Running brakes moto style
Lee, super D ripper dude!
What is the advantage (or disavantage) to running brakes moto style????
John
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Hey John,
By moto style, you mean front brake on the right and rear brake on the left, which is opposite the American bicycle standard.
If you ride moto and only ride your own bicycles, it’s a great idea. Consistency.
If you ride other people’s bike — bad idea!!!
No real advantage other than consistency between platforms.
When I first started riding moto, I occasionally grabbed the front brake when I wanted the rear. Whew, scary! Now I can switch between bike and moto without any trouble. Something about 200 braaaping pounds between your legs feels really different!
Have I said braaap?
— Lee
The English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Aussies, Kiwis, and South Africans typically run their bikes moto style. They also drive on the wrong side of road.
Wouldn’t you be trying to shift gears if you accidentally grabbed the front? – whoops that’s not a clutch – oof – crash. Wouldn’t true moto-style brakes have a right-pedal-mounted foot brake for the rear? 😉
🙂 Tricky while you’re pedaling.
You can get an auto clutch for your moto the run the brakes bike style. How cool would that be?
Scott, you just named some of the most dominating countries in DH. When it comes to singletrack, there is no wrong side of the road.
World Cup DH elite men individual standings at the end of the year, ‘moto-style’ gets places 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 out of the top 10. World Champs? Moto style gets three on the podium including the gold. Though when there are multiple riders on the track (4x, DS), thats a different story.
Stupid Theory No. 1: Americans and Euros are used to driving on huge multi-lane highways, freeways and autostrada/bahns. Aussies, Kiwis, South Africans and English potter around on skinny little roads. Therefore Americans and Euros dominate the multi-lane events, and the moto-style countries dominate the DH : )
Stupid Theory No. 2: Most people are right handed and so riding moto puts the front brake in the strongest hand. Maybe at the WC level, they use more front. I sure as heck know I’m dragging the rear when gravity starts to take a hold of my momentum!
Lee, Mick Doohan (who also drove on the wrong side of the road until he moved to Monaco) had a crazy brake/clutch set-up because his legs had been wrecked in so many crashes he couldn’t use them too well. Details are hazy in my head, but I remember shaking it when I saw it on TV. And we also saw him in just a pair of shorts, his legs looked like they had been attacked by a shark. What a Champion!
I’d never really thought about it, but I am definitely stronger and more dexterous with my right hand and having control of the front brake with it might improve modulation and confidence that I can stop short when I need to. I might try flipping my jucies.
Actually, most right handed people are stronger with their left hand as the right hand has more fine motor skills. The same thing with your legs. Right handed people have a stronger left foot. Have you ever tried to drive a car and apply gas with your left foot or the brake and try to depress the clutch with your right foot… not that easy.
The reason why the Motorcycle has the front brake on the right lever is exactly for that reason, you have more fine motor skills on your right hand and have more raw power for the clutch. Bicycles on the other hand don’t have brake boosters or (until recently) hydraulic brakes, this is why you have the front brake on your left hand in order to apply a higher pressure than on the rear tire with your right hand…..
none of you guys have got it right, although the side of the road you drive on is crucial to understanding why Ozzies and Brits run their brakes moto style.
When you ride down the road in America you use you left hand to signal left and your right hand brakes the BACK WHEEL. In the UK or Australia we drive on the left and have to signal with our right hand to turn right while moving into the center of the road. the left hand does the braking of the BACK WHEEL and we don’t go over the bars in the middle of the street. That’s why, not because one hand is stronger then the other!!, this is the 21st century, we brake with 1 finger not all 5 like in the caliper brake days. I hope this helps, Adam L. currently living in Switzerland where no.one understand why my brakes are on the “wrong” way round
Interesting, but I must disagree:
– Right-side-dominant people have stronger grips in their right hands, and stronger right legs as well. Their right sides are both smarter and stronger — I see this all the time in coaching.
– I believe moto front brakes are on the right because the clutch is on the left, and the throttle is on the right. You can easily clutch with the left hand and throttle with the right hand. If the clutch was on the right, it’d be awfully hard to clutch and throttle with any control.
Personaly I think, having my rear brake on my right hand is smarter. Why? Well because I rarely used it (lately my rear brake hose got a leak and replacing that is quite expensive so I am forced to use my front brake… not such a bad thing since I am learning how to use it better) and when I do, it’s because using my front brake would just make me skid, throw me over my bars and so on… So I use it more for precise control. Soooo to get to the point, when I use my rear brake I need it to be precise and strong and the right hand is prefect for the job.