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Anonymous
Have I been wrong all along? 2016-07-17 21:44:17 Post No. 982000
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Have I been wrong all along? 2016-07-17 21:44:17 Post No. 982000
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Sup /n/
So I went to the local bike shop (there is only one I know of in Radford VA I know of) for the first time. My front brake was making a weird sound when being used. No squeaking just a kinda soft scraping sound at regular intervals. Also I had it adjusted as far as it could go without dragging but the length of pull on was still long as hell. Pads are fairly worn but not completely worn out yet.
Anyways I take it into the shop and the dude says he can't hear the sound and my brakes are fine. I think "ok, good. Was probably a fluke or some shit. I can still stop fine. No big deal" but then he starts giving me shit for primarily braking with my front brake primarily. Kept saying if I lock up the front brake I'll go over the handle bars.
I weigh 170-something-odd lbs. At speed I doubt I could lock up the front wheel with rim brakes even if I tried.
But I figured I'd ask here if he was right. I've always just used my rears in combination with my front if I needed to stop faster or needed a drag brake on a steep down hill road.
Have I been doing it wrong all along?
Pic related. It is my bike this summer on the New River Trail. 2014 Trek 820. Bought new and converted to a commuter/light-touring bike.
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>>982000
No.
Braking primarily with the front is objectively correct riding technique. Rear brake is for speed modulation. Front is for stopping.
The shop monkey you talked to was an ignorant faggot, like basically all bike shop employees.
The good news is that you found out how bad your LBS is without it costing you anything. Whatever you do, NEVER let them work on your bike.
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>>982000
Bike shop people are retards. Didn't you see the bike shop thread where people complained about retards, their main user group?
Just learn how to fix your bike yourself
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>>982000
Using the front brake is perfectly safe if you have conventional brakes. It only became a meme to avoid it because of all the freds and their disc brakes which can lock the front wheel with only one finger. It's a liability disaster that will probably sink many of the biggest players in bike manufacturing in the coming years
The guy at your LBS is obviously a fred, that's why I do my own repairs. I refuse to support ignorant leeches who prey on yuppies with too much money
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>>982005
>thinks one-finger braking is a safety hazard
Hoooooly shit kill yourself
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>>982003
I'm pretty sure it is a one guy operation. I just wasn't sure since he seemed like a old guy with experience.
Good to know I'm not nuts.
On the topic of fixing things myself I'm thinking of changing the front brake pads myself. They still work but they are on their last legs.
But there are >9000 different brake pads online and I have no idea how to choose which one to buy.
Pic is current brake pads. What should I be ordering?
Also while I'm at it here are leather saddles worth it? Springs?
The OEM foam saddle is breaking down and smells (had to keep it chained outside at the last place I lived).
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>>982008
Can you not read? He's not saying one-finger braking is a hazard, he's saying that disc brakes that don't take anything to pull, to the point where you could lock them up with only one finger, is the hazard. (If you're retarded and do this.) Not the hand position itself, you fucking tool.
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>>982015
>Pic is current brake pads. What should I be ordering?
Anything for V-brakes. Koolstop Salmon if they make them for V.
>leather
>springs
ohshitniggawhatareyoudoing.svg
But whatevers cheap and the right width. Go to a saddle manufactures site and they'll have guides to choose an appropriate saddle model.
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>>982005
Hello MGTOW-kun, how's the DIY cultist life treating you
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>>982003
>Rear brake is for speed modulation. Front is for stopping.
How about stopping with both? What's wrong with stopping with both? Don't you want to stop faster?
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>>982032
Fishtailing. And no, you won't stop faster. You'll simply have less control. You get the shortest stopping distance from front braking only. Hard. To the point where your rear wheel is just barely on the ground any more.
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>>982003
>Rear brake is for speed modulation. Front is for stopping.
I don't know why people insist on making up stupid rules like this.
>>982033
I think your technical understanding is fine, but irl you are almost never going to be using maximal braking.
If you drive a rigid frame on concrete, it's more a matter of brake wear and not skidding the tires. differences between front and back brakes matter a lot more when you have suspension like on a motorcycle, because the front brake will compress the shocks more and change the geometry and handling. on the other hand if you do off road downhill then it probably matters because the tires skid more, but I don't know how since I don't do that.
tl;dr practice more, don't make stuff up
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>>982051
I forgot to say:
on a motorcycle for maximal braking you start with both brakes and transition to front only as the weight distribution shifts. on a rigid bike it probably doesn't take any time to change the weight distribution, so you should ride a fixie and take off the back brake like me!!!
>>982000
also I love your bike
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>>982051
>skidding the tires
Except skidding the front tyre doesn't happen on hard surfaces. If you're in mud or on very loose gravel, sure, brake both brakes if that floats your boat, but with road cycling the only think you add is the risk of fishtailing and you should just brake the front harder.
A racing bike with hard pumped slicks will skid the rear wheels with very little braking force and at speed will not slow you down much at all. The front brake is what you have to stop you.
And yes, I have used "maximal braking" as you put it on a few occasions. I've also used more than "maximal braking" once where I deemed it preferable to be thrown of the ground in front of the bike, to keep going. And being able to do this at all means you have to be familiar with the front brake. If you're a hurr-durr-use-both or rear-to-be-safe retard you wont be able to stop when it matters.
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>>982051
>irl you are almost never going to be using maximal braking
That's why you should use correct technique in normal situations, to practice.
Last situation like this I had, i was riding fast down a hill at night. A parked car facing downhill on my side of the road turned across the road to drive uphill in the other lane. They didn't indicate or turn on their lights. I applied solely the front brake, to the point where the rear wheel lifted slightly off the ground. I was bracing my arms, and familiar with that feeling of rear traction, so I modulated the brake to not flip the bike. I would have slowed from 50- 60 km/h and the car passed cm in front of me. You can't decide to do that, it has to be practiced habit.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html
I've gone over the bars, also fishtailed and crashed into a car in lower speed similar situations in the past. Read ^, practice and make correct technique muscle memory.
>>982051
>I don't know why people insist on making up stupid rules like this.
It could save you from serious injury one day like it did for me.
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>>982051
>I don't know why people insist on making up stupid rules like this.
Familiarity with the laws of physics? Common sense? Experience?
It's not a "rule". It's just basic riding technique.
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