what side is your front brake?

[DM]

Strangely tho' Panda-3 did her cycling proficiency last year and the instructor said her brakes were the wrong way round :? Front should be left :? :?

That instructor is talking total crap. In a UK road context, having the rear brake on the left makes sense. Turning right (simplified) involves:
Signalling with the right hand,
Moving to the crown of the road (while signalling)
Possibly slowing down, shifting down a few gears or even stopping to give priority to oncoming vehicles.

That leaves you with only the left hand covering the brakes for a part of that sequence. Much safer for that left to be the rear brake.

Turning left is much simpler, for a number of reasons. Simplified sequence =
signal, put your hand back on the bars, check speed slightly (only if necessary) and make the turn in whatever gear you're in.

So the period during which the right brake is the only one covered is relatively brief.

The situation is slightly different for UK motorcyclists, as they have turn indicators and so are generally not expected to make hand signals any more. So they can brake with the right (front) hand, rear, engine-brake or whatever when setting up for a right turn. Relying only on the rear brake on a motrorcycle is pretty sketchy compared to a bicycle, anyway.

 

[Mr Panda]

Strangely tho' Panda-3 did her cycling proficiency last year and the instructor said her brakes were the wrong way round :? Front should be left :? :?

That instructor is talking total crap. .

That's what I said

 

[Xesh]

The 135 degree bend of the front brake pipe is also designed specifically to suit the front/left cable route. A 90 degree rear pipe is more suitable for front/right, but for some unknown reason virtually nobody uses one.

You seem to have this the wrong way around. The cable routing with front/right is smoother with the 135 degree pipe and front/left for the 90 degree pipe.

I've always used front right on all my bikes.

 

[mvd1974]

:shock: :shock:

Does it matter how people set up their brakes ?
For me it's always front/left, rear/right. Always has been.. and not because their are some 'rules' for that. And if their are rules for that, maybe try and brake the rules. After all it's your bike. Do as you prefer, I would say..

I ride on a motor cycle also, but never had a problem of using the clutch when I was supposed to brake and on my bike I never braked myself over the bar on a non-downhill track.

 

[bduc61]

I believe it is a bit like marmite


if you have been brought up with it then you tend to like it

so in France as front has been most of the time on the left, then you go

I have read sheldon brown on the matter and I would agree with him on urgent braking issues ( he advocates front braking preference - little use of the rear)

http://sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

but it seems that he overlooks the fact that in normal situations the center of gravity of the "system" cyclist/bike is much closer to the rear wheel axis so that would play a role in my mind into the "control of braking" with the rear rather than the front.

let the physics specialists comment :idea:

 

[cornholio's RC200]

Right is right IMO for front brake.

I've got a toolbox with about 10 135-degree noodles in it because I always use 90-degree for front and rear v brakes. 135 never worked for me at all.

Horses for courses I suppose

 

[one-eyed_jim]

I was sure I'd read that front-right is also the norm in Italy - which would cause a few problems for the theory that it relates to the side of the road taken by traffic.

Here's Fausto Coppi and a friend with their Bianchis clearly set up front-right:

http://www.publifoto.net/atout/rps/P_EXTRA/P_035641.jpg

and Coppi again:

http://www.bikerconnection.de/joomla/im ... _Coppi.jpg

I'm happy to have at least one thing in common with Il Campionissimo.

Cipollini:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... i_2008.jpg

here's Gianni Bugno:

http://www.bobmina.com/1993_Tour/Bugno_PlaDadet.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... _BUGNO.jpg

Giovanni Battaglin:

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/te ... taglin.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/steel-is-r ... 0/sizes/o/

and Gimondi:

http://www.theracingbicycle.com/images/ ... imondi.jpg

http://www.partecipiamo.it/ciclismo/imm ... imondi.jpg

Generally it's easier to tell in the pre-aero era, with the brake cables flapping in the breeze.

Pantani:

http://www.bikerconnection.de/joomla/im ... ani_01.jpg

http://www.partecipiamo.it/ciclismo/imm ... antani.jpg

Seems Gino Bartali was a left-front kinda guy.

 

[Wheelnut]

It's all personal preference really.

I've always had my rear brake set up on the right ever since I was a young kid when I used to think it was cool to slide around every corner as sideways as possible. Being right-handed it meant that I could modulate the brake pressure more accurately and stay on the bike with less risk of coming off.

Now that I'm slightly less juvenile and don't tend to slide around corners it's not so much of an issue - but I still prefer the rear brake on the right and for me it feels safer somehow. That said, I don't have a problem riding bikes with brakes set up the other way round just as long as I remember. :?

 

[andrewl]

I still don't know why they don't get over this though and use the front/right motorcycle convention.

Front right is only convention because Jap bikes took over the world.

So BSA, AJS, Ariel, Matchless, Royal Enfield, Vincent, Sunbeam, Douglas, Norton etc etc didn't have front brakes on the right ???? :roll:

I think that you're mixing this up with rear brake/gearchange placement...

True the Jap bikes were more resposible for the rear brake gearchange thing than the front brake.

However back in the dark ages of motorcyling there were serveral bikes made with left hand throttles and the front brake (where fitted). The move away from foot operated clutches moved things a bit on the bars to what eventually became the standard layout we expect on a moto now.

 

[Dickyboy]

I think that there is a british standard that determines which way round the brakes should be on new bikes sold in the UK - ie right front / left rear & after that it's down to what you have been brought up on / personal choice.

After panic braking on a hire bike on the continent & ending up sliding my back wheel into the armco barrier of a hairpin bend - I swore that I would never ride a bike with the front brake on the left again.