Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
I think of it this way...if you were taking part in a bicycle race and could only have one set of brakes for some reason, would you put them on the front or rear wheel?
Well, on the back, of course...you know that you're going to flip over if you're riding fast, brake the front wheel, and that rear end has to come swinging around somehow.
Off road I did use rear brake more. I have locked the front tire and not had issues--I only worry about side traction, where the tire starts plowing. But the worst spills I took was when the rear tire locked and the bike slid out from under me.
On my road bike I can easily live without the rear brake, it doesn't do much of anything. All the braking force is up front, once the weight shifts there.
If you are going at speed on a road bike and hit just the front brake hard, you are hosed. An experienced learns to hit the rear hard and modulate the front to avoid flipping in an emergency, or they learn to stop riding.
Well, I have not tried a bike with disc brakes--do they brake that much harder?
I assume one finger for a nose wheelie, just like mtb V-brakes.
In a straight line though I pretty much ignore the rear brake as its not going to do anything once I get the front brake optimized. In a hard corner though, then the rear comes into play and you have to adjust both brakes. Usually though its a choice to tighten your line, so less front brake and a bit more rear so you don't lose the front end. Or open your line, so more front brake can be used.