Chapter 6

Using Your Brakes

Picture yourself on a city path. Suddenly, you notice that you’re about to ride down a flight of stairs. Or you’re riding on a road and a motorist unexpectedly turns left in front of you. In cases like these, your bike’s brakes could save your life. But even if you don’t have such a dramatic experience, you’ll feel more confident and go faster if you’re ready to stop quickly and smoothly.

It takes practice to get peak performance out of your brakes. You can’t just jam them on and skid to a stop as in a car. For best results your brakes must be in good condition – and you need to practice using them effectively.

Brake setup

Some bicycles have only a coaster brake on the rear wheel or a “fixed gear” – braking is by pushing back against the turning pedals. These bicycles need twice as far to stop as a bicycle with a front brake. A front rim brake is a good idea for any bicycle and can be added easily, after which the instructions in this chapter apply. It’s also important to have two brakes in case one fails.

On new bicycles in the USA the left lever works the front brake. On new bicycles in Europe and on motorcycles, the right lever works the front brake. Everything you ride should be set up the same way. It is easy to switch brake cables, but retraining yourself can take a few weeks.

Test the brakes on an unfamiliar bicycle. Your hands should reach the levers easily and fit comfortably over them. Some levers are adjustable for small hands; others may need to be replaced. Brakes should engage before the levers move very far, and levers should not move all the way to the handlebar.

When you first start up, lightly try one brake, then the other. If they are weak, or lurch, grab, chatter or squeal, or the levers are reversed, it’s time to service the bicycle. If the brakes are more powerful than you expected, well, fine, but use care.

How Weight Transfer Works

To get the quickest possible stop, it helps to understand weight transfer.

When you’re running and stop suddenly, you have to put a foot out in front of yourself to keep from toppling forward. In the same way, when you stop a car, it “nosedives” as more weight goes to the front wheels.
Weight transfer also happens on your bicycle – try a little experiment: Walk along next to your bicycle, with your hands in their normal positions on the handlebars. Squeeze the front brake lever. The bike will stop quickly, but the rear wheel will rise off the ground.

Now squeeze just the rear brake lever. Braking will be weak, and the rear tire will skid.

The same things happen when you’re riding. If you rely too heavily on the rear brake, the rear wheel will skid and wear out the rear tire quickly. But if you use the front brake too hard you could pitch forward over the handlebars.

How, then, do you get a powerful stop without risk? There’s a trick to learn. Use the rear wheel as a signal to tell you how hard to apply the front brake. You become an antilock braking system for your bicycle.

The Rear Wheel’s Signal

For quick, safe stops from a high speed, use the antilock technique. You can train yourself to do this automatically.

Practice braking in an empty parking lot. Get going at a good speed, then squeeze the front lever – lightly at first – three times as hard as the rear. Increase force on both brake levers at the same time – the front always three times as hard as the rear.

The rear wheel will eventually skid. But by this time, most of the weight will be off the rear wheel, so it will skid only lightly. You won’t wear a big bald spot in the rear tire – though you will feel and hear the skid.

The rear wheel’s skidding is your signal to release the front brake a little, transferring weight toward the rear, ending the skid. Continuously adjust the force on the front brake lever up and down to keep the rear wheel on the verge of skidding. This results in the most powerful braking possible.

Also train yourself to release the brakes whenever the bicycle begins to go out of control. Practice only with great care in a quiet location. At a very low speed, 2 or 3 miles per hour, squeeze the front brake lever hard enough that the rear wheel begins to lift off the ground. Then release the brake lever instantly. Wear your helmet!

Most of your stopping power comes from your front brake. Once you know how powerful it is, you can safely use your front brake harder than the rear brake for straight-ahead braking on smooth dry pavement – the front wheel will not skid.

Braking Under Poor Conditions

Braking technique is different when the road surface is slippery or uneven, or if you’re turning. Then the front wheel can skid, and if it skids, you will fall. You must brake lightly and use the brakes equally, or sometimes not use the front brake at all.

On pavement that is mostly good, look ahead for the bumps and slippery spots. Release the brakes as you go over the bad spots, then increase force again once you’re back on good pavement.

Test a potentially slippery surface by applying the rear brake lightly. If the rear wheel skids easily, use the front brake less. Keep your speed down so that you can still stop in time to avoid hazards.

In wet weather, the streets will be more slippery and so will your rims. Dry the rims by applying the brakes ahead of time. It can take 100 feet or more before the brakes begin to work normally. Shiny, chrome-plated rims are the worst. Aluminum rims and disc brakes are much better.

When turning, you may have a choice to swerve out of danger or stop – but don’t try to do both at once. Practice gentle braking in turns and on slippery surfaces to get a feel for these conditions.

On a long, steep downhill grade, use both brakes equally to control speed and avoid overheating either rim. “Pumping” the brakes will improve heat dissipation. If the slope is extremely steep, the risk of pitchover is increased, so move your weight back and ride slowly to avoid the need for a quick stop.

Summary

Your training will pay off as you become more confident on your bike in all types of riding situations. You never know when you might have to stop – and the better you can stop, the more confidently you can go.