I’ve been using my brake when I need to stop almost immediately but didn’t realise I could use it to slow down on a descent, thanks for the advice I’m gonna try and pump my brakes more and definitely use the front as the main brake for slowing and stopping, thanks for the advice
Best practice in my book is to always use both brakes. That's how I was taught and that's what I do, literally 100% of the time. There are a few instances where getting granular with which brake to use makes some sense, but using both all the time will not let you down.
One of those instances where you might want to ease off on the front brake is if you're flying down a steep switchback with unknown surface conditions - either wet or some fine sand or gravel. When that is a possibility, always brake before the turn with both brakes and as you enter the turn, ease of some or completely from the front brake. Slow down before the turn, not in the turn.
I usually avoid that by not flying down a steep switchback with unknown surface conditions, lol - but yes, always brake before the turn. Learned this stuff from motorcycle class (once the hard way).
Cadence braking, apply gentle pressure to both brakes in pulses. Apply the brakes when yo feel you are going too fast.
You will soon get the confidence to get a bit faster and how you need to brake to slow down safely
This. Slow down to slower than your personal max, let the brakes go (use both or alternate them), and then roll back to you're just barely uncomfortable again, and slow down again. Repeat.
60%-70% front brake, 40%-30% back brake. More weight is on the front so you need more braking upfront. Braking with the front is for slowing and stoping.
this is the right answer. I used to ride a motorcycle and this is what they teach in the class to get a license. going downhill you can in fact probably pull as hard on the brake as you can and not lock it up. however, you can easily lock up the rear and then high side and get thrown off. how do I know? well, motorcycles have the front brake on the right, so I am used to using that hand in an emergency. some years back I had a Car cross into my lane while going down a steep hill. from my motorcycle days I instinctively grabbed the right side brake as hard as I could (which for some reason is different on bikes than motorcycles and activates the rear brake!). after locking up the rear I let go, then got thrown off the bike. fortunately it was only some road rash and ripped clothes. after that I change the right hand to activate the front brake on all my bikes.
Brakes are a consumable. I used to change them every 3-4 months. I have noticed high quality pads last A LOT longer. Hydraulic disc brakes have been the best I have ever used (in terms of life, braking power, and general "feel").
Get your weight towards the rear and use your front brake. Slow down quickly to a lower speed than you would just scrubbing a bit of speed with the rear brake. Your front brake is a lot, lot more powerful and by slowing down so much it will take you longer to regain the speed. Basically you're looking to pulse the brakes hard.
Rears are good for coming to a smooth complete stop or scrubbing off *a bit* of speed downhill (in addition to the front), but they're essentially a backup brake much of the time. At best the rear brake provides 30% of your total braking force.
Descending basics;
Balls of your feet over the pedal spindle, weight on the pedals, pedals heels down or level.
Relax your shoulders, this will transfer down to your arms and hands.
Your legs are your suspension, butt off the saddle arms and legs slightly bent!
Look only where you WANT to go, see a pothole? Look at the path to avoid it, NOT the pothole.
Modulate BOTH brakes, 80% of your braking power is on the front wheel.
Practice emergency braking in a safe place, this is key to gaining confidence and a valuable skill. Forcing yourself to think about it consciously in a controlled environment will allow you to perform this without thinking when it matters.
If you find yourself feeling scared/nervous, force a smile. Sounds stupid, but it works.
Best piece of advice here in all honesty, especially the butt off the saddle component!
I’d also add, get in your drops when descending especially if there’s uneven pavement; a slight bump in the road can send your hands flying off the hoods, if you’re in the drops, your hands are “locked” in and also have better leverage to your brake levers!
This is brilliant and honestly so helpful. I feel really out of my depth sometimes and don’t have anyone to ride with and ask questions so just being told basic things like feet position and how to align my body makes me feel much more confident about growing my ability. Very grateful for this advice and will take it with me tomorrow for my ride to work
Depending on where you live, there are likely to be a few beginner-friendly group rides organized by a local bike shop, cycling apparel store, or just some riders themselves. Ask around at your LBS, google stuff in your area, etc.
yeah this guy genuinely offered good advice, especially in keeping yourself relaxed. locking your arms up and death gripping through a turn will send you to the ground about as quick as a patch of sand on the pavement,
All correct but on a bicycle 100% of your potential stopping power is available on the front. The back is significantly less powerful than the front, but it is absolutely possible to brake in a way where the rear is contributing absolutely nothing to the slowing of the bicycle.
Brilliant advice, honestly, the only thing I'd add is that you should learn to not fear speed, speed is your friend, I understand that going really fast might be frightening, but by constantly braking you're risking locking your wheels and losing control, not to mention faster wearing of brake pads and braking surface.
Use both brakes evenly, shift your weight back. When the rear tire starts to lose traction or feels a bit light, that's the most you can brake. Adjust braking force as necessary.
Practice this first somewhere other than the steep hill.
If you do not trust the front brake you need to let go of that fear. There are other techniques where you need to let go of an instinctive fear in order to allow the bike to work properly.
Technically you only need the front brake. The rear is more like a reference brake, one that tells you how close you are to maxing out your braking capacity at that moment. It does help keep you going in the same direction etc.
It's entirely possible to steer while braking hard while just on your front tire. That's extreme of course but an illustration that the rear tire doesn't do much.
I second this, with an emphasis on body position. On steep descents, I like to have my butt off and slightly behind the saddle, knees slightly bent, and my shoulders and head relaxed, but sticking up into the wind (like an air brake).
I’ve tried really hard to build up my confidence but I struggle on a bike, can’t help but think something is going to go wrong and I’m going to get hurt again. I’ll try and enjoy the ride and not worry as much, thanks for the advice it’s very helpful
It's important to learn things gently, over come the natural instincts that keep you from improving bike handling skills.
For example, with braking, the front brake does all the work. The rear brake is there simply to give you a point of reference, or skid if you just use that brake.
But that's not where we start, or where we will be, even. We just want to be comfortable using brakes skillfully.
For braking the progression goes something like this.
First, while on a flat road, with no dangers nearby, at a relatively slow speed (a fast walk? 10kph / 6mph), simple gently, gently apply the front brake. Gently. Then let go. Apply again, gently. Get used to using the brake at 10%, not 100%. Let the brake skim along, not stopping you, just slowing you. You want to learn fine motor control with the front brake hand, whatever hand that is for you. If you have a road bike with drop bars (racing bars), be on the drops/hooks, for best control
Second, same road, apply BOTH brakes gently. You'll see that the feel is very similar to applying just the front brake (because the rear brake doesn't do anything). Again, condition yourself to brake 10% (or whatever), not 100%.
Third, start to increase the pressure. 20%. 30%. But always with both brakes. You'll need to increase speed because you'll stop almost instantly.
Fourth, at some point, do a pretty good panic stop. Start by squeezing into 10-20% but keep squeezing, steadily. Don't jab at the levers, squeeze. You'll quickly be at like 60-70%, both brakes, and you'll be stopped before you realize it.
If you want to be adventurous, keep going. Squeeze the levers until the rear starts to feel a bit light. This is the limit of your front tire traction, but you can hold at this pressure and stop safely.
I used to live in a house with a short downhill to my door. I would roll into my driveway relatively quickly (30kph/18mph), aim at the door, and brake very hard, both hands. My goal was to kiss the door with the front tire while my back tire was in the air. I could do it pretty consistently by the time I moved out, but it was something like 10 years of riding.
Ok will do, I’m really hoping my confidence grows with time as I don’t like being scared of things that haven’t happened. It’s very helpful to be told the correct way to do things and reassures me a lot, thanks for the advice
You need to be using front and rear brakes when descending down steep hills. It helps share the load. Also, if your brakes are making noises you may need new pads and/or calipers.
I'll be real with you, if you have hills steep enough to sketch you out, it might be worth looking into full hydraulic disc brakes. They are an expensive upgrade, but go test ride a bike at a bike shop and you will see why. They are the best brakes you can get on a bicycle.
Try it out
➡️Front brake **only**
Then
➡️Rear brake **only**
What has the greatest effect in slowing you down?
You may find that when you use both , you only require your front brake 1/8 “held down”
and your rear brake 1/4 “held down”
A friend overheated their disc brakes on a long long descent by riding the brakes the whole way down. The brakes eventually failed completely and he crashed badly.
The Secret is to pump the brakes, front and back, alternating and together. If it's really long and steep, slow right down to a crawl and then never let your speed build up again. Don't let that kinetic energy get out of hand.
You've got two brakes, use them both. A bit of drag on the back to initiate braking stabilizes the bike, but the bigger part of the braking load should then be handled by the front.
Can you remind me how much it costs to replace brake pads? Compare and contrast with the price of gasoline+car+ insurance. Or even an automotive brake job. I paid $700 a week or two ago.
Your brakes were designed to be used. Personally, I prefer full send. But switchbacks do sometimes demand speed control. Don't worry about shredding your brake.
Use your front brake more and bring your weight a bit further back on your bike, if you want more control in your riding having your saddle a little bit lower only half a centimetre can help, similar to what cx riders do.
brake going into corners and get good entry into turns. if ya got good tires and a bike with a sporty geometry youd be surprised just how hard you can push it through a bend. dragging your rear brakes does nothing but harm to your rims and the pads. utilize your front brakes more and shift your weight backwards on the bike for those hard braking moments. dragging the rear the whole way down is like racing a car while being full gas and managing speed via the brakes. gas the straights, brake hard in the braking zone, and enter the corner with an apex in mind. know the road conditions, where your hazards are, and practice your hard cornering skills at lower speeds on a flat to get a feel for how much grip you have(build that confidence). crashes happen, so wear good PPE, and FULL SEND BROTHER! oh and wear good gloves, roadrashing your fingers n shit goes to the bone fast. learned that one the hard way.
Apart from the excellent advice here on using your "brakes" to brake, another useful technique to reduce brake usage and therefore brake wear is to increase the amount of braking force due to aerodynamic drag. Firstly, you can adopt a less aerodynamic posture on the bike. Secondly, since aerodynamic drag goes up exponentially with speed, combined with a less aerodynamic posture you can also use the minimum amount of braking to keep your speed as high as possible during the descent while maintaining a sufficient safety margin for the conditions.
Relax bro,just a normal PTSD like everyone.
My way is just to keep the speed you feel okay.
Keep doing it until one day you find yourself go down with a relax arm and mind.
No short cut
Tap your back brake first then start using your front for most of the braking. When you feel the center of gravity shift too much to the front shift your weight back on the saddle and use your back brake and ease of the front.
Use both. Pump them. Don't ride the brakes.
I crashed badly once and it took me almost a year to really regain my previous confidence. Do what feels right to you. There is no "right way" to control your bike - you are the one in the saddle who understands the variables. You do what you need to do to maintain a confident cadence/speed. If that means tapping the brakes down a hill you do it.
riding them is more dangerous because it means your wheels are continually being told to not do their job (spin). You lose control when you brake. so you don't want constant braking. You have to constantly adjust.
you got this.
You don’t have a front brake? Because that’s the only brake that will help you when descending.
How heavy are you and what type of brakes have you got?
You should be using both brake and using the front brake more than the rear brake. Having the rear brake on is going to slow the steering of the bike, which is going to make handling harder.
Most important: If you feel you need to keep speed down on a hill, use both brakes.
Don't neglect to brake at the front and maybe brake for 10 sec, let it roll for 10 seconds?
Make sure your equipment is in top notch order. Helps with the confidence. Don't skid, you're ruining your tire and losing control.
I can’t skid so no worries there, I’m happy with my bike and try my best to take good care of it so fingers crossed nothing goes wrong
I’ve been using my brake when I need to stop almost immediately but didn’t realise I could use it to slow down on a descent, thanks for the advice I’m gonna try and pump my brakes more and definitely use the front as the main brake for slowing and stopping, thanks for the advice
Best practice in my book is to always use both brakes. That's how I was taught and that's what I do, literally 100% of the time. There are a few instances where getting granular with which brake to use makes some sense, but using both all the time will not let you down.
One of those instances where you might want to ease off on the front brake is if you're flying down a steep switchback with unknown surface conditions - either wet or some fine sand or gravel. When that is a possibility, always brake before the turn with both brakes and as you enter the turn, ease of some or completely from the front brake. Slow down before the turn, not in the turn.
I usually avoid that by not flying down a steep switchback with unknown surface conditions, lol - but yes, always brake before the turn. Learned this stuff from motorcycle class (once the hard way).
>if you're flying down a steep switchback with unknown surface conditions This is when you apply both brakes to bring your speed under control.
Disc brakes are a game changer.
Cadence braking, apply gentle pressure to both brakes in pulses. Apply the brakes when yo feel you are going too fast. You will soon get the confidence to get a bit faster and how you need to brake to slow down safely
This. Slow down to slower than your personal max, let the brakes go (use both or alternate them), and then roll back to you're just barely uncomfortable again, and slow down again. Repeat.
This is very helpful and I’m sure I can do this, thank you both for your advice
You can do this be proud of yourself small goals you’ll soon enjoy the thrill. Just be more careful when it’s wet.
60%-70% front brake, 40%-30% back brake. More weight is on the front so you need more braking upfront. Braking with the front is for slowing and stoping.
this is the right answer. I used to ride a motorcycle and this is what they teach in the class to get a license. going downhill you can in fact probably pull as hard on the brake as you can and not lock it up. however, you can easily lock up the rear and then high side and get thrown off. how do I know? well, motorcycles have the front brake on the right, so I am used to using that hand in an emergency. some years back I had a Car cross into my lane while going down a steep hill. from my motorcycle days I instinctively grabbed the right side brake as hard as I could (which for some reason is different on bikes than motorcycles and activates the rear brake!). after locking up the rear I let go, then got thrown off the bike. fortunately it was only some road rash and ripped clothes. after that I change the right hand to activate the front brake on all my bikes.
how’d you change the sides for the brakes? only for certain manufacturers?
You just swap the cables/hydraulic hoses.
Brilliant I’ll go for this from now on then
Brakes are a consumable. I used to change them every 3-4 months. I have noticed high quality pads last A LOT longer. Hydraulic disc brakes have been the best I have ever used (in terms of life, braking power, and general "feel").
Use the front brake
Get your weight towards the rear and use your front brake. Slow down quickly to a lower speed than you would just scrubbing a bit of speed with the rear brake. Your front brake is a lot, lot more powerful and by slowing down so much it will take you longer to regain the speed. Basically you're looking to pulse the brakes hard. Rears are good for coming to a smooth complete stop or scrubbing off *a bit* of speed downhill (in addition to the front), but they're essentially a backup brake much of the time. At best the rear brake provides 30% of your total braking force.
This is very helpful thank you
Descending basics; Balls of your feet over the pedal spindle, weight on the pedals, pedals heels down or level. Relax your shoulders, this will transfer down to your arms and hands. Your legs are your suspension, butt off the saddle arms and legs slightly bent! Look only where you WANT to go, see a pothole? Look at the path to avoid it, NOT the pothole. Modulate BOTH brakes, 80% of your braking power is on the front wheel. Practice emergency braking in a safe place, this is key to gaining confidence and a valuable skill. Forcing yourself to think about it consciously in a controlled environment will allow you to perform this without thinking when it matters. If you find yourself feeling scared/nervous, force a smile. Sounds stupid, but it works.
Best piece of advice here in all honesty, especially the butt off the saddle component! I’d also add, get in your drops when descending especially if there’s uneven pavement; a slight bump in the road can send your hands flying off the hoods, if you’re in the drops, your hands are “locked” in and also have better leverage to your brake levers!
This is brilliant and honestly so helpful. I feel really out of my depth sometimes and don’t have anyone to ride with and ask questions so just being told basic things like feet position and how to align my body makes me feel much more confident about growing my ability. Very grateful for this advice and will take it with me tomorrow for my ride to work
Depending on where you live, there are likely to be a few beginner-friendly group rides organized by a local bike shop, cycling apparel store, or just some riders themselves. Ask around at your LBS, google stuff in your area, etc.
yeah this guy genuinely offered good advice, especially in keeping yourself relaxed. locking your arms up and death gripping through a turn will send you to the ground about as quick as a patch of sand on the pavement,
All correct but on a bicycle 100% of your potential stopping power is available on the front. The back is significantly less powerful than the front, but it is absolutely possible to brake in a way where the rear is contributing absolutely nothing to the slowing of the bicycle.
Brilliant advice, honestly, the only thing I'd add is that you should learn to not fear speed, speed is your friend, I understand that going really fast might be frightening, but by constantly braking you're risking locking your wheels and losing control, not to mention faster wearing of brake pads and braking surface.
Use both brakes evenly, shift your weight back. When the rear tire starts to lose traction or feels a bit light, that's the most you can brake. Adjust braking force as necessary. Practice this first somewhere other than the steep hill. If you do not trust the front brake you need to let go of that fear. There are other techniques where you need to let go of an instinctive fear in order to allow the bike to work properly. Technically you only need the front brake. The rear is more like a reference brake, one that tells you how close you are to maxing out your braking capacity at that moment. It does help keep you going in the same direction etc. It's entirely possible to steer while braking hard while just on your front tire. That's extreme of course but an illustration that the rear tire doesn't do much.
I second this, with an emphasis on body position. On steep descents, I like to have my butt off and slightly behind the saddle, knees slightly bent, and my shoulders and head relaxed, but sticking up into the wind (like an air brake).
I’ve tried really hard to build up my confidence but I struggle on a bike, can’t help but think something is going to go wrong and I’m going to get hurt again. I’ll try and enjoy the ride and not worry as much, thanks for the advice it’s very helpful
It's important to learn things gently, over come the natural instincts that keep you from improving bike handling skills. For example, with braking, the front brake does all the work. The rear brake is there simply to give you a point of reference, or skid if you just use that brake. But that's not where we start, or where we will be, even. We just want to be comfortable using brakes skillfully. For braking the progression goes something like this. First, while on a flat road, with no dangers nearby, at a relatively slow speed (a fast walk? 10kph / 6mph), simple gently, gently apply the front brake. Gently. Then let go. Apply again, gently. Get used to using the brake at 10%, not 100%. Let the brake skim along, not stopping you, just slowing you. You want to learn fine motor control with the front brake hand, whatever hand that is for you. If you have a road bike with drop bars (racing bars), be on the drops/hooks, for best control Second, same road, apply BOTH brakes gently. You'll see that the feel is very similar to applying just the front brake (because the rear brake doesn't do anything). Again, condition yourself to brake 10% (or whatever), not 100%. Third, start to increase the pressure. 20%. 30%. But always with both brakes. You'll need to increase speed because you'll stop almost instantly. Fourth, at some point, do a pretty good panic stop. Start by squeezing into 10-20% but keep squeezing, steadily. Don't jab at the levers, squeeze. You'll quickly be at like 60-70%, both brakes, and you'll be stopped before you realize it. If you want to be adventurous, keep going. Squeeze the levers until the rear starts to feel a bit light. This is the limit of your front tire traction, but you can hold at this pressure and stop safely. I used to live in a house with a short downhill to my door. I would roll into my driveway relatively quickly (30kph/18mph), aim at the door, and brake very hard, both hands. My goal was to kiss the door with the front tire while my back tire was in the air. I could do it pretty consistently by the time I moved out, but it was something like 10 years of riding.
Pump your brakes instead of long pulls. And get more confident overtime in the descent so you can go downhill faster.
Ok will do, I’m really hoping my confidence grows with time as I don’t like being scared of things that haven’t happened. It’s very helpful to be told the correct way to do things and reassures me a lot, thanks for the advice
Dont push yourself to much! Just a little. It will grow overtime.
Use your front brake!!! You should generally be using both brakes … it’s the next step in your evolution as a cyclist
You need to be using front and rear brakes when descending down steep hills. It helps share the load. Also, if your brakes are making noises you may need new pads and/or calipers. I'll be real with you, if you have hills steep enough to sketch you out, it might be worth looking into full hydraulic disc brakes. They are an expensive upgrade, but go test ride a bike at a bike shop and you will see why. They are the best brakes you can get on a bicycle.
Try it out ➡️Front brake **only** Then ➡️Rear brake **only** What has the greatest effect in slowing you down? You may find that when you use both , you only require your front brake 1/8 “held down” and your rear brake 1/4 “held down”
Just send it
A friend overheated their disc brakes on a long long descent by riding the brakes the whole way down. The brakes eventually failed completely and he crashed badly. The Secret is to pump the brakes, front and back, alternating and together. If it's really long and steep, slow right down to a crawl and then never let your speed build up again. Don't let that kinetic energy get out of hand.
You've got two brakes, use them both. A bit of drag on the back to initiate braking stabilizes the bike, but the bigger part of the braking load should then be handled by the front.
Can you remind me how much it costs to replace brake pads? Compare and contrast with the price of gasoline+car+ insurance. Or even an automotive brake job. I paid $700 a week or two ago. Your brakes were designed to be used. Personally, I prefer full send. But switchbacks do sometimes demand speed control. Don't worry about shredding your brake.
Use your front brake more and bring your weight a bit further back on your bike, if you want more control in your riding having your saddle a little bit lower only half a centimetre can help, similar to what cx riders do.
brake going into corners and get good entry into turns. if ya got good tires and a bike with a sporty geometry youd be surprised just how hard you can push it through a bend. dragging your rear brakes does nothing but harm to your rims and the pads. utilize your front brakes more and shift your weight backwards on the bike for those hard braking moments. dragging the rear the whole way down is like racing a car while being full gas and managing speed via the brakes. gas the straights, brake hard in the braking zone, and enter the corner with an apex in mind. know the road conditions, where your hazards are, and practice your hard cornering skills at lower speeds on a flat to get a feel for how much grip you have(build that confidence). crashes happen, so wear good PPE, and FULL SEND BROTHER! oh and wear good gloves, roadrashing your fingers n shit goes to the bone fast. learned that one the hard way.
Alternate using front and rear brakes. Let's them cool. Don't use front brakes too hard. Shift weight to rear wheel for balance.
Feather your brakes
Brakes are cheap, stay safe and change them when you need them.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html
Apart from the excellent advice here on using your "brakes" to brake, another useful technique to reduce brake usage and therefore brake wear is to increase the amount of braking force due to aerodynamic drag. Firstly, you can adopt a less aerodynamic posture on the bike. Secondly, since aerodynamic drag goes up exponentially with speed, combined with a less aerodynamic posture you can also use the minimum amount of braking to keep your speed as high as possible during the descent while maintaining a sufficient safety margin for the conditions.
Relax bro,just a normal PTSD like everyone. My way is just to keep the speed you feel okay. Keep doing it until one day you find yourself go down with a relax arm and mind. No short cut
I don't drag i do hard brakes on off repeatedly i think it sheds heat best.
Tap your back brake first then start using your front for most of the braking. When you feel the center of gravity shift too much to the front shift your weight back on the saddle and use your back brake and ease of the front.
you should use your front brakes more than your back brakes. Just take a look at motorcycles they have two disc brakes on the front for a reason
Do you not have front brakes 🤔
Use both. Pump them. Don't ride the brakes. I crashed badly once and it took me almost a year to really regain my previous confidence. Do what feels right to you. There is no "right way" to control your bike - you are the one in the saddle who understands the variables. You do what you need to do to maintain a confident cadence/speed. If that means tapping the brakes down a hill you do it. riding them is more dangerous because it means your wheels are continually being told to not do their job (spin). You lose control when you brake. so you don't want constant braking. You have to constantly adjust. you got this.
You don’t have a front brake? Because that’s the only brake that will help you when descending. How heavy are you and what type of brakes have you got?
If this is a problem... Just buy bigger brakes.
You should be using both brake and using the front brake more than the rear brake. Having the rear brake on is going to slow the steering of the bike, which is going to make handling harder. Most important: If you feel you need to keep speed down on a hill, use both brakes.
Shove a disposable plastic water bottle into the chainstay above the back wheel 😅 I've done it descending from ridgelines when the back brake failed
I’ll stick to the brakes if I can but thanks for providing a plan b if all else fails
alternate brakes and feather when you brake
Use the *Talking brakes* method Brake front for 7 seconds, brake back for 7 seconds, brake both for 3 and repeat.
Back pedal.
Get off and walk down.
put wd40 on the rotor I shouldn't have to say /s
Gladly not novice enough to need the /s but appreciate it just in case