Brakes. Which side, Help!

[Blue Moon]

A heated discussion occurred in my office today. I work for a large German company and some of my colleagues in Manchester are also German. During lunch we were discussing bikes in general and the brakes came up. I’m mid 50’s and every bike I care to remember (that’s loads of em) have had the front brake lever on the right, rear brake lever on the left. All my bikes have been assembled wrong according to my EU colleagues. Am I / we in the UK wrong. Forum members please help me win this war of words?

 

[MadsB]

I think it’s a bit like which side if the road you drive on, UK tends to do it differently to Europe. I don’t think one way is more correct than the other...

 

[steve_sordy]

For those that drive on the left side of the road. Try right turning on the road and signalling right whilst braking. If you have to brake hard, then your left hand uses the rear brake and you slow down instead of going OTB. It will be the same the other way around for those that drive on the right.

There is a logic to why we have it that way and others don't. But once you have learned, swapping is more dangerous than turning right with the rear brake on the left.

That is my explanation.

By the way "a heated discussion" on the topic, wow!

 

[unclezz]

Well... EU rider here... If you also ride a motorbike makes sense to swap the rear brake to the left as you are already used to have front break on right side when on motorbike

 

[steve_sordy]

Well... EU rider here... If you also ride a motorbike makes sense to swap the rear brake to the left as you are already used to have front break on right side when on motorbike

So if I understand you correctly, in the right hand drive EU (UK excepted), motorbikes have the rear brake on the left, but bicycles have it on the right? What madness is this?

I am interested in how this one ends up. Genuine learning experience for me. I drive on the left and I have never ridden a motorbike or a scooter. But I had always made the (dangerous) assumption that motor bikes and scooters all had the rear brake on the left. Is that not so?

 

[Blue Moon]

So if I understand you correctly, in the right hand drive EU (UK excepted), motorbikes have the rear brake on the left, but bicycles have it on the right? What madness is this?

I am interested in how this one ends up. Genuine learning experience for me. I drive on the left and I have never ridden a motorbike or a scooter. But I had always made the (dangerous) assumption that motor bikes and scooters all had the rear brake on the left. Is that not so?

Good point re: motorbikes, I’d never thought of them. I’ve ridden loads of them and the front brake was always on the right, the clutch lever on the left and rear brake was foot operated. However, That wasn’t always on the same side. Some early British bikes had the gear lever for right foot operation and brake pedal for the left foot to operate, that was confusing.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

the septics have em the wrong ay round also

moto style makes sense, must be well weird to get off a MTB and onto a motorbike and the brake is different.

 

[Andrie]

I’m in the USA and I swapped my brakes for exactly that. I ride motorbike daily and it is weird to have it on the other side when I jump on my mtb

 

[Andrie]

Btw, I also rode scooter and here in the USA scooter also have front brakes on the right and rear brakes on the left

 

[Frankieboy]

So, having read through this thread, I can only conclude the UK have the most logical approach; front brake on the right for all kinds of bikes, simple. Unusual, in my experience, for the Germans not to take such an obviously LOGICAL approach. But, will your colleagues @Blue Moon agree? In my experience, I very much doubt it?

 

[Travis]

I'm always amazed that my brain can keep track. I've been riding motorcycles and bicycles for over 30 years and have never had any trouble switching between the two even though the front bake on my bicycles have always been on the left. I suppose the argument for the motorcycle is that it would be hard to operate the throttle and the clutch with the same hand.

 

[unclezz]

the septics have em the wrong ay round also

moto style makes sense, must be well weird to get off a MTB and onto a motorbike and the brake is different.

You got 100% the point. And the same is valid when you move from a motorbike to a bike I experienced that confusion in the past

 

[04fuxake]

Bikes in NZ are sold right front, left rear.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

You got 100% the point. And the same is valid when you move from a motorbike to a bike I experienced that confusion in the past

I worked in Michigan a couple of times and did some riding out there.. I never got used to the brakes being other way around and had to ride way more carefully because in that moment of reaction to something tricky, I would get it wrong.

 

[Blue Moon]

So, having read through this thread, I can only conclude the UK have the most logical approach; front brake on the right for all kinds of bikes, simple. Unusual, in my experience, for the Germans not to take such an obviously LOGICAL approach. But, will your colleagues @Blue Moon agree? In my experience, I very much doubt it?

I think we’ll agree to disagree

 

[Pdoz]

It all makes sense once you have ridden a motorbike towards a britz camper on an outback road

Look closely into the eyes of fate....is the driver German or British? Male of female? When did they last have sex? All these factors become increasingly important as you hurtle towards that moment of choice......now, am I riding the ducati,guzzi or morini ? Because stomping on that right pedal might slow me to a gentle stop and impress the princess , apply the linked brakes and drop me into the grasp of a horny lad, or worse still drop down a gear and leave me without options when brunhilda swerves into my left lane Cr@p , it's the morinin and I'm running reverse shift patterns from road racing days!

Now......try riding a bike with those back pedal brakes.....

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

Now......try riding a bike with those back pedal brakes.....

without a doubt, the work of the devil !

 

[Rusty]

Pffttt - all the arguments about being like BMX or what side of the road you ride on are preferences. I mean to say, the clutch on a motorcycle is on the left and the front brake is on the right - you don't see those changing over do you? In every case I have seen a rider with a missing brake foot and needing hand controls they have always had the rear hand brake on the left. Heck, they even got rid of the right foot shift and all bikes are left foot shift now.

 

[Pdoz]

Pffttt - all the arguments about being like BMX or what side of the road you ride on are preferences. I mean to say, the clutch on a motorcycle is on the left and the front brake is on the right - you don't see those changing over do you? In every case I have seen a rider with a missing brake foot and needing hand controls they have always had the rear hand brake on the left. Heck, they even got rid of the right foot shift and all bikes are left foot shift now.

Honda used the right brake lever for combined brakes...Honda...need I say more? From memory, they couldn't decide so had some confusing lever pedal abs hybrid mushy joke

 

[Rosemount]

A heated discussion occurred in my office today. I work for a large German company and some of my colleagues in Manchester are also German. During lunch we were discussing bikes in general and the brakes came up. I’m mid 50’s and every bike I care to remember (that’s loads of em) have had the front brake lever on the right, rear brake lever on the left. All my bikes have been assembled wrong according to my EU colleagues. Am I / we in the UK wrong. Forum members please help me win this war of words?

Right handers have better dexterity in their right hand = better brake modulation for the more powerful and potentially more dangerous front brake .
If I was a left hander I might swap the levers other wise nope .

 

[Husky430]

A heated discussion occurred in my office today. I work for a large German company and some of my colleagues in Manchester are also German. During lunch we were discussing bikes in general and the brakes came up. I’m mid 50’s and every bike I care to remember (that’s loads of em) have had the front brake lever on the right, rear brake lever on the left. All my bikes have been assembled wrong according to my EU colleagues. Am I / we in the UK wrong. Forum members please help me win this war of words?

Think of a motorbike, problem solved, they don't change that around depending on what side of the road you drive on. Soooooo simple

 

[Rusty]

Honda used the right brake lever for combined brakes...Honda...need I say more? From memory, they couldn't decide so had some confusing lever pedal abs hybrid mushy joke

They were scary. I think in a LTSA survey they were the model motorcycle most likely to be in an accident than any other.

 

[aarfeldt]

I don't give a shit....I allways brake front/rear simultaneously and dont have a problem with that.
So I can switch right/left on a daily basis, and would not care/know.

 

[p3eps]

Now......try riding a bike with those back pedal brakes.....

I bought my little girl a Specialized Hotrock bike for her 4th birthday. She was straight on 2 wheels and flies round on it.
She’s now 5 1/4, and I’ve still never told her about the pedal back brake.
Why confuse a kid, when they’ll probably never have this on another bike?!

 

[steve_sordy]

I still use my rear brake to help me get round corners. If I got on the wrong bike that would not end well!

 

[speedkills]

Similar to others here, I run my bike brakes "moto style" as in a panic I don't want to grab the wrong brake. Plus, if I were to grab the wrong one, I would much rather have it happen on a bicycle than on a motorcycle given the speed difference.

 

[Colin sedgwick]

A heated discussion occurred in my office today. I work for a large German company and some of my colleagues in Manchester are also German. During lunch we were discussing bikes in general and the brakes came up. I’m mid 50’s and every bike I care to remember (that’s loads of em) have had the front brake lever on the right, rear brake lever on the left. All my bikes have been assembled wrong according to my EU colleagues. Am I / we in the UK wrong. Forum members please help me win this war of words?

Hi bro I am 70 and like you hade loads of bikes and yes you are right back on the left front on the right. Good look with this eh eh you no you will win .colin from the uk.

 

[urastus]

A heated discussion occurred in my office today. I work for a large German company and some of my colleagues in Manchester are also German. During lunch we were discussing bikes in general and the brakes came up. I’m mid 50’s and every bike I care to remember (that’s loads of em) have had the front brake lever on the right, rear brake lever on the left. All my bikes have been assembled wrong according to my EU colleagues. Am I / we in the UK wrong. Forum members please help me win this war of words?

Bring in some cookie ganja . I've heard it's really good for German's. I'd be interested to hear what their thoughts were while under the influence - might come up with something novel!

 

[Flatslide]

My buddy was a BMX racer in the early 80s, he runs his rear brake on the right side. His reason being on the BMX there was only one brake so it was on the right. He still has his cycle brakes set this way, but his motorcycle brake and clutch are normal. Buggered if I know how he does it without dying regularly

 

[R120]

The best explanation I have seen is this, there are lots of theories about hand signals etc, but this one makes most sense to me.

Originally bikes had one brake, at the rear - a front brake was considered unsafe at the time.

In the UK most early mass manufactured bikes had coaster brakes, so when they started to add front brakes they put them on the right hand side as this made sense since this is most peoples stronger hand (and remember back then a lot of left handed people where forced to become right handed at school, my dad included).

However the French brands didnt use coaster brakes, and as such had the rear brake lever on the right for the same reason of it being the dominant hand - when it came to adding a front brake they had to put them on the left, as they already had levers on the right.

The reason that on a motorbike has the front brake on the right, is that the British model (which took the semi logic from British bicycles) became dominant due to the success of their bikes, further reinforced with the emergence of the Japanese motorbike industry who originally copied British designs.