Braking procedure ?

Hi

I was wondering if someone could give me some advice.

 

When i first learnt to ride a bike i was told to apply the rear brake first followed by the front to stop going over the handlebars.

 

When i took my motorcycle test i was taught the opposite as the weight will go onto the shockers to absorb the momentum.

 

Well my bike has front shockers so do i brake as per normal for a bike or as a motorbike/ I would rather not find this out the hard way..

 

Thanks

My preference always is the motorcycle way, even on rigid fork bikes since weight is still lifted from the rear wheel as soon as the front brake is applied. So lead with the more effective front brake and assist with the rear brake.

 

Of course in very slippery conditions or when banked, go easy on the front brake.

.

I tend to apply both at the same time, but I would guess that I squeeze the front brake twice as hard as the rear. Seems to provide good stopping power in most conditions.

 

This is also reflected in how often the pads wear and get changed, 2 fronts to every 1 rear.

For me it depends on where I am..

If slithering down a muddy trail I don't even think about the front brake...

Well worth a look at this, though aimed at off road it's good advice.

http://www.mtbtechniques.co.uk/fundamentalsbraking.html

Dave.

Surely, any braking shifts weight onto the front wheel? I have front sus forks and my back brake always goes on first. Not heavily, but enough to transfer that weight to the front giving more down force onto that wheel, making a firmer 'plant' for front braking. Majority of stopping force is done by front brake using the 'feel' in the lever to adjust braking force accordingly. That said I'd much rather have the rear wheel break away, through over braking, than the front.

I ride the steep and narrow lanes of west Wales and, on a steep descent, that central hump of grass/gravel can be very upsetting if the braking's wrong.

If you need to brake so hard that you could go over the handle bars, then I suspect you wouldn't have much time to think about which lever to pull first.

As I see it there are 2 easy ways to fall off, or should i say be spat off..

1/ loosing front wheel traction on any thing other than a straight line.

2/ too much front wheel traction stopping the front while the back keeps going...

Lol..