Opinion: Do you use your rear brake when emergency braking?

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Honestly, going through my first real emergency braking situation in my 4 years of riding on the street the other day. Trying y'know, to not kill a cyclist. Bringing the bike into an endo, I honestly don't think the rear brake would have done anything, with the rear tire not being on the ground and all, lol.
 
I used to have a problem with locking the rear brake when panic stopping. As a result, I got in the habit of not using the rear brake. Despite regular practice of threshold braking it is still very easy to lock the rear wheel on many bikes. For the limited added braking I was getting from my rear brake it was a better risk for me to just ignore it in emergencies.

My current ride has ABS so I use the rear brake regularly. Interestingly, the only time I have the ABS kick in is on the rear wheel under very heavy braking. I suppose I could spend more of my time practicing threshold braking so that I'd get to be a professional at it, but I have a life that gets in the way of spending that much time practicing braking.
 
Griffin said:
I used to have a problem with locking the rear brake when panic stopping. As a result, I got in the habit of not using the rear brake. Despite regular practice of threshold braking it is still very easy to lock the rear wheel on many bikes. For the limited added braking I was getting from my rear brake it was a better risk for me to just ignore it in emergencies.

My current ride has ABS so I use the rear brake regularly. Interestingly, the only time I have the ABS kick in is on the rear wheel under very heavy braking. I suppose I could spend more of my time practicing threshold braking so that I'd get to be a professional at it, but I have a life that gets in the way of spending that much time practicing braking.
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Lets just hope that lack of practice doesn't take away the life thats been getting the way of practicing.
 
Riceburner said:
Yes. Rear brake a fraction of a second before the front. Do it all the time and it will become habit in an emergency.
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I agree with above.....Although I am still a novice rider..I have come across a few situations where I had to emeregency brake. My instict - gut reactions where to just start with rear brake (progresive pressure) for a split second while the weight was slowly being transfered to the front wheel then progressively pull in the front brake. Although I did lift off the seat. I was able to control the bike, stop in straight line and come to come to a complete stop alot quicker than if I used only the front. I also think you reduce the chances of high siding or locking up the front if you start to use the rear first. On one situation I actually heard the rear skid, but I had it under control. The back end did just a slight shift to the side.
 
250R-ICE said:
I agree with above.....Although I am still a novice rider..I have come across a few situations where I had to emeregency brake. My instict - gut reactions where to just start with rear brake (progresive pressure) for a split second while the weight was slowly being transfered to the front wheel then progressively pull in the front brake. Although I did lift off the seat. I was able to control the bike, stop in straight line and come to come to a complete stop alot quicker than if I used only the front. I also think you reduce the chances of high siding or locking up the front if you start to use the rear first. On one situation I actually heard the rear skid, but I had it under control. The back end did just a slight shift to the side.
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Altimately remember regardless if you skid or what not, its a successful emergency stop if your A: alive B: haven't hit anything and C: the bike is still in the upright position. Idealy also positioned towards a quick exit point should buddy behind you not be able to stop in time.
 
Cat13 said:
Lets just hope that lack of practice doesn't take away the life thats been getting the way of practicing.
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You obviously missed my point.

I practice emergency braking every time I ride out on my bike. I suspect you'd find that's more than most people do. That wasn't my point. However, your snide comment that I need to practice more I have taken with the value it deserves.

My point was that, short of becoming a professional, practice is not likely to prevent you from locking your rear in an emergency. I know a number of riders that are very, very good. They still have locked their rear wheels in a panic stop.
 
250R-ICE said:
I agree with above.....Although I am still a novice rider..I have come across a few situations where I had to emeregency brake. My instict - gut reactions where to just start with rear brake (progresive pressure) for a split second while the weight was slowly being transfered to the front wheel then progressively pull in the front brake. Although I did lift off the seat. I was able to control the bike, stop in straight line and come to come to a complete stop alot quicker than if I used only the front. I also think you reduce the chances of high siding or locking up the front if you start to use the rear first. On one situation I actually heard the rear skid, but I had it under control. The back end did just a slight shift to the side.
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The concern I have with this is that you've delayed activation of your most useful brake - your front. While you're initiating braking with your rear and waiting for the weight transfer, you've just travelled a considerable distance. I prefer to pound my front brakes immediately. Remember, we are discussing panic stops here, not planned decelerations.

But, you folks do what you want. I'm only responsible for me and the people I train.
 
Sushii said:
I'd like to keep this thread flame free... I only want to know what you guys do.

P.S So how come people that go on track or professional racers (Valentino) usually only use the front brakes...
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If I'm not mistaken, you ride a sport bike. Your bike can do a stoppie with a good rider in dry conditions and no passenger. Under those conditions, the rear brake will have no effect on slowing you down. You'll note, Rossi is a good rider on a sport bike in dry conditions with no passenger. Ergo, he doesn't need the rear brake.

Unfortunaltely "hard braking" means different things to different riders, but if you can brake hard enough to lift the rear then forget about applying the rear brake in emergency conditions. In fact you might be better off forgetting to use the rear brake as a matter of course so that you build the right habit to deal with emergencies. This is still assuming that you can lift (or almost lift) the rear tire under braking. And then when you have a passenger or you're riding in wet conditions, you can make a conscientious decision to use a bit of rear brake. That's what I do.
 
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Griffin said:
The concern I have with this is that you've delayed activation of your most useful brake - your front. While you're initiating braking with your rear and waiting for the weight transfer, you've just travelled a considerable distance. I prefer to pound my front brakes immediately. Remember, we are discussing panic stops here, not planned decelerations.

But, you folks do what you want. I'm only responsible for me and the people I train.
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We're talking a fraction of a second, here, and it helps initiate weight transfer. This means being able to get to maximum braking force, faster, with far less risk of overloading the front contact patch's friction.

*EDIT* I had my rear wheel taken out by someone, who didn't load his front wheel prior to applying full braking force. I had slowed down without issue. The result was a broken collarbone, for me.
 
The main issue most people have in an emergency situation is they panic. They grab the brakes and hammer their foot down on the pedal. Emergency braking needs to be practiced. When the situation happens and you need to stop brakes need to be applied progressively not hammered on. Squeeze the front and continue to squeeze it and apply the rear and continue to apply till you stop. Most braking mishaps occur because the rider slammed on the brakes.

One poster earlier commented that (they apply the rear for a split second before the front while the weight transferred) Not sure what they mean as applying only the rear causes no weight transfer to the front. Weight transfer to the front only happens when the front brake is applied.

Practice and use both at the same time. If the rider actually lifts up the rear so be it, if the rear wheel skids keep it locked and even if it is skidding you have some tire to road friction aiding in the stop ( if you let the rear off while skidding you risk high siding)
 
taximan62 said:
The main issue most people have in an emergency situation is they panic. They grab the brakes and hammer their foot down on the pedal. Emergency braking needs to be practiced. When the situation happens and you need to stop brakes need to be applied progressively not hammered on. Squeeze the front and continue to squeeze it and apply the rear and continue to apply till you stop. Most braking mishaps occur because the rider slammed on the brakes.
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Tru dat.

One poster earlier commented that (they apply the rear for a split second before the front while the weight transferred) Not sure what they mean as applying only the rear causes no weight transfer to the front. Weight transfer to the front only happens when the front brake is applied.
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No, any change in longitudinal acceleration will transfer weight between the front and rear. Either brake will do, as will throttle, or inclines.

Practice and use both at the same time. If the rider actually lifts up the rear so be it, if the rear wheel skids keep it locked and even if it is skidding you have some tire to road friction aiding in the stop ( if you let the rear off while skidding you risk high siding)
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Why practice rear braking if it's not going to be used in an emergency?
 
taximan62 said:
The main issue most people have in an emergency situation is they panic. They grab the brakes and hammer their foot down on the pedal. Emergency braking needs to be practiced. When the situation happens and you need to stop brakes need to be applied progressively not hammered on. Squeeze the front and continue to squeeze it and apply the rear and continue to apply till you stop. Most braking mishaps occur because the rider slammed on the brakes.

One poster earlier commented that (they apply the rear for a split second before the front while the weight transferred) Not sure what they mean as applying only the rear causes no weight transfer to the front. Weight transfer to the front only happens when the front brake is applied.

Practice and use both at the same time. If the rider actually lifts up the rear so be it, if the rear wheel skids keep it locked and even if it is skidding you have some tire to road friction aiding in the stop ( if you let the rear off while skidding you risk high siding)
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Any slowing down will tend to cause weight transfer, to the front, as the bike tries to pivot about its centre of mass. Weight transfer is more dramatic, when applying the front brake, but this can also cause the kinetic energy of the bikes forward motion to overwhelm the friction of the front wheel, against the pavement, causing a skid.

As I said, it allows you to get on full front brakes fractionally sooner.
 
You did two things at once.

If you brake, you should skid straight if you lock up the rear. You lowsided cuz you were looking around I'd bet. Turning your head as a kid on your bmx would cause that wicked skid/spin...

If you were trying to turn at the same time and ended up lowsiding cuz of brakes locking, it was just a bad choice. One or the other dude. Judgement comes into play. Can you stop? No? Then swerve outta the way. Last thing you want to do in an agreesive swerve is add brakes. Avoid, then stop if required.

But in short, yes, both brakes to stop the quickest.
 
Not sure if this applies to Valentino, but a buddy of mine who races competitively told me that he uses the front brakes to preload the front forks when he's doing a hard lean, increasing the normal force and therefore the traction of the front tires.

I've had to do an emergency brake behind a motorcycle with integrated lights and a very very dimly lit brake light. I always use rear/front for braking of any sort. My back started fishtailing slightly but i just kept steady and straight and that was that.
 
Griffin said:
You obviously missed my point.

I practice emergency braking every time I ride out on my bike. I suspect you'd find that's more than most people do. That wasn't my point. However, your snide comment that I need to practice more I have taken with the value it deserves.

My point was that, short of becoming a professional, practice is not likely to prevent you from locking your rear in an emergency. I know a number of riders that are very, very good. They still have locked their rear wheels in a panic stop.
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You had implied that you were too busy to practice. You didn't mention that you practice on a daily basis.
 
Zaneris said:
Honestly, going through my first real emergency braking situation in my 4 years of riding on the street the other day. Trying y'know, to not kill a cyclist. Bringing the bike into an endo, I honestly don't think the rear brake would have done anything, with the rear tire not being on the ground and all, lol.
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You used your front brakes to do an endo correct? You used ONLY your front brakes. If you used the back brakes, you probably wouldn't have done an endo.
 
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