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brake quick release is in the open
position, the brakes are inoperative.
Ask your dealer to make sure that you
understand the way the brake quick
release works on your bike (see fi gs.
11. 12, 13. 14 & 15) and check each
time to make sure both brakes work
correctly before you get on the bike.
2. How Brakes Work
The braking action of a bicycle is
a function of the friction between the
brake surfaces — usually the brake
pads and the wheel rim. To make
sure that you have maximum friction
available, keep your wheel rims and
brake pads clean and free of dirt,
lubricants, waxes or polishes.
Brakes are designed to control
your speed, not just to stop the bike.
Maximum braking force for each
wheel occurs at the point just before
the wheel “locks up” (stops rotating)
and starts to skid. Once the tire
skids, you actually lose most of your
stopping force and all directional
control. You need to practice slowing
and
stopping
smoothly
without
locking up a wheel. The technique is
called progressive brake modulation.
Instead of jerking the brake lever to
the position where you think you’ll
generate appropriate braking force,
squeeze the lever, progressively increasing the braking
force. If you feel the wheel begin to lock up, release
pressure just a little to keep the wheel rotating just short of
lockup. It’s important to develop a feel for the amount of
brake lever pressure required for each wheel at different
speeds and on different surfaces. To better understand
this, experiment a little by walking your bike and applying
different amounts of pressure to each brake lever, until
the wheel locks.
When you apply one or both brakes, the bike
begins to slow, but your body wants to continue at
the speed at which it was going. This causes a transfer
of weight to the front wheel (or, under heavy braking,
around the front wheel hub, which could send you
flying over the handlebars).
A wheel with more weight on it will accept greater
brake pressure before lockup; a wheel with less weight
will lock up with less brake pressure. So, as you apply
brakes and your weight is transferred forward, you need
to shift your body toward the rear of the bike, to transfer
weight back on to the rear wheel; and at the same time,
you need to both decrease rear braking and increase
front braking force. This is even more important on
descents, because descents shift weight forward.
Two keys to effective speed control and safe
stopping are controlling wheel lockup and weight
transfer. This weight transfer is even more pronounced
if your bike has a front suspension fork. Front suspension
“dips” under braking, increasing the weight transfer (see
also Section 4.F). Practice braking and weight transfer
techniques where there is no traffi c or other hazards
and distractions.
Everything changes when you ride on loose surfaces
