Badger6

I think we should separate two things. Emergency braking (max braking) and normal braking.

There are a few folks here that keep banging on about emergency braking, which is a very specific situation and one that involves surprise, which therefore means without well developed skills a rider will be unable to stop safely. The suggestion (fact) that it is only (best) achieved with the front brake is correct. Physics and lots of observation reflect this. But, emergency braking should be a rare event, if it isn't rethink how you ride and how attentive you are when riding.

Braking under normal circumstances should be planned, meaning normal braking shouldn't be a surprise...if it is, it is emergency braking. See above. Normal braking is 70/30 (for sake of using hard numbers) front/rear bias. If 99.999999% of a rider's braking is normal, they should be using their brakes in this fashion and developing the skills to ratio the brakes back and forth front to rear as required for the surface or situation. If properly developed, when an emergency situation occurs, the developed skill will let the rider brake appropriately and in the fastest (shortest) time possible. Shifting body weight on the bike is also part of this.

Jeff Neese

It's the same as with a motorcycle - you ALWAYS use both brakes. That's because you want your muscle memory to reach for both brakes automatically without having to think about it. You don't have to apply the front brake as hard if you're just slowing yourself down, but both brakes should be engaged. If you get in the habit of just reaching for the rear brake, then when you need more braking (panic stop, or for any other reason) you have that moment when your brain has to "remember" to reach for the front brake too. Muscle memory is a powerful thing and it pays to develop that in your braking. If your muscle memory is to use the rear brake only and someone or something pulls out in front of you, you don't want to have to "remember" to use both brakes. You want your body to just react automatically and reach for both brake levers at the same time. Train your muscle memory to use both brakes, always.

xroadcharlie

This is a very good point. As a recreational cyclist I'm guilty of using the only back brake much of the time. Once someone unexpectedly turned in front of me and my first instinct was to apply the back brake. You find out in a hurry that alone in an emergency is next to useless. While I was able to avoid a collision after applying the front too, I should have learned from that experience to get into the habit of using both brakes all the time. But I soon fell back into my old ways of using the back brake alone.

I plan to remedy that from now on.

scottfsmith

I agree, you should always use both brakes. Just vary how much force you are applying. I use more back brake on the mild brake situations, and the more I need to stop the harder I push on the front brake compared to the back. On dry pavement front-only will be the fastest stop, but on wet pavement your front will start skidding earlier and so you want some back brake as well. In an emergency you don't necessarily have time to think wet-or-not, just hit both brakes and adjust.

LarrySellerz

the front brake is like 90+% of your braking power

eddy m

This ^^^^
Use the rear brake on long downhills only to keep you at a comfortable speed while preventing the front brake from overheating.
the bike will stop almost as well with front brakes only as it will with both brakes, and much better than it will with rear brake only. If anyone doesn't believe that, it's easy enough to do the experiment to prove.

em

eddy m

This too ^^^^

em

Symox

Thanks everyone - did several fast descents using 70/30 front/rear

much safer and fun

genejockey 

I wonder how many novices crash because they were told "Don't use your front brake or you'll go over the bars!", and never learn how to use both brakes?

Badger6

On its face this statement is false as written. Not helpful, and dangerous.

Racing Dan

Im betting most of the rear braking that ppl do is because the rear brake is in the right, thus more natural to most. I moved the front brake to the right lever and it quickly became natural braking mostly on the front. In the past with the rear on the right, that's what I used, except when being conscious about it.

dabac

I’m having trouble seeing how that would work. As long as you’re moving forward, your wheel will still be moving onto a new layer of loose topsoil. I’m struggling to see how you can use the same wheel to both freshen the surface and draw benefit from the cleared surface.
It’s supposed to kinda-sorta work for cars, where enough gravel can accumulate in front of the locked wheel to create a kind of wedge effect that helps with braking. Basically the flip side of hydroplaning.
Don’t think you’d get enough wedge effect to matter from a bicycle wheel.

dabac

BITD when I did mountain touring we did a fair bit of rear braking to prevent the front from overheating. I still remember the front rim sizzling when rolling through a puddle after a LONG descent.
On most of my road riding I set a small amount of rear brake while I do most ”active” braking up front. Basically I use the rear as a gauge. If the rear wheel begins to lock up, I know it’s becoming unweighted and that there isn’t much more braking to be had before going OTB.
Slick, slippery surfaces also prompt more rear brake use.

Kimmo 

For thirty years, I had the front brake on the left. Then, I decided that was wrong, because that's the hand I'll take off the bars first. Aside from realising that STI is brilliant for simultaneously downshifting and braking with one move, I also realised my muscle memory needed a lot work when I'd sometimes grab a fistful of the wrong brake.

Then I built up an old bike with modern stuff, and left the rear brake off for a while because of the old school brake hole. Riding that bike around really helped rewire my muscle memory. I suggest you disconnect your rear brake for a month or two.

Zaskar

This thread is a great example of how much bad advice can found in forums. "100% front brakes in emergency stops" "Don't use rear brakes" This is completely wrong. If you aren't able to use your rear brake to add to your front brake's effort - even in hard efforts - you should spend less time typing on forums and more time riding your bike... and learning how to modulate those brakes.

Weight transfer works both ways - of course the faster you decelerate, the greater the load on the front end... so move back and put more weight on the rear tire. Ever seen a sprinter right at the line - throwing the bike forward? Doing that when braking in that emergency stop lets you use a lot more rear brake. Also, if the rear locks up (which you'll quickly correct because you've been practicing modulating), the rear is much less likely to move around - because it's no longer trailing with little to no weight on it.

Type less, ride more.

terrymorse 

If your grab any amount of rear brake in an emergency stop, and the rear wheel isn't skidding, you're not using maximum braking.

It's also a bad idea to skid the rear wheel when braking hard, because that will cause the rear end to come around, and that can produce a high side crash (been there, done that).

In addition, pushing yourself back on the saddle isn’t to allow more rear braking. It’s to avoid an endo over the bars.

Yes, please use both brakes most of the time. But when braking at the limit, the rear brake is useless.