redshift1

I broke a rear wheel spoke a few months ago which put a moderate buckle in my rim. So to get home, I backed off the caliper completely.

I never did get around to re-adjusting the rear brake caliper, and then realised recently this was because I don't miss it in the slightest.

My friend had another cyclist pull out in front of him a while ago and he locked up the rear wheel, slid all over the place and flat spotted and ruined his tyre. Yes I know he should learn to use his brakes, however it is still very easy to lock a rear tyre in a hard stop, with minimal r e t a r d a t i o n occurring from the rear tyre as weight transfers forward.

When I have to do a hard stop, I use the front brake and have never been happy also using the rear.

Using one brake only ( the front ) allows you to concentrate exclusively on moderating that brake lever to maximum effect.

Even in the wet, there seems to be plenty of front tyre grip. Perhaps because the narrow footprint of modern road tyres under load on asphalt cuts through the water layer and prevents aquaplaning.

Are rear brake calipers a vestige from times when front tyres had little grip ?

Does anyone find they have any practical use at all for rear brakes ( on road bikes ) ?

tomato coupe

What word was censored?

79pmooney

If you ever have an issue where your front brake doesn't work you just might find that ineffective rear brake rather useful. Long descents, you can bleed a lot of speed and heat with them. I've often alternated front and rear to bleed speed on very steep, windy descents and descents with stop signs at the bottom.

I do most of my riding on fix gears and still keep both brakes. Now, I do agree that control with overuse of the rear brake can be an issue but there are ways to deal with it. More skill and patience. Preached by many. I find adrenaline sometimes takes over. So I de-power my rear brakes (I do little braking from the brake hoods, much preferring the drops as I was coached to do back in the dark ages). My city bikes get less effective rear brake calipers and all my bike use continuous housing for the rear brakes.

I also find those levers have nice handles for climbing. If I'm going to put up with (and benefit) from them, I might as well carry those calipers around as well.

Troul 

to add to what has been stated; if your weight distribution is not always managed for all conditions, you increase your odds to over endo with a front brake emergency stop.

Being capable to simultaneously modulate both brakes during a slowing or stopping event has not been an issue from my experience.

MarcusT

Hard breaking situation with the front and you may ollie. Happens everyday

veganbikes

I have never not wanted a rear brake. Especially in an emergency situation I would rather not go over the bars grabbing a big fistful of front brake only.

Kontact

I have never actually heard of anyone going over the bars on a road bike from just the front break.

I have nearly had a bad crash from using both brakes in wet conditions. The rear locked too easily and the rear tried to slide past the front.

I've friends that have descended the Alps at speed using only the front brake.

rsbob 

I did go over the bars by just grabbing the front brake. Had scares on my knee and elbow for decades. Now you know one.

wolfchild

Riding with only one functional brake is just plain dumb.

wolfchild

Even when I ride fixed gear I still have front and rear brakes...Main reason for two brakes are that sometimes I switch from FG to SS so when I ride SS I need two brakes. It's a fact that two brakes are more effective and safer than just one brake...This whole trend of riding with just one front brake is just a silly and stupid urban trend started by fixie hipsters trying to look cool and hardcore. There are absolutely zero advantages to riding with just one brake.

Ironfish653

Funny, MTB guys find it useful to be able to lock up the rear wheel. A locked rear wheel is also fairly easy to control, if you've got your weight back, like you should, when you're braking hard.

Riding MTBs and Motos, on loose surfaces, and on the street you can feel the effects of braking one wheel or the other much more distinctly than a rigid road bike. Loose surfaces will show you very quickly, the way braking cuts into the "traction budget" available to your wheels for things like steering and lateral grip.
Motos, with their far higher weight, and suspension, can demonstrate much more clearly how braking one wheel or the other affects the distribution of weight from front to rear that's not as obvious on a rigid road bike.

For example, on a bumpy corner, you want to shift your weight back, and keep your arms loose to lessen the shocks, but that takes away from the weight you need for grip, and keeping the wheel in contact with the road surface. Trailing the rear brake makes the frame rotate around the rear axle, applying force (but not body weight) to the front wheel, helping keep it on the road, and adding to the available grip.

Brakes aren't an either / or all-or-nothing proposition either, and I don't know why that trope persists around here that managing two handbrakes is so challenging.

My feeling on this is that unlike MTBs and motorcycles, a road bike (on good pavement) lets you get away with bad habits until a much higher threshold, until it bites you; at which point " Two Handbrakes is too hard!"

PeteHski

This is very well put. I have a background in vehicle dynamics and have to say I couldn't have put this any better. Rear brakes are a must-have if you are doing wheelies. If you think you are about to flip out backwards a quick dab on the rear brake pulls the front back down. Niche case of course on a road bike, but it demonstrates the effect rear braking has on the dynamics.

Peruano

A locked or sliding front wheel is impossible to steer. Need I say more?

Bald Paul

Hmmm, how long before hydraulic anti-lock braking systems are introduced on road bikes?

Until that happens, learn how to modulate your brake pressures. It's not rocket science.

PeteHski

I was wondering this too. This and single lever operation of both brakes with balance control etc.

noimagination

As Ironfish said, using just the front brake in low-friction conditions (wet roads; ice patch; gravel; etc.) can mean a quick trip to the pavement when your front wheel washes out.

PeteHski

Yep, I saw a few crashes on wet descents last season. Too much combined front braking and steering, leading to tyre overload and the inevitable front washout and slide into the scenery. I occasionally lock the rear when braking hard, but it doesn't cause me any problems.

cyccommute 

The rear brake locking…and the resultant skid…is telling you that you are using too much front brake. When the rear brake skids, you get off the front brake since you are lifting the rear and losing control. A skidding tire, like you’ve experienced is an uncontrolled tire.

At the same time, you push back further on the bike to increase the deceleration. This changes the center of gravity of the system, making pitch over more difficult. Bicycles, with their high center of gravity and short wheelbase, make them prone to pitch over than any other vehicle. But they also have more dynamic control of that center of gravity than any other vehicle. On dry pavement, the rider can be lazy and not worry too much about that management. When things get steep, wet, loose, or some combination of the three, bad habit can come back to bite you.

Claude.fr

Not long.
Magura offers already an ABS for e-MTB and for utility e-bikes.

https://www.magura-abs-components.com/en

RB1-luvr

^^ as cycco said, the less-than-desirable situation before going otb is decreased contact of the back tire when applying too much front brake. I'm all about using both in the appropriate amount in almost all circumstances.

Koyote

Agreed, and I’ll take it a step further: I race on gravel a lot, and lately I’ve been working on locking the rear wheel through tight turns, which actually allows me to carry more speed. In other words, rather than slowing way down for a loose corner, I hit it faster, lock up the rear wheel to slide the bike around, then start pedaling again.

Kontact

I didn't just learn to ride a bike.

Going downhill and trying to turn did everything necessary to unload the rear wheel - just like using the parking brake to drift a car.

In contrast, the front brake loads the front wheel, planting it more firmly into the pavement.


If the traction conditions are poor, either brake can cause a skid, but the rear brake is more likely due to the low load it is carrying and any lateral imbalance due to cornering. Let's face it - the danger zone is downhill turns for bikes.


So while I appreciate everyone's feelings on the matter, I know too many racers who have ridden for decades in hilly and mountainous conditions using just their front brakes, and my own experiences in tight, hilly, wet conditions that lead me to believe that rear brakes are of extremely limited value in downhill turns. I wouldn't want to not have a rear brake, but I don't think there are many circumstances where it will save you instead of contributing to a loss of directional control.

RB1-luvr

as they say in motorcycle gp racing: backing it in! haha

BobbyG

I don't know about anybody else, but I have no problem modulating both front and rear brakes on any of my 5 bikes. I mostly ride in urban areas so there's a lot of traffic to contend with. I find gradually slowing by gentle application of the rear brake more stable than using the front. Also if the rear wheel locks up, there is less danger of losing stability than if the front locks...especially in slick conditions, like rain and on snow and ice.

On my lightest road bike with 700x23 tires it's true rear-wheel braking contributes less braking power than my heavier bikes. But on my heaviest bike, an old '90s steel MTB commuter with a large, heavy backpack of office clothes and any-weather-contigency-and-emergency-gear sitting on the rear rack over one of the 26x1.85 smoothies with epic v-brake clench-ability, the rear wheel alone can stop the bike in short order without locking up.

And in the wet, snow or on ice (with studded tires) having the combined modulation and braking power of two wheels, even if the stopping power of the front is greater, means more braking power before lock-up than, having only one wheel braking.

Is it necessary to have both wheels brake? No. Look at simple old-school single-speed coaster wheel bikes (rear wheel) or minimalist new-school single speeds and fixies with only a front wheel brake...or no-brake track bikes and skid-stop fixies. They all stop...after a fashion.

The question is how much braking power and control under braking do you want or need, and from which wheel or wheels. And that will vary from cyclist to cyclist depending on what kind of cycling they do and personal preference.

cyccommute 

No, but you just have bad habits.

Most people avoid braking in corners because of the tendency of bicycles to unload the rear wheel.

Nope. That’s not how braking on a bicycle works. A car or motorcycle or even a tandem bicycle have a low enough center of gravity (or are long enough in the case of the tandem), that the vehicle can load the front wheel to the point where it overcomes friction and starts to slide. Bicycles (on dry pavement) can’t do that. We don’t have enough weight to overcome the friction between the tire and the pavement. Before the wheel slides, the wheel will lock and send the rider over the bars. Pushing back and squatting down on the bike will lower the center of gravity and allow for more loading on the front wheel but you’ll never be able to squat low enough to load the wheel to the point where it slides. In other words, brake hard enough and you’ll still go over the bars.


Nope…at least not completely. The rear brake skids because the bike lifts during braking. The point is to reduce the lift. The only way to do that is to stop the transfer of weight to the front wheel. And the only way to accomplish the weight reduction on the front wheel is to get off the front brake. I, like many mountain bikers, am very familiar with downhill corners. And I, like any mountain bikers, go easy on the front brake…and rear for that matter…in downhill corners.


Depending on the front brake alone is a bad habit that pavement will let you get away with…for a while. Tell anyone who rides mountain bikes in far less forgiving conditions that they should only use their front brake. You’ll likely have to pick them up off the floor because they will be too exhausted from laughing to stand on their own.