Paul Bielec
August 1st 03, 09:54 PM
I have a MTB.
When on pavement, I use both brakes but mostly the rear brake when on flat
and not going to fast. When going faster, the rear brake alone is not
enough. It will block because the weigt gets transfered to the front. Once
the rear is blocked, the rear brake is not that efficient anymore.
When on a Cross Country trail, you have to use both brakes when you go down.
The slopes are much stiffer than on the street or bike path. In addition,
the ground (soil, sand, mud, rocks etc) provides far less traction than
pavement. It is very easy to block your rear wheel in which case it makes
the rear brake even more inefficient than on pavement. So the trick is to
use the front brake as much as you can without blocking the front wheel
which would result in a nice dive over the handle bars with good chances of
having the bike landing on top of you.
Also, you'd try to transfer your weight to the rear and low by moving a
little behind your saddle.
MTB without front brake...never.
The disc brakes, in addition of having a better braking power, don't get
dirty as easy as the rims do. When you ride through several inches of mud
and water, it takes some time before the rims clean up.
When on pavement, I use both brakes but mostly the rear brake when on flat
and not going to fast. When going faster, the rear brake alone is not
enough. It will block because the weigt gets transfered to the front. Once
the rear is blocked, the rear brake is not that efficient anymore.
When on a Cross Country trail, you have to use both brakes when you go down.
The slopes are much stiffer than on the street or bike path. In addition,
the ground (soil, sand, mud, rocks etc) provides far less traction than
pavement. It is very easy to block your rear wheel in which case it makes
the rear brake even more inefficient than on pavement. So the trick is to
use the front brake as much as you can without blocking the front wheel
which would result in a nice dive over the handle bars with good chances of
having the bike landing on top of you.
Also, you'd try to transfer your weight to the rear and low by moving a
little behind your saddle.
MTB without front brake...never.
The disc brakes, in addition of having a better braking power, don't get
dirty as easy as the rims do. When you ride through several inches of mud
and water, it takes some time before the rims clean up.