Ok front brake question.

[fugit]

i read just fine but obviously you don't - seeing as you took my sound advice, took it out of context, twisted my question and then replied with your ridiculous txt-tlk post.

Look in the mirror my friend.

i wub u 2 mikey!

Everyone else

SO I think I am going to mount front brake on left under clutch. I use clutch more here because of the hills. I will use front break only in emergency anyway. The rear caliper is on right side and using it with coasters works good if you want to slide stop in emergency. Adding front will stop that and maybe stop quicker we'll see.

My idea is based on "what if" I have a brake failure? If I have double brake levers on right and they fail I am stuck with my coasters. If I have two calipers on different sides ( front left, rear right) and any one of them fail I still have one and the coaster brakes. If coasters fail I still have both calipers on either side. I will set the front brake to grab lightly so not to skid on front tire becasue there is alot of sand around here. I like the odds better this way.

One thing that I did decide as a result of this discussion is to mount the front brake lever so i can grab it with my thumb or between thumb and pointer finger. 45 or so degree's but towards rider. Since it is a short lever it seems that will work well and if I need it it will be like grabbing onto something in a grip rather then pulling with 4 fingers. I might use it more too that way.

And this is for just this bike anyway(Or any bike I ride). I will try the dual brake lever on the right for another bike I am building because it seems the more experienced riders like them and they work well.

 

[fatdaddy]

Just make sure if at all possible, that you can stop faster then when you got there.

Great advice Al. I've always said that it's more important to stop than it is to go. If you can't go you won't die. If you can't stop you could die.
fatdaddy.

 

[happycheapskate]

It is fairly common for motorized bicycle users to put a v-brake lever on the left, facing the rider, for a thumb-activated clutch, to allow conventional use of a brake lever. I think a thumb-activated brake lever, esp. the front, might be a bad idea. As your weight shifts forward, or if you are alarmed by a traffic situation, you might tend to grab the brake lever mightily.

I have seen hipster bike riders put a brake lever on their seatpost, for a rear emergency brake, since they are required by law in some places to have a real brake and not the flintstone panic stop. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khWeLXUntBM (video man in pickup with no brakes tries to use feet to stop) Maybe you could put a locking clutch lever on your seatpost (shims from food cans work good), for an e-brake and parking brake.

http://luxlow.com/wp-content/uploads/wpsc/product_images/brminilega.jpg
http://luxlow.com/products-page/fix...ke-lever-compact-finger-lever-in-many-colors/ hinged clamp BMX lever (look on junked kids bikes, can also get them from those)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wb8bAl1P-N0/TJiZzkAV0gI/AAAAAAAAQu8/axweHt8pJnw/s1600/TTMBL+calgary.jpg
BMX brake on top tube (could put it wherever you want)

 

[fatdaddy]

It is fairly common for motorized bicycle users to put a v-brake lever on the left, facing the rider, for a thumb-activated clutch, to allow conventional use of a brake lever. I think a thumb-activated brake lever, esp. the front, might be a bad idea. As your weight shifts forward, or if you are alarmed by a traffic situation, you might tend to grab the brake lever mightily.

I have seen hipster bike riders put a brake lever on their seatpost, for a rear emergency brake, since they are required by law in some places to have a real brake and not the flintstone panic stop. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khWeLXUntBM (video man in pickup with no brakes tries to use feet to stop) Maybe you could put a locking clutch lever on your seatpost (shims from food cans work good), for an e-brake and parking brake.

http://luxlow.com/wp-content/uploads/wpsc/product_images/brminilega.jpg
http://luxlow.com/products-page/fix...ke-lever-compact-finger-lever-in-many-colors/ hinged clamp BMX lever (look on junked kids bikes, can also get them from those)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wb8bAl1P-N0/TJiZzkAV0gI/AAAAAAAAQu8/axweHt8pJnw/s1600/TTMBL+calgary.jpg
BMX brake on top tube (could put it wherever you want)

Hey Happy, My friend had a stroke a couple years ago and uses a walker now, ( Thats the sad part,) The cool part is that on the walker is a bicycle type lever that is also a parking brake. I've been meaning to check it out, just ain't got around to it yet. Probably from a medical supply company.
fatdaddy.

 

[happycheapskate]

Any bmx store or major bike shop will have them, and thatsdax or most motorized bicycle dealers have them (locking v-brake levers like the happytime clutch levers. The BMX type places will have the hinged clamp levers.

 

[Dan]

I have duels on my right but the front brake is a drum and is kinda passive. Could in no way put you over the bar. On the left is a side-pull, extra front brake for those Malox moments.

So far, so good and have lots of time and miles on em.

In the great words from Kelly's Heroes; Oddball: "These engines are the fastest in any tanks in the European Theater of Operations, forwards or backwards. You see, man, we like to feel we can get out of trouble, quicker than we got into it"

 

[fugit]

Thanks FD, I think i'll just go with the V-Brake lever, and use the clutch that way as I intended the brake.

Dan my intention is a very passive front brake as well.

 

[Venice Motor Bikes]

Keep in mind that the front brake on any two wheeled vehicle is responsible for something like 85% of the total stopping power. If front brakes were throwing people over the bars?, I really dont think they would put them on bikes.

I have never had a problem with front brakes on my bikes, & I highly recommend that you put one on your bike & get used to using it in all stopping conditions (& not just in a emergency).

 

[happycheapskate]

I've locked up the front brake on my grubee bike before, and the tire skidded, but the bike didn't lift. It got squirrelly till the tire started turning again. With slicks on the wheels, it will buck and weave before it lifts, but will do it. My friction drive bike will do stoppies, but I avoid that very diligently.

 

[GAS+RIDEZ]

When I was young me and my friend ride BMX Bikes and love to make tricks and one of the tricks was wend riding, hit the front brakes to make curb endo, and you have to use your weight to shifts forward so the bike can
back lift,what I whant to say is we ride most of the time sitting in this MB so I thing is not so easy to go over the bars, at least if we are not going down a slope.

 

[happycheapskate]

Don't kid yourself! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP_RU8mpElk

 

[fatdaddy]

Yeah happy, an experienced rider can control a squirrelly front wheel. Not everyone is as experienced. I try to give advice that everyone can use. An experienced rider knows how far he can push their ride. A newbe is gonna try the same thing and land on his rear. Someone that's been riding a while can ignore almost everything I have to say. I just try to give the safest advice I possibly can.
fatdaddy.

 

[happycheapskate]

Cycling is a constant learning experience. One thing you can do is practice. Find a private street or field with short grass, and practice going about 10mph and front-only braking with one finger, with the rest touching but not clamping on the bar. If you need to resist the bike, push on the handlebar with your palms. Keep your weight on the pedals, even if you are not standing. You will feel the bike do a sort of backwards wheelie if the rear tire starts to lift. You will recognize the balance point, your center of gravity somewhere around your hips to chest.

 

[fatdaddy]

Don't kid yourself! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP_RU8mpElk

Thats great happy. I was laughing so hard watching it I almost passed out. Dude thought he was just too cool, till he did a face plant.
fatdaddy.

 

[Dan]

Cool thing about that video, he let go of the bars and put his hands out. It is kinda human nature to hold on and the exact wrong thing to do. (I have done the "face plant" with both hands firmly on the bar. Scratched my helmet!)

Swinging his legs like a toddler might not have been the best thing, but hey.

 

[NunyaBidness]

It's never the front brakes that throw people over the bars, it's those persons that do not know how to use the front brakes that get thrown over the bars. Like Venice said, the majority of your stopping power is in your front brake. Get a good one and learn how to use it properly. If you have to practice in a parking lot with it that's fine. Learn how to use it properly and it may just save your life one day. It has mine.

 

[fatdaddy]

Yer right Nunya, Then practice on loose dirt, gravel, water, oil and anything else you might find in the road. I believe the front brake adjustmemt discussion was started over the dual pull issue. The point I was making is that, with a dual pull, you can't "let off" the front brake if you REALLY need to stop and your front tire is in the carp. On a dual pull the ONLY way is to set the main stop power on the rear. OR, If yer really, really fast, you could jump off yer bike at 30mph, and with wrench in hand, readjust the front brake to keep it from sliding out.
fatdaddy.

 

[GAS+RIDEZ]

This is a 3 behind landing endo.

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

I hear Jerry Lewis saying "Hey Ladies!"

 

[Dan]

LOL, "Hey Y'all, watch this. Hold my beer"