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Why are bike brakes in France attached to the opposite handlebars to those in the UK? |
On a holiday in France, watched on of my kids fly over the handlebars when he tried a read wheel skid and locked the front brake! He asked me to ask the question on his behalf... Seems weird, doesn't it? The answer is because it is understood that the right lever is generally the most used (ie, right handed people), and as such the brake that is used the most (the FRONT brake) should be connected there. 70% of braking should be done with the front brake, not the rear. This is the same with motorcycles and even cars... when was the last time you had to have the rear brakes on your car serviced as compared with the front? Now, to the other point. A wheel skid isn't something you should be doing. EDIT: Fred, if your theory holds true, then it IS the front brakes that do most of the work. Wear is from usage, not lack of it. Pulling the brake lever on a motorcycle doesn't actuate the rear brake, it operates the front (by the way, which lever is the brake on most motorcycles?). Pushing the pedal on a car makes the front brakes actuate first, then the rear brakes. Disc brakes tend to be larger on the front than the rear on any vehicle. The emergency brake on the rear of the car is because the brake can be modulated more easily in emergency situations and it won't pull the steering to one side or the other if they aren't adjusted correctly. I think perhaps you should reassess your knowldege of fluid dynamics and inertial moments. MR... UK standard is left lever rear brake, right lever front brake... I design bikes for the UK market. Source(s): 27 years in the industry You drive on the other side of the road in England so your brakes are reversed. I don't know where mirageguitarworks gets his physics info, but that answer is not correct. Many things in Europe are opposite from the US (driving, bikes, etc.) but actually the only reason why your front brakes wear out faster is because the weight shifts to the front when you brake (in a car)... just watch the nose go down on a hard braking situation. The best braking is done with the rear brakes... why do you think the emergency brake is attached to the rear wheels? also, major braking in the front can cause loss of steering control... that is the main reason most new cars come with anti-lock braking, to enable the driver to maintain steering control under heaving braking situations. On a bike or motorcycles, most braking should be done on the rear, with the front used to supplement the rear. Now in an emergency, on a bicycle, it doesn't matter how you brake if the obstacle is going to make contact with you anyway! Braking hard with the front can cause exactly what the asker was asking about... SO: I guess you guys just hit the front brake everytime you want to stop, huh? Well, riding around 400 miles a week, I use the rear brake as my primary stopping system, and supplement with the front because I don't want to fly over the handlebars like the question talks about! sorry Fred M my page moved. didnt mean to rate you So which side is the front brake on over there? I'm in the US so UK and French standards are unknown to me. Also, all performance bikes are the same aren't they? I mean doesn't everyone in the Tour de France, for example, use the same breaking setup? I never thought of it being different. mirage is correct. |
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