly in the Road forums, a rabid group of misinformed people who will tell you (almost) that bad things happen when you use the rear brake on your bike. Oddly enough they are as afraid of using the rear brake as some...again misinformed...people are of using the front brake. People who are afraid of using the front brake at least have a reason, however invalid, for their fear of using the front brake. The rabid anti-rear brakers only reason is because it's uncool and they misinterpret the physics.

As I've discussed in Andy_K's thread, the logic...even Sheldon Brown's...is flawed. The maximum deceleration you can obtain is at the point where the bike is about to rotate around the front hub. It is not when the rear wheel skids and you are still getting some braking from the rear tire or even when the rear wheel is lifted. You have to be up in the air just about to go over and onto your nose. This is the maximum you deceleration you can obtain because there isn't anything more you can squeeze out of the system past this point. You are no longer braking but falling.

What people who adhere to the 'you get the maximum out of your brakes by using only the front one' don't realized is at what point you get the maximum. If you are going to hoist the rear of the bike into the air and balance at the tipover point each and every time you use your brakes, you'll get maximum effectiveness out of your brakes. You'll also have a huge dental bill. It's just not practical to try to reach the maximum each time you want to stop. It's probably not practical to try to reach that maximum even in a panic stop situation. Up to that tipover point or, at least, up to the point where the rear wheel loses contact with the ground, you improve your braking by using both brakes.

In fact, you can vastly improve your braking ability by changing your center of gravity on the bike. The further back and down you push, the harder it is to lift the rear of the bike and the more effective your brakes are. The first mountain bike rider to put front brakes on a mountain bike learned this technique and it's almost universally practiced by anyone with some mountain bike experience. You'd never hear this 'use only the front brake' argument from someone who rides off-road. If a mountain bike rider doesn't have first hand experience with a stopped from wheel and an endo, they are either new to the sport or they ride only in Kansas*

*Yea, I know Kansas isn't flat but most people think it is. Sorry

AdamDZ

Yes. With my middle finger

Your explanation would probably go over most people's heads and they will rather accept misconceptions than logic. Mainly, because logic isn't cool these days.

earthworm94

Although I hope most people got that number was a figurative representation, I'm sorry for throwing numbers around. That number represents the fact that I have done most of my commuting in a small city with little traffic.

Let me rephrase then,
Overwhelming majority of stops in commuting are not panic stops, at least according to my own experience.

earthworm94

First, please don't push beyond common sense on what I said.

I hope at least we can all agree that overwhelming majority of stops in normal commuting are NOT panic stops, unless there are some who just enjoys making every stop a panic stop (have to admit it's kind of fun). And the "I don't need to stop on the dime" phrase was addressing those 95% or now revised "majority" of stops. And in my next sentence after your quote, I addressed about panic stops.

nelson249

I use both brakes but generally engage the rear just before the front to prevent the old endo thing. Bad experience panic stopping the front only. It also depends on the bike. My commuter is heavy on the rear end when I'm loaded so I am less cautious with the fronts when riding it.

JanMM

Is it sinful to mix brake styles? I use a front V-brake and a big rear disc brake on our tandem - usually at the same time! Just call me a brake mixer.
For what it's worth - have never panic stopped on this bike.
Worry over an endo is absolutely not a reason for using both brakes on a tandem.

Humpy

It must be nice having modern brakes. There is no chance whatsoever of my old side pull Dia-Compes locking the front wheel and tossing me over the bars. I definitely need and use both brakes.

The idea of a bike with just a front brake, or only using the front, seems crazy to me. Using a rear brake is predictable and controllable in all conditions. A front brake is sort of a one trick pony.

mike

Thanks for the original thread. After 12 years on BF.net, I thought that all bicycle related topics has been discussed at least ten times.

Now, I see that there is a new one about using the back brake being taboo. I also learned something new - like when I learned that my skateboarding style was called "goofy foot" or something like that.

Man, the more time I spend on the internet, the more I learn what I am doing wrong - or at least I learn that what I do is not normal. I usually use the back brake more than the front brake because I found that I don't like cartwheeling over the frontwheel after using the front brake and getting bucked off the bicycle like a wild bronco.

Of course, I am going BACK to using the front break - Oops, I meant front BRAKE, now learning that using the back brake is taboo, or at least unconventional. I am tired of being unconventional all the time. I want to be hip like the rest of the guys. Front brake it is for me starting tomorrow. I know it will hurt, but it will be worth it. I want to be with the other 95% of the riders who use their front brake instead of the back break, uh I mean back BRAKE.

Thanks for keeping me hip, earthworm94! Keep it coming.

P.S. I am not using a kick-stand anymore either - thanks Bf.net guys!
P.P.S. I made a resolution to take off my derailure and convert to fixie too. Just haven't quite got there yet, but SOON, Duders! Cool is as cool does, fer sure!

mike

... or if you are standing on your peddals or going fast or if your brakes grab the front rim.

...or if your soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend is riding on the handlebars (what a mess that was! ya, probably my fault she never married that)

ben4345

I have met so many cyclists that will not even touch their front brakes, believing that they will catapult off their bikes if they do. It's really sad.

paulkal

It seems that I am a minority here, I only use my front brake. Rearbrake is only for backup reasons.

azesty

I use both, nearly all the time.

I have about a km on my commute that if it is wet, it is very slippery. Then I take my fingers off the front brake.

If you are only using your back brake you have doubled your stopping distance.

Back brake use wont stop an endo if you use the front brake. If you lift your rear tyre just a tiny bit off the road, then it doesnt make any difference if the back brake is on or off.

I am 80 kg, and have never done an endo, but have come very close.

Most emergency braking for me has the back locked up and skidding, not because I have too much on it, but because my front is stopping so hard that all the weight goes onto the front, and comes off the back. Less weight on the back, less frictional force.

If you dont use the front brake, I suggest you start, it could save your life. If you go fast then you really need to do this.

z

earthworm94

Let say misuse of either of the brake will not end pretty. If you use the front brake too hard you'd have a swipe out or endo, and if you use the rear too hard you'd fishtail.

My educated guess of why the roadies advocate for the front brake is because of their focus in racing. In racing, you want to brake as late and hard as possible for the most part. But in commuting, you want to coast your stops so your behavior on the road is predictable, saving your brakes and rims, and people behind you won't run into you, etc....

Yes, the muscle memory of sticking one's butt back and low during braking and descending is an essential skill for mountain biking and commuting. It gives more traction at the rear wheel (very using in loose terrain), and greatly reduce the chance of an endo.

Stealthammer

Ok, I thought of two other times that I use only the front brake:

When I am hopping a curb or going up one or two steps at slow speeds. When I approach the curb or step I lift the front end up onto the curb or onto the top step, then as it comes down I apply a little bit of front brake to perform a mini-stoppie, lofting the rear wheel up onto the curb without allowing the rear wheel to even touch the curb or step. This eliminates the any impact to the rear wheel and eliminates flat spotting the rim. (BTW: Stoppies are a very useful riding technique to practice to get over the fear of doing an endo and to learn to modulate the front brake.)

When I am riding the FG, because there is no rear brake....

JimCanuck

I was young (10-11 or so IIRC) but doing a emergency stop quickly down a hill, back when bike maintenance was a "huh?" topic for me I'll admit, I had to use my front brakes as my rear brakes were goners, and sure enough I enjoyed a nice little tumble.

Since then, I've always only used my rear breaks, and kept them well maintained. On some bikes (without integrated brake levers & shifters) I tend to remove the entire front brake assembly. And I have never had any problem with "stopping power" of using a rear brake on it's own.

Jim

AdamDZ

A kickstand?!? It causes intolerable side drag and torsional flex and makes your ride slow and unstable. Yeah, you better mend your ways before it's too late.

sm1960

Front when coming to controlled stops. Rear when slowing steep descents to check speed. Both when I need to stop quickly.

I signal my turns when there is traffic, and I have a kick stand.

mike

Thanks, AdamDZ. Wasn't sure why kickstands were uncool, but I knew they were thanks to the folks at BF.net who told me so.

Now, thanks to your post, I realize why I was always riding in circles - side drag!

metro2005

In an emergency stop you weight shifts forward and therefore lifting weight of your back wheel. When you brake with your rear brakes you only get a skidding back wheel and no stopping power. On a shortwheel based recumbent bike its even worse with all the weight on the front wheel you have almost no stopping power at the back wheel at all.

When in slippery conditions the rear brake can be usefull as well as when going downhill. You can then use the front and rear brake at the some time or switch between them to let them cool down.
You can also use the rearbrake to slowdown a little bit but not for coming to a complete stop.

In all other conditions: the front brake is the best option, it gives you the most stopping power (about 80% of the stopping power comes from the front brakes) and the most control over your bike because when your backwheel skids you fall.