First, let's reconsider what enables you to turn anything about the speed and direction of your 'object in motion' - two small patches of tire and road covering rubbing together. These few square inches are responsible for creating enough disagreement to influence, or ideally, operate the appeal of the object riding on them. Dictionary.com defines traction as " the disagreement in the middle of a body and the covering on which it moves (as in the middle of an automobile tire and the road.)" What authentically makes a bike come to a standstill? This process involves, first and foremost, the traction element described above, in blend with the disagreement industrialized in the braking ideas that tries to reduce the rate of spinning of the wheels (which are, we hope, bound to the road covering by the aforementioned traction.)
There are different types of braking systems. The most basic involves the front and rear brakes working completely independent from each other. (For the purpose of this discussion, we will not reconsider vintage bikes or early 'choppers' that lacked front brakes.) This typically involves controlling the front brakes via the right handlebar lever and the rear brakes via the right foot pedal. A second scheme is to have the front and rear brakes related so that they all the time brake together. There have been some variations on this theme. A third scheme is Abs that uses a computer and wheel spin sensors to detect locking, then releases and reapplies the brakes rapidly to preclude skidding. Of course, this opens up the possibility of combining the technology of integrated braking with Abs. This has been implemented on some high-end touring machines (and perhaps more); however, the implications of this blend are still being explored.
Brake mechanisms, like brake systems, have also evolved. Disk brakes, which use a rotor fixed to the wheel in conjunction with a hydraulic caliper fixed to the suspension, have proven to be the most effective and thus received the most evolutionary attention. With this system, one or more hydraulic cylinders in the caliper are used to squeeze the disagreement material 'in' against the sides of the rotor. Drum brakes, still used on some lighter bikes and/or for the sake of economy, are typically actuated by a mechanical rod or cable. This type of brake causes disagreement 'shoes' to be pressed outward against a drum - which is normally the hub of the wheel. Over the past 30 years I've experienced: front and rear drums, front disk/rear drum, front dual disk/rear singular disk with partial integration, and currently non-integrated Abs (dual front/single disk rear). I believe that each iteration has represented a requisite evolutionary step. Since each bike has been larger and heavier as well, the progression in stopping power has been welcome indeed.
Suspension and drive type also effects traction as well as the way the entire machine will retort to a given set of physical forces. The response of the suspension to the drive train (either accelerating or during machine braking) will be different on a shaft driven bike from that of a chain or belt driven machine. An machine whose crankshaft rotates on an axis that's perpendicular to the wheelbase of the bike will furnish different gyroscopic soldiery from one that rotates on a parallel axis. There is so much diversity in bike form today that we cannot hope to cover all the subtle nuances of any singular type without hopelessly boring the more general reader to death. Instead, we'd like to offer some general guidelines, in the hopes of stimulating your view process and encouraging you to come to be more attuned to your singular machine and its interaction with the world of the open road.
An object in appeal tends to stay in motion. We learned this in school. When you apply your brakes, the bike, cargo, and riders want to keep attractive forward. This means that the total weight starts to shift transmit as you brake, which in turn, wants to lift the rear wheel effectively reducing its sense area, while pushing the front tire hard into the road surface. Realizing this, it only makes sense that as stated by the bike safety Foundation, (Msf), your front brake has 70%+ of your braking power and you should use your front brake every time that you want to slow down. In addition, the Msf recommends that you to use both front and rear brakes, and if necessary, apply them both hard, without locking them up. Do not stiffen your arms as you brake, just grip the bike with your legs and keep your arms free and relaxed. This is one of those "easier said than done" situations and you do need to practice.
Now, before I go off on a tear about panic braking and avoiding the dreaded and perhaps lethal 'high-side,' my inner parent will not rest without at least a passing mention of 'Best Defensive Riding Tactics' as a precursor to 'Best Braking Practices.' Unless you have a death wish, a good deal of your concentration while riding should be dedicated to avoiding panic braking situations. (The proverbial "...ounce of prevention...") Try to avoid heavy traffic, have at least two fly routes in mind at any given instant, don't drive faster than a 12 second line-of-sight, brake before curves, and learn to brake while in curves without losing operate of the bike, you know, all that Msf stuff. You don't know, or maybe you did but it's been quite awhile? Maybe you should reconsider taking a course - what the heck, the worst that could happen is that you might learn something and you'll save some money on insurance. At best, it could save your life! (Or mine, if I'm everywhere near you.)
If these mentions don't sound very familiar, or even automatic, to you, please at the very least spend some time reading about, mental about, and finally, practicing these defensive tactics when they aren't especially requisite until they come to be automatic. By its very definition a 'panic' situation is one where you authentically don't have time to think and your 'automatic' reaction can authentically make a life-or-death difference.
Progressive braking:
This sounds like tasteless sense, especially if you are traveling in a right line, but the process becomes much less intuitive when you are in a curve and/or panic situation. The idea here is to apply both brakes with 'progressively' more pressure until an standard deceleration rate is obtained. If you are in a particularly relaxed braking situation, such as approaching a red light or rolling down a deceleration lane toward an exit ramp, you can also mix in a small machine braking via downshifting. This transfers some of the wear and tear caused by the deceleration soldiery from the braking ideas to the driveline, and it sounds cool. I've seen arguments for and against machine braking but they authentically lie covering the scope of this discussion, I'm neither advocating nor condemning the practice.
It is true that the 'driveline' was designed for 'driving' and the braking ideas was designed for braking, and the latter of those two is the intended point of this article.
Leaned over in a curve:
The best institution is to slow down sufficiently before entering a curve to allow continuous acceleration through and out of it. Well, that's just phenomenal in theory, but unless you're on a fulfilled, racing circuit, a road that you've ridden hundreds of times before, or you consistently drive like the proverbial 'little old lady,' you've probably found yourself in a small over your head on at least a few occasions. Although I would hardly recommend it as a best practice, it is entirely inherent to brake in a curve. I would recommend that you institution it when you don't need it so you're prepared in the event that you do. The suspension and drive characteristics of your exact machine will play a part here as well, so you might want to seek the guidance of competing or very experienced riders of similar equipment. Key to all flavors of bikes is to avoid sudden or violent transitions - whether on and off the throttle, brakes, or from throttle to brake, or brake to throttle. Back off the throttle gently and apply brakes gently and progressively.
If you find yourself going into a skid while leaned over in a curve and braking, you will probably be destined for a 'low side' before you have a opening for any sort of intervention. The same course stated below applies for a locked rear wheel - force it down on the low side with the front brake if you have to but - Do Not issue The Rear Brake! (See below for the gory details.)
Traveling in a right line:
In the best of all inherent worlds, when you are traveling in a right line, you may be able to anticipate the need to slow down or stop (i.e. Approaching a red light) and entirely minimize your need for aggressive braking by easing off the throttle and letting the bike do what comes naturally. Be careful, however, not to surprise following motorists (especially the ones in large Suvs) by slowing right away without displaying your brake lights - as might occur with downshifting for the purpose of machine braking.
When the need for deceleration becomes more urgent, due to changing traffic conditions or the need to slow down for a curve, you are in prime territory for 'progressive braking.'
If you jam on your front brakes, you could start a skid that will cause you to leave from your bike as your wheel slides out from under you. Your front wheel will not lock up authentically if you have Abs brakes, or if you have mastered the progressive braking, but this can happen fairly authentically (and Very quickly) at low speed if you encounter a manhole cover, steel plate, or other slick surface. If you start to skid on the front wheel, issue the brake momentarily and reapply it using less pressure. The bike will turn in the direction of the skid by itself. In the very low speed situation, and only as a last resort, putting a foot down may enable you to catch the bike before it passes that requisite point. More than likely, however, this will happen so fast that you'd be best advised to try and get away rather than risk a foot, a knee, or being caught under the weight of the beast.
If you jam on your back brakes, you have a greater opening of locking the rear wheel, because it has less sense with the road covering as the weight shifts forward. If you start to skid with your rear wheel things will begin to happen very speedily and you are now in one of the most hazardous positions you can imagine. The best guidance that anything can offer is - Do Not issue The Brake! Look transmit and steer straight. If you are going in a right line, you will (hopefully) skid right and you can apply the front brake to achieve the stop that you need.
Consider for a moment, from the relieve and safety of your desk chair, some of the dynamics that are complex here and if we're fortunate, we may never have to sense them from the saddle:
1) Once the rear wheel locks it will have less traction than the front wheel, which is still turning. Also any gyroscopic soldiery from the rear wheel (which would tend to help keep the bike upright) are gone.
2) With the blend of the transmit weight shift and the lack of traction at the rear wheel the net corollary is that the back of the bike wants to go faster than the front.
3) Due to the conditions described above, you are likely to find your rear wheel sliding up along side of you. Your front wheel, pointing right ahead, will plainly be turned into the skid. From here there are basically three ways that things can go:
a) You ride it out with the rear wheel locked, steering into the skid with the front wheel and maintaining pressure on the front brakes. Easing up on the front brake slightly should allow the front wheel to get back ahead of the rear wheel somewhat while addition pressure on the front brake will tend to let the back wheel get further ahead, eventually forcing the bike down on the 'low side.' (the side of the bike closest to the ground and opposite the skid)
b) Disaster is imminent and you want to do everything inherent to avoid a 'high side.' (See c below) Apply hard pressure on the front brake, which will slow the front of the bike even more. The rear wheel will move further ahead and you will effectively force the bike down on the 'low side.' If you go down, you will go down in the same direction as the bike and it will trip away from you. If you have the proper protective clothing you will probably not be hurt severely. Your bike may have the most damage.
c) The 'high side.' This is the worst inherent case and also why you should Not issue the rear brake once it locks. Your rear wheel is locked and sliding up next to you. Your front wheel is still turning, in the direction of the skid, which is now at a requisite angle to the line of the bike. For anything reason, you let up on the rear brake...
Immediately when the wheel starts turning it gains a requisite number of traction, but the disagreement covering and direction of rotation are essentially sideways with respect to the direction of the slide. In addition, the front axle can form a pivot point in the direction of the slide, augmented by the application of the front brakes. The net corollary is that the rear wheel digs in very right away while the momentum of the slide combines with the trajectory of the front wheel causing the entire bike to snap violently up and over the newly created disagreement covering at the back wheel. This violent snap is normally more than enough to start the unfortunate rider equally violently in the direction of the slide. To make matters worse, the bike is also likely to come to be airborne at close to the same instant, velocity and direction. Once airborne, with nothing to slow it down... You can paint your own picture, but color it potentially deadly.
When you are faced with an crisis situation, your instinct is to brake hard. Only insight, conditioning, and institution can put in order you to react the most effectively under pressure or panic circumstances.
bicycle Riding - Best Braking Practices