Brakes. Which side, Help!

[Gavalar]

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?

I have always riddrn my bikes "Moto", rear brake on the right, it makes sense to me seeing as I am right handed, it means that I am rear brake biased 80% of the time but I personally find it more efficient when carrying speed, I think also that's why you see some terrible birds nests of wires when people buy from direct brands as the cables are not cut to the correct length when the brakes have been switched to the UK preference of rwar brake on the left.

 

[Topolino]

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?

I can tell you exactly how ... OTB (over the bars), facial scars and a broken arm. The expression on the Spesh Dealer’s face, when I returned the Enduro was priceless ???

 

[R120]

My

My Co workers and I talk about girls not bikes... ?

You in an all female office too then I take it

 

[geehaw]

Bicycle braking systems are governed by a countries legal Safety and Design requirements for vehicles for example in Australia:
AS-NZS 1927: Pedal bicycles - Safety requirements
2.14.2.1 Handbrake lever location: The brake lever for a front brake shall be positioned on the right-hand side of the handlebar, and that for a rear brake on the left-hand side,

Historically it all has to do with what side of the road you drive. If you have to grab a handful of brake quickly it is safer to use the rear. When using hand signals to turn or stop you need to take one hand off the handlebar to signal (not that this really happens anymore). In a motor vehicle (pre electronic indicators) you put your hand out the window. Unless you have exceptionally long arms you used your right hand for right hand drive cars and left hand for left hand drive. Riding bikes you used the same had to indicate as the motor vehicles in the country of use. So Commonwealth countries should typically use their right hand to indicate do left hand is the rear brake. The opposite should be true for non-commonwealth countries. Motorbikes are different as the rear brake is on the foot so it really doesn't matter where the front brake is as you can use either hand.

It a 5min job to change over so use what you are most familiar with.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Front brake on the left ...don't be silly ?

 

[davarello]

I'm left handed so prefer the front brake on the left. I generally use both brakes all the time, so when I ride bikes with the rear on the left it's no problem, I just do a lot more skids round corners.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

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

Same here... so don't judge me, because I'm not saying or insisting that I'm correct - all I'm saying is that's how I roll... right lever/rear brake when it comes to bicycles. ?

I've ridden both dirt and road motorbikes AND BMX bikes since my late teens - early 20s. I never get muddled, except this one time - when I face-planted on my Suzuki RM but I never did that again despite keeping motorcycle brakes standard.

I couldn't make the transition on BMX bikes so I kept those with rear brake/right lever. BMX rear brakes at the time were weak (if they even worked at all) so it had to go with my stronger right hand. My left hand for some reason is also useless with modulation... it's like a switch, ON or OFF - so not good for BMX with one braking wheel only. I didn't struggle with the brakes being opposite way in motorbikes than my bicycles because I can modulate with my right foot as well as I can with my right hand. They worked well together if that makes sense. Then I gave up everything with two wheels in my late 20s when I got married.

Fast forward to my early 40s when my kids did BMX briefly, I got roped into supporting them by joining the other dad's in a senior 24" cruiser class. Right rear single brake once again - just about at the same time when I discovered MTB... same thing, weak rim brakes to begin with as disc brakes hadn't come out yet. So here I am today - braking German style ever since. I thought I was alone, but there's a few of us EX-BMX weirdos at the MTB trails. When powerful twin piston 203mm hydraulic brakes came out, I learnt to sort-of modulate with my left index finger for the front - but right rear brake is deep instinct now... can't ever change that.

Whenever my mates ask to try my bikes over the years, I discourage them and warn them my brakes are the other way around. "Nah, nah, nah... we know... we'll be careful," they say. Then boom, OTB at the end of the trail or my driveway.

Tell you what, ever since the annual Crankworx event came to Rotorua, NZ - the bike shops and bike hire places have become very accomodating about this because apparently a lot of tourists coming over would ask for it. When I bought my Trance e+ from Torpedo7, I requested extra brake line olives. When asked why, I said that I want to swap my brake lines over. I was pleasantly surprised that they said they'd be happy to do it for me right then and there. They said, "no biggie, we do it all the time!" ? That almost made me feel normal! ?

 

[ggx]

Rear gear pling and brake plang same side.

 

[Pdoz]

I have always riddrn my bikes "Moto", rear brake on the right, it makes sense to me seeing as I am right handed, it means that I am rear brake biased 80% of the time but I personally find it more efficient when carrying speed, I think also that's why you see some terrible birds nests of wires when people buy from direct brands as the cables are not cut to the correct length when the brakes have been switched to the UK preference of rwar brake on the left.

NOW I'm confused.

By " moto" - do you mean motorbike style? That's front brake on the correct ( right ) side?

So you're right hand dominant and want the most effective brake on the right? You may want to try a few emergency stops using just front then just rear brake and understand exactly why the most effective brake should be on the correct ( right) side.

Cables ? This is emtb forum? CABLES for brakes? That's just not right!!!!!

 

[Rusty]

So you're right hand dominant and want the most effective brake on the right?

Yes/No/Maybe/Not really

Dominant side is not really taken into account on a motorcycle and should not really be on a bicycle - sort of.
The way it was explained to me by someone that researched motorcycles back to the Gottleib Daimler days, is that way back when hand clutches were starting to be played with and front brakes not really at the forefront that they decided the majority of people are right handed .... but have better 'feel' with their less dominant left hand - which made judicious application of releasing the clutch easier. That also has a bit to do with cars, as the clutch was even back then the left foot and the accelerator & brake the right. Just sort of went from there.

Personally, as I do have better feel with my left hand and more strength in my right I like things that way as around 70% of your braking is
with the front brake (weight going onto the front under braking etc and the rear end going light reducing power) and the better feel of the left allowing me to feather the rear brake and not skid around corners.

 

[Pdoz]

Yes/No/Maybe/Not really

Dominant side is not really taken into account on a motorcycle and should not really be on a bicycle - sort of.
The way it was explained to me by someone that researched motorcycles back to the Gottleib Daimler days, is that way back when hand clutches were starting to be played with and front brakes not really at the forefront that they decided the majority of people are right handed .... but have better 'feel' with their less dominant left hand - which made judicious application of releasing the clutch easier. That also has a bit to do with cars, as the clutch was even back then the left foot and the accelerator & brake the right. Just sort of went from there.

Personally, as I do have better feel with my left hand and more strength in my right I like things that way as around 70% of your braking is
with the front brake (weight going onto the front under braking etc and the rear end going light reducing power) and the better feel of the left allowing me to feather the rear brake and not skid around corners.

You had me - right up until " not skid around corners" - I KNOW you're a better motorbike ruder than that.....

 

[Rusty]

You had me - right up until " not skid around corners" - I KNOW you're a better motorbike ruder than that.....

I don't skid around corners on a motorcycle either - road or dirt. As I used to teach my students - brake with the bike upright to achieve maximum braking force, complete braking before the apex where you will be powering on .... spinning the wheel through and out of the corner is not skidding

 

[R120]

I ride with the rear brake on the right if on a bike with one brake, e.g dirt jump, but with it on the left when on my other bikes. Not really an issue.

 

[Gavalar]

NOW I'm confused.

By " moto" - do you mean motorbike style? That's front brake on the correct ( right ) side?

So you're right hand dominant and want the most effective brake on the right? You may want to try a few emergency stops using just front then just rear brake and understand exactly why the most effective brake should be on the correct ( right) side.

Cables ? This is emtb forum? CABLES for brakes? That's just not right!!!!!

It's just personal preference, and it has been for over 20 years, friends that have questioned it and then tried it now actually prefer it, maybe it goes way back to when I passed my cycling proficiency test when I was taught that the rear brake slows you down and the front brake stops you, as for an emergency stop using the front brake on a downhill run, no thanks.

 

[Pdoz]

, as for an emergency stop using the front brake on a downhill run, no thanks.

Seriously? You don't use the front brake when you NEED to stop downhill?

 

[RickBullotta]

Personal preference and can make a difference if you also ride dirt bikes.

Also, from my 30+ years of MTBing, going OTB from grabbing too much front brake is far more mythology than reality. If you go OTB it is for other reasons, and the front brake just helped a little...

 

[Gavalar]

Seriously? You don't use the front brake when you NEED to stop downhill?

Never, not even back in my racing days, I much prefer to drag, or intermittent braking of the rear and steer with the front, to give you an idea, my current go to analogue bike, Ibis HD4, is 2 years old and in that time I've gone through 6 sets of rear pads and the originals are still in the front, its pretty much the same with my Pivot Shuttle.

 

[RickBullotta]

I even went one step further and put a rear brake lever on my KTM 300. It's actually an awesome addition - can still use the foot lever, but can also be trail braking and getting a foot out front in right hand turns. It also is way easier to modulate the rear brake on technical descents.

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