With apologies to Robert van Winkle, let’s take a look at what it takes to stop a bike, and how you can do it better. “You never forget how to ride a bike,” as the saying goes. That’s true. But it’s also kind of a problem. Not because anyone wants to forget, of course—but because so few of us learned as kids how to ride the types of bikes we’re riding as adults. That’s actually a problem.
There’s a massive difference between skidding down an alleyway at 15km/h on a banana seat cruiser with a coaster brake and pumping your rim or disc brakes in the rain on a twisty mountain descent at 40-plus km/h. Unless you were part of a youth developmental program (like NICA) or raced as a young adult, chances are nobody has ever formally showed you the most basic of skills—like how to brake on a bike correctly, probably the most essential riding skill of all.
Sure, you got the gist. You pulled the levers, the brake pads squeezed your rims (or in many cases these days, your rotors), and the bike slowed to a stop. But if you’ve ever fishtailed, endoed, skidded out, or blown a corner, you know that there’s a lot more to braking than that.
“I used to hold skills clinics, but attendance was terrible,” says five-time California state champion, former cycling coach, and clinic instructor Josh Horowitz. “People aren’t interested in practicing skills when they could be out riding. But a little technique practice goes a long way,” he says.
Here’s how to brake on a bike the right way and braking techniques to work on.
Push Your Weight Back
Should you have to brake hard at high speed, this will also prevent you from going end over end. “The faster you have to brake, the more you should push your weight back. I’ve actually thrown my butt behind my saddle, where my stomach is on the seat. It makes a huge difference in your braking power and control.”
You can practice this by doing some emergency stops in a parking lot or grassy field. Get up a little speed, put your hands in the drops, straighten your arms, and push your weight back behind the saddle while you brake hard with both hands, staying low on the bike.
Get Low—and Stay Off the Brakes—in Turns
Of course, life is not always ideal. If you come in too hot and need to scrub speed, use a verylight touch. Braking too quickly in a turn is a recipe for hitting the ground in a hurry. For one, hitting your brakes causes your bike to sit upright, which is the last thing you want in a corner. Worse, it also causes your bike to lose traction, says John Verheul, head coach at JBV Coaching.
“Don’t touch the front brake while cornering is as close to a 100-percent rule as there is,” says Verheul. “When you’re cornering you’re close to the limit of traction that your tires have. So, when you add braking force, you’re going to come closer to breaking that limit and sliding the tire. A rear skid is way easier to catch than a front skid,” he says. Feather your back brake for gradual deceleration, as needed.
Relax!
Go Easy in the Wet
Scrub speed by lightly feathering your brakes. If it’s very slick and you need to apply more pressure, err on the side of hitting your back brake to prevent the front from locking up. You may be able to save a rear wheel skid—or even put a foot down—but once the front locks up, you’re going down.
Set Yourself Up for Success
You’ll be able to brake better if you use high-quality tires with good traction, notes Verheul. “Err on the side of bigger tires and don’t over-inflate them,” he says. “On the road, experienced riders are often doing their general riding on 25 to 28c tires these days, at well under 100psi. I’m 80kg and ride mostly on 26 to 27mm tires at 65 to 75psi. Nice comfy ride on most surfaces, but still fast enough for the local group rides and training races.”