Mountain Biking Techniques - Braking
Braking Right May Take Some Re-learning!
Mountain biking techniques can be very counter intuitive,
especially braking. Most beginning
mountain bikers hesitate to use the front brakes in fear of
flipping over the handlebars. That is actually a good
reaction because you avoid really hurting yourself!
It's just that the front brakes provide you the most
stopping power when used correctly.
Instead of not using the front brakes, it is best to stick your butt back (over the back tire) and straighten out your arms. The front brakes will give you the most braking power because much of the weight is transferred to the front tire when stopping or slowing down. If you keep your weight back (especially when going down hill) and use your front brakes, you will be surprised how fast you can come to a stop. If this is how you naturally reacted to braking, you're a natural!
Use your back brakes too, but don't neglect your primary source of stopping power because of fear. Here are the exceptions for using your back brakes heavily:
- Slippery mud, snow, ice, or loose gravel: It is better to lock up your back tire and skid than your front tire. It is very hard and a little scary to recover from a front skid, but fun and easy to recover from a rear skid.
- Front tire is off the ground: As it often is on rough terrain, you can stop the front tire in the air on accident and when you land it could cause you to biff.
- Low air in the front tire: Braking hard with a flat tire can cause your tire to come off the rim, and you'll be mending wounds for the next several minutes.
Mountain Biking Techniques - Braking Video
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