Water and snack,but what about going down a hill doing 25 mph.

Do you control your brakes,do you think about brake failure. My

experience was a high bridge and the side walk,I was passing all

the beach traffic,but concerned going down hill speed. I did not

have my beach bike that has brakes with the pedals. I was afraid

that the chain would come loose,or the brake pads would fail.

I must go back to the beach bike,less failure item,your opinion.

We have hills in Fla,surprise.

 

When I go downhill at 43mph, the last think I can be concerned of is a brake failure. The first is if I can go another meter without breaking, before the next turn.

How I wish I had a racing bike...

 

It's really important to tune up your bike frequently. I'm sure you already know this, loosie, since you seem to be an avid biker. You should check your brake pads and cables very often, make sure the nuts and bolts are tight, and that everything is working properly. When going down steep hills, I usually tap the brakes every few meters so as not to lose control. You'll need to keep your speed up in order to balance, but you want to be able to control your speed.

For that reason, I don't usually worry about going down steep hills. Living in Vermont, it's something I had to get used to, and I had to learn to master hill braking/speed control

Regards

 

Water and snack,but what about going down a hill doing 25 mph.

Do you control your brakes,do you think about brake failure. My

experience was a high bridge and the side walk,I was passing all

the beach traffic,but concerned going down hill speed. I did not

have my beach bike that has brakes with the pedals. I was afraid

that the chain would come loose,or the brake pads would fail.

I must go back to the beach bike,less failure item,your opinion.

We have hills in Fla,surprise.

The rear brake is OK for situations where traction is poor, or for when your front tire blows, but for stopping on dry pavement, the front brake alone provides the maximum stopping power, both in theory and in practice

 

The rear brake is OK for situations where traction is poor, or for when your front tire blows, but for stopping on dry pavement, the front brake alone provides the maximum stopping power, both in theory and in practice

Hahaha, you NEVER want to use only the front brake if you have any kind of momentum. Trust me on that one

I've had my fair share of flying over the handlebars. ALWAYS apply the rear brake first, and slowly put on the front brake. For speed control, I only use the rear. To stop, I use the rear, then the front.

 

I don't think there is a rule here, just extremes.

In slow speeds, none of it matters. It's in higher speeds that decisions are crucial.

Tap the rear brake only and you will skid, not reducing speed effectively and losing control of the rear of the bike. Do that in a corner and you will low-side (fall).
Tap the front brake only and two things can happen. You will either fly over your bike, the front wheel acting as a fulcrum OR the front wheel will skid unrecoverably, sending you into the tarmac. I have found the latter to be more painful than the former, mainly because your feet aren't ready to cushion the fall and you are in danger to sprain a joint. When you fly over your bike I think you have the time to use your hands to cut off the fall.

That said, I find the best way to be tapping the brakes simultaneously. You have two traction surfaces, why not use them both? Just make sure you have a "feel" of the road, so that you ask only so much traction from each wheel, as it can give you.

 

Tap the rear brake only and you will skid, not reducing speed effectively and losing control of the rear of the bike. Do that in a corner and you will low-side (fall).

I would have to disagree with that. Tapping the rear brake handle (not putting full pressure on it and only briefly) will not cause the wheel to lock up. It will only put some pressure on the wheel, slowing it down. Tapping the rear brake will very rarely (if ever) cause the bike to skid. Of course, this is assuming everything is properly tuned, and you don't put full pressure on the brake while "tapping" it

 

Of, course, mild pressure won't lock the wheel. But why not use the front wheel too to slow the bike by the same amount, effectively sharing the load between the brake pads, prolonging their life?

I forgot to mention that shifting the body weight is very important, in order to avoid skids or flying over the handle bars.

 

Of, course, mild pressure won't lock the wheel. But why not use the front wheel too to slow the bike by the same amount, effectively sharing the load between the brake pads, prolonging their life?

I forgot to mention that shifting the body weight is very important, in order to avoid skids or flying over the handle bars.

Yeah, ideally you'd use both the front and rear equally, but since there's less of a chance of you flying over the handlebars when you hit the rear brake, I usually start with that one.

 

You should check your brake pads and cables very often, make sure the nuts and bolts are tight, and that everything is working properly. /QUOTE]

I think we can all agree that the NUT on his bike is real loose

 

Good components, maintenance and practice are all important. Brake pads vary in quality, try a few brands. I now wouldn't use anything apart from Kool-stop pads (salmon colour - aggressive). I also like a Shimano Power Modulator (basically just a hard spring in the brake cable). It extends the range of pressure you need to pull the lever in between no braking and locking the brake.
The wheels need to spin straight otherwise the pads have to be too far from the rims and the brakes need to be adjusted so they are as close as possible to the rims without touching.
Then practice, if you only brake hard in emergencies then you will have a bad time. This is for tarmac, on loose surfaces the back brake comes into play.
Smoothly increase the pressure on the lever for the front brake until the back wheel starts to lift, then slightly back off. This is the maximum braking power and the back brake can do nothing because there is no weight on the back wheel.
I've only ever had a front wheel slide once and that was on the no-brand tyres that came free with a new bike. I took it off and used it as my next rear tyre, a good quality front tyre should not slide on tarmac.

 

Going down hill ,25 mph on bridge , you can go thru the

Railing ,50 feet to the water,not good.

 

Om dry tarmac I do not use the rear brake much. The thumb rule ( on dry tarmac) is 75% of the breaking power to the front and 25% to the rear.

 

Thank's ,what will you do...........