Comments on: Commuting 101: How to stop the bike http://www.commutebybike.com/2007/04/28/commuting-101-how-to-stop-the-bike/ Tips, Hints, Reviews and Safety for Bike Commuters Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:00:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Dead tomorow http://www.commutebybike.com/2007/04/28/commuting-101-how-to-stop-the-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-553232 Dead tomorow Sat, 12 Nov 2011 12:50:29 +0000 http://commutebybike.com/2007/04/28/commuting-101-how-to-stop-the-bike/#comment-553232 I have no brakes and a 30 mile journey I need to make daily I hate my life I have no brakes and a 30 mile journey I need to make daily I hate my life

]]> By: sam http://www.commutebybike.com/2007/04/28/commuting-101-how-to-stop-the-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-133997 sam Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:02:48 +0000 http://commutebybike.com/2007/04/28/commuting-101-how-to-stop-the-bike/#comment-133997 when i stop my bike engine, it is not stopping. i had off my start/stop switch, fuel and removed spark plug and tried with a mechani. nut still the bike engine coulld not b off. why i cant stopp it inspite of doing such things? when i stop my bike engine, it is not stopping. i had off my start/stop switch, fuel and removed spark plug and tried with a mechani. nut still the bike engine coulld not b off. why i cant stopp it inspite of doing such things?

]]> By: Kyle http://www.commutebybike.com/2007/04/28/commuting-101-how-to-stop-the-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-110973 Kyle Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:11:50 +0000 http://commutebybike.com/2007/04/28/commuting-101-how-to-stop-the-bike/#comment-110973 I find that when u use like 90% of ur back brakes and like 50% of ur front brakes u can really stop fast. But i have my brakes tuned good. I find that when u use like 90% of ur back brakes and like 50% of ur front brakes u can really stop fast. But i have my brakes tuned good.

]]> By: ande murdoch http://www.commutebybike.com/2007/04/28/commuting-101-how-to-stop-the-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-37164 ande murdoch Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:33:03 +0000 http://commutebybike.com/2007/04/28/commuting-101-how-to-stop-the-bike/#comment-37164 On the subject of "if your brakes fail" i think i may have a useful hint. As well as 26" and 700c wheeled bikes i also ride a bmx which is brakeless ie theres no brakes on my bike AT ALL. (it makes the bike a lot simpler and i feel it makes my riding smoother). Because the bmx is smaller you can adjust your speed by dragging your feet or doing the Fred Flinstone running manouvre while seated. However these are only any good if you know you need to slow down and have time to adjust. In an emergency theres a technique which i and other brakeless riders use which is to shift your weight forward on the bike, take ur rear foot off (in my case my left), plant this on the ground and use it as a pivot point around which you can unweight (but not lift off) the rear wheel and slide it round so that the bike is at 90 degrees to the direction u were orignially travelling. The friction of the rear wheel skidding around and the fact that you have changed the direction your bike is facing stops you pretty quick. I would not suggest doing this at too high a speed though. If i am travelling at high speed on my bmx and want to adjust my speed instead of the two techniques i mentioned earlier i sometimes use a variation of the foot pivot which is to either plant my back foot and pivot the rear wheel out slightly (maybe about 45 degerees) so that the tyre starts to skid due to it not facing in the direction of travel and slows me down or i miss out the foot on the ground bit and use my body weight to kick my back wheel out to the side (imagine standing up on the pedals and trying to hit an imaginary target beside you with ur ass!). These techniques are something i do as a brakeless rider to avoid wearing out my shoes too much but i reckon that with a bit of practice they could be applied to bigger bikes as a back up system for slowing down/stopping. On the subject of “if your brakes fail” i think i may have a useful hint.
As well as 26″ and 700c wheeled bikes i also ride a bmx which is brakeless ie theres no brakes on my bike AT ALL. (it makes the bike a lot simpler and i feel it makes my riding smoother).
Because the bmx is smaller you can adjust your speed by dragging your feet or doing the Fred Flinstone running manouvre while seated. However these are only any good if you know you need to slow down and have time to adjust.
In an emergency theres a technique which i and other brakeless riders use which is to shift your weight forward on the bike, take ur rear foot off (in my case my left), plant this on the ground and use it as a pivot point around which you can unweight (but not lift off) the rear wheel and slide it round so that the bike is at 90 degrees to the direction u were orignially travelling.
The friction of the rear wheel skidding around and the fact that you have changed the direction your bike is facing stops you pretty quick.
I would not suggest doing this at too high a speed though.
If i am travelling at high speed on my bmx and want to adjust my speed instead of the two techniques i mentioned earlier i sometimes use a variation of the foot pivot which is to either plant my back foot and pivot the rear wheel out slightly (maybe about 45 degerees) so that the tyre starts to skid due to it not facing in the direction of travel and slows me down or i miss out the foot on the ground bit and use my body weight to kick my back wheel out to the side (imagine standing up on the pedals and trying to hit an imaginary target beside you with ur ass!).
These techniques are something i do as a brakeless rider to avoid wearing out my shoes too much but i reckon that with a bit of practice they could be applied to bigger bikes as a back up system for slowing down/stopping.

]]> By: John Brooking http://www.commutebybike.com/2007/04/28/commuting-101-how-to-stop-the-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-35516 John Brooking Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:11:05 +0000 http://commutebybike.com/2007/04/28/commuting-101-how-to-stop-the-bike/#comment-35516 You've left out a VERY IMPORTANT point that I learned from the LAB Road I course - get off the saddle and LEAN BACK! Hang your butt behind the seat so your weight is far enough back to counteract the weight of the bike moving forward to the front wheel. If you don't do this, you risk going over the handlebars ("endo") in a hard stop. In that course, we demonstrated stopping distance with (1) just the back brake, (2) just the front brake, and (3) both at once. The difference was amazing. You can actually go from 20 MPH to 0 in a few seconds with both brakes, hard, without endo'ing, counteracting the weight in this way. Of course you need to practice. Find an empty parking lot, target a line at some point in the distance at which you will begin braking, then get up to speed and see how quickly you can stop once you get to that line. Remember to lean back or you will go over! You’ve left out a VERY IMPORTANT point that I learned from the LAB Road I course – get off the saddle and LEAN BACK! Hang your butt behind the seat so your weight is far enough back to counteract the weight of the bike moving forward to the front wheel. If you don’t do this, you risk going over the handlebars (“endo”) in a hard stop.

In that course, we demonstrated stopping distance with (1) just the back brake, (2) just the front brake, and (3) both at once. The difference was amazing. You can actually go from 20 MPH to 0 in a few seconds with both brakes, hard, without endo’ing, counteracting the weight in this way. Of course you need to practice. Find an empty parking lot, target a line at some point in the distance at which you will begin braking, then get up to speed and see how quickly you can stop once you get to that line. Remember to lean back or you will go over!

]]> By: wolfy http://www.commutebybike.com/2007/04/28/commuting-101-how-to-stop-the-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-29070 wolfy Sun, 29 Apr 2007 22:53:12 +0000 http://commutebybike.com/2007/04/28/commuting-101-how-to-stop-the-bike/#comment-29070 I'd say it's completely pointless NOT to apply the rear brake at the same time as the front. As you're modulating the front brake weight will shift back to the rear and if you aren't applying that brake then you won't be slowing as fast. People with less control will vary from all on to all off the front so it's more important. A good strategy is to just drag the back wheel and only worry about modulating the front. Also if my brakes were to fail I'd hang off one side and use my foot on the REAR wheel cause the toe in the fork trick is pretty hard to do w/o a crash. -M I’d say it’s completely pointless NOT to apply the rear brake at the same time as the front.

As you’re modulating the front brake weight will shift back to the rear and if you aren’t applying that brake then you won’t be slowing as fast.

People with less control will vary from all on to all off the front so it’s more important. A good strategy is to just drag the back wheel and only worry about modulating the front.

Also if my brakes were to fail I’d hang off one side and use my foot on the REAR wheel cause the toe in the fork trick is pretty hard to do w/o a crash.

-M

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