How to Stop a Bike With Minimal Skidding.

Here is an instructable on how to stop a bike with minimal skidding. Im not responsible for any injury caused.

Step 1: Breaking

Instead of jamming the back brakes, gently pull the front break.

Comments

[Aron313]

Simple! :D

[1967Eleanor]

when i need to stop really fast, i just hold in the back brake not all the way but close to all the way while sitting down and i almost throw myself over the handlebars... i ride a 20" bmx with no front brakes...

[BERTBOY13]

i think one if the best ways of braking is to pull the front brake but whilst also applying, taking off and then re-applying the back brake constantly and this slows you down alot faster. good instructable though

[twocvbloke]

I do it the other way round, I apply the rear brake to start slowing me down, then when I really need to stop I start to apply the front brakes, I usually stop pretty quickly with no tyre tracks left behind me... :) Applying the front brakes first is just suicide waiting to happen, especially if you have a solid frame bike (no suspension)... :S

[Thelonelysandwitch]

Actually, I just loosened the front brake so I dont lift in the back, and just hold both brakes.

[pyro man]

sorry,no front breaks on a bmw racing bike

[Thelonelysandwitch]

then jam your foot in the front tire?

[pyro man]

ya thats wat i do anyway

[berky93]

this makes sense, but you MST practice this alot before it can be trusted - using the front brakes without using the back breaks at the same time can vault you over the handlebars.

[Thelonelysandwitch]

thats fun and painful

[Trans_Am]

If you reef on your front brakes hard enough, you're taking a header whether your back brakes are on or not. Like a few people have said here, it's about shifting your weight, so you don't end up eating some asphalt. If your front brakes are as strong as they should be, your back ones will be useless in an all-out stop, because the back tire will have very little traction.

[adome]

about to eat a lot of dirt for sure.

[Thelonelysandwitch]

I bet ya it tastes like cherry

[AndyGadget]

I've started using front-brake braking after reading Sheldon Brown's article HERE and yep, you stop a lot quicker on a dry road. It could be disastrous on a wet or gritty surface, so the trick is to always be aware of your road surface and use the brakes accordingly. If anyone isn't aware of Sheldon Brown's site it is an absolute goldmine for anything to do with cycles and cycling.

[killerjackalope]

Actually When I'm on a downhill with plenty of grip like tarmac I hang out over the back wheel and have both brakes on pretty hard, the front almost locking and the back jus a little below tha level, it'll do ok on flatland, uphill yo'll stop and fall backwards...

[TheWelfareWarrior]

Or you could just hit a wall, thats the fastest way to stop anything. But in all honesty, you want to keep the MOST friction at ALL times so keeping both tires on the ground is a must.

[rimar2000]

I don't agree with you. The rear wheel is very ineffective as brake. The frontal wheel can stop the bike very much suddenly. The secret is to practice, and practice, and practice, BEFORE it be needed in the "real world".

Pardon my "Automatic Translator English"

[CameronSS]

Your "Automatic Translator English" is perfect, except that "frontal" should be "front" and "be" should be "is." The front wheel can be a little too effective in stopping the bike. The last time I slammed on the front brakes, the front wheel locked, the bike rotated around it, and it flung me six feet forward through the air, landing me about a foot from the speeding car I was trying to avoid.

[rimar2000]

Really, is thus. When I was 20 years old, in 1964, "I flew" by above a car that was crossed unexpectedly in my road. But of all ways, the frontal brake saves a lot better than a collision, knowing to use it. Therefore I say that it is necessary to practice a lot to be prepared when the moment to use it arrive.

Thanks by your suggestions about my English. I use normally http://ets.freetranslation.com/ that is very good.

[Thelonelysandwitch]

There aren't many walls in middle of my street so i use my neighbors truck.

[TheWelfareWarrior]

Eh, its a little more costly, but still effective in an emergency situation.

[PKM]

Alternate brakes? I've never been told to do that in anything other than a car without ABS. Your best bet is to move your weight backwards, pull the front brake until the back wheel is light but not coming off the ground, and keep it on.

It sounds like your brakes are too grabby- if you can't get the balance between not braking hard enough and doing a sudden stoppy then they probably need to be a bit more progressive. The V-brakes on my old downhiller could bring it to a controlled stop just before the point of lifting the back wheel (a few car lengths from about 25-30mph going downhill) because they were powerful but progressive.

Of course, on dirt this all changes, because using the front brake hard risks skidding the front wheel which is sometimes worse than going over the bars. In those circumstances I brake the back wheel to the point of skidding and use the front brake carefully while sitting just above the rear wheel to get my weight backwards.

[adome]

whole point in breaking is NOT to lock up the breaks. Think about it everyone, you lock up a mechanism that is designed to work with something rubbing against it. Don't ever lock them up, use proper pressure and control your momentum by shifting your CG to the back wheel.

[Hands Without Shadows]

The fastest way to stop is to have all tires at the at the brink of skidding. Thats how abs works. Proper brake control will beat alternating brakes everytime.

[Thelonelysandwitch]

When I first tried that, I didn't slow as fast, and I forgot to mention keeping the back brake locked.