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Reference - Cyclecraft by John Franklin A cycle takes more than twice as far to stop using only the rear brake compared to using only the front brake, which will usually stop the machine just as quickly as using both brakes. Nevertheless, you should always apply the rear brake, and slightly in advance of the front brake, so that a slight skid at the rear ...

Years ago when cars started to get ABS, the argument was that a skilled driver could stop quicker with it turned off, and there was proof of it. When Traction control came in a skilled driver could go faster with it turned off. When ESP became available, ditto. We all know that an unskilled driver benefits enormously from these aids, and it turns out not ...

Whilst I come from a mountain bike background so my advice might be different from someone with a road background, I've found the following tips work well when I've been on a road bike in the mountains. Keep your weight centered - don't be tempted to lean back. You want to keep a good amount of weight over the front wheel to help it grip. Look through the ...

I'd qualify myself as a "skilled" cyclist. I would not say that I only use the front brake 95% of the time. When riding in a peleton it would be very dangerous to make any kind of sudden stop as you cause alarm and possible collision with people behind you. If i do need to slow in a group, I use only my back brake. It allows a far more gradual slowing and ...

A shorter stem does make your steering quicker, it also enables you to sit further upright and gives more leverage on the handlebar. The longer stem gets you more forward and in a better position for climbing but I think it makes low speed steering awkward and is uncomfortable for long stretches on the bike. I went from some ungodly long stem (100+mm) with ...

I've always used both. Among other things, if you apply both brakes you're in much better shape should one of the brakes fail suddenly (eg, broken cable, unanticipated wet rim, etc). But then, I've never pretended to be a racer. Added: It should be noted that, unless you're riding like a maniac (or at least like a BMX rider), 95% (at least) of your ...

Simple answer is no. I do mountain trail riding and depending on the terrain I would say that the results may vary. How ever I would say that with my style of riding, I do use my front brakes 95% or more. The main reason why I use front brakes that much is because of the control you maintain. Depending on where your center of mass "hovers" over your bike, ...

The only thing I have to add to Chris's answer is that brakes can overheat rims on long descents. I'll either alternate brakes front-back where possible, or gently pulse them a little from time to time.

Practice riding with both hands lightly touching the handlebar. In a sense you're learning to ride by controlling the bike with your seat/legs but you don't have to completely remove your hands from the bar, just try to transfer more and more control away from your hands (this is just an exercise, not for general riding). You should get to the point where ...

I've ridden several thousand miles a year for the past several decades, so I consider myself a skilled cyclist, or at least an experienced one. I usually (80-90% of the time) apply both brakes equally. In a downhill situation, or one where I might have to turn sharply while braking, I might use the back brake more than the front. Having had more than a few ...

Less fork offset on it's own means more trail. The fork length and wheel size will also affect this though, so you'd need to get all the numbers and maybe draw it out to work out the final difference in trail. More (longer) trail makes the bike more stable (especially at speed) but less manoeuvrable. Touring and downhill bikes tend to have more trail, while ...

The received wisdom has always been that, in an emergency stop, just pulling hard on the front brakes will massively increase the probability of a flip - especially if you're on a downward slope. The back brake is generally more for minor corrections, a bit of extra control on the speed, but implicitly not about outright stopping. In a peleton or paceline, ...

I generally pull on my brakes equally while on the road and bias toward the back if I am stopping hard while offroad. I'd rather lock up the back wheel around a turn than the front wheel. The front wheel only had so much friction to spend. I rarely need to panic stop when it really makes any difference. Under most conditions the front and rear brakes are ...

From your description I would guess that your problem not about learning how to do it (you can do it, but only on one side) but more about fear and confidence. There are two things you will need: some quiet spot to practice with smooth surface and not many obstacles, maybe a parking ground or so, a bike that has a preferably upright riding position. The ...

After reading the other answers, there are a few questions to adress here, but I must say in advance I'm an inexperienced road driver (2 1/2 yr on a road bike, with about 2k-3k per annum). There is no correct answer, but it depends on the situation. Mayor factors affecting the situation are speed, steepness, wetness, curviness and your positioning on the ...

As mentioned in other answers, trail does affect how the bike rides. I don't necessarily agree that a higher trail number means more manoeuvrability. Most bikes have trail numbers between 60-66 these days. Much older bikes had low trail numbers between 35 and 50. There are a number of reasons for the change. One advocate of Low-Trail handling is Jan Heine, ...

In a perfect world, every bike would be assembled from a FRAMESET, which is a frame-fork pair designed for one another. With a frameset, very relevant parameters can be actually DESIGNED into the system, instead of derived from it. The main parameters which depend on fork-frame interaction are, in my perception, bottom-bracket height, seat-tube angle, ...

Just some other tips to add on... Have a buddy with you when attempting a significant descent in a remote area. Stay cool and try to mentally anticipate what is going to happen before you start reacting. Pick your line and think about contingencies if a car or obstacle shows up. Look far ahead, not just at your buddies in front. Don't get aggressive with ...

Practice! Start out by not pedaling and just get used to controlling the bike with your seat, you might also twist your heels into the frame for better control if you have platform pedals. Lean back, kind of scary, but you have way more control that if you are hunched forward. Even for one hand, it is better to be as far back as your arm will let you. Drop ...

I use the front brake as the primary brake 95% of the time, but the rear brake does get used a bit too. The key with any braking is applying pressure to the levers slowly. When you apply brakes slowly and are prepared to reduce brake-pressure the moment you feel slippage, flipping over the front or uncontrolled sliding of the rear really aren't problems. ...

I think the reason for this is precisely the "safety" danger in it -- when you use the front brake, most weight shifts to the front wheel. With more weight on the front wheel, the front wheel gains better traction (due to increased downforce on it, greater friction). Thus the wheel can "brake harder" without slipping (more friction on the front wheel means ...