Front brake, back brake, both brakes..?

[simonw]

Following on from the advice in another thread to only use the front brake since the pads were shot on the back and the chap needed to get to a ferry, and another a comment in another post about nodding where someone said their right foot is always covering the back brake, how do you brake (on the road)? I was told that almost all braking should be done with the front brake, for lots of reasons, except where the surface may be slippery for whatever reason.

[lancashirelad]

When l had the Tiger 800 l very rarely used the rear brake even when "panic" breaking!!
But when l decided to get a classic bike the TR5T front brake was useless so l had some very close shaves!!

[TomBoyNI]

As established i'm more of a back brake guy.

[sprintster]

As I said in the previous posts I've ridden for weeks when I was young(er) and mad(der) with no back brakes.I find the back brake doesn't actually slow you down anything noticeable but it just keeps the back of the bike straight and not fish tailing.I lost my back brake a couple of times in the Alps the other week due to overheating but I just stayed off it for as long as I could until it came back.I can't think of anywhere in the UK where my back brake would over heat.The only time I notice myself using it in normal use is if I overcook a corner and use it to tighten my line.

[wwdph02]

Where do some riders get their training?
When is one brake ever better than two on the road? (off road OK!)
Maybe because my first bikes, 1970's, had teflon tyres and the safety 'lag delay' while they dispersed water in the rain you had to attempt to use both brakes. Front first and then rear, almost as one movement and nothing I have seen since has shown one brake is better than two?
With abs as standard now on many bikes why for road use would you not use all you have?
For some silly reason my bmw R1200RS, when used with the "all seeing" big brother satnav it shows brake useage and using just the front (RS forum) there is also partial rear brake use. How some people manage to destroy brake pad sets in under 5000 miles (road testers can halve this!) I am always amazed, maybe trail braking all day is why they also get poor fuel mileage?
I've been for a ride out across Dartmoor today in sunshine with dry roads and all you could smell on the hills was clutch and brakes pads being burnt by car drivers without a clue.
Had to laugh at the "ridden for week without a rear brake" as I think back 5 years ago. Sat at a red light, slight downhill and after at least a minute in evening taffic I get nudged from behind, luckily both feet were on the ground, in neutral and didn't drop my bike. Lady driver said it wasn't her fault because her handbrake didn't work?

[TomBoyNI]

I think mine served me pretty well with 9000 out of them.

Probably should have changed them at about 8500 though :dry:

[Nigel]

Linked brakes on S10 so the only time I use rear is in heavy traffic to balance bike.

[sprintster]

Where do some riders get their training?
When is one brake ever better than two?
Maybe because my first bikes, 1970's, had teflon tyres and the safety 'lag delay' while they dispersed water in the rain you had to attempt to use both brakes. Front first and then rear, almost as one movement and nothing I have seen since has shown one brake is better than two?
With abs as standard now on many bikes why for road use would you not use all you have?
For some silly reason my bmw R1200RS, when used with the "all seeing" big brother satnav it shows brake useage and using just the front (RS forum) there is also partial rear brake use. How some people manage to destroy brake pad sets in under 5000 miles (road testers can halve this!) I am always amazed, maybe trail braking all day is why they also get poor fuel mileage?
I've been for a ride out across Dartmoor today in sunshine with dry roads and all you could smell on the hills was clutch and brakes pads being burnt by car drivers without a clue.
Had to laugh at the "ridden for week without a rear brake" as I think back 5 years ago. Sat at a red light, slight downhill and after at least a minute in evening taffic I get nudged from behind, luckily both feet were on the ground, in neutral and didn't drop my bike. Lady driver said it wasn't her fault because her handbrake didn't work?

I don't need extra training to know you must be doing something wrong if you need to use both brakes to lose a bit of speed before a bend.I think if I have to use any brakes at all for an average bend I've made a mistake.Reading the road,a bit of engine braking,drop a gear possibly should usually be enough with maybe a slight brush with the front brake if needed.
To be honest I don't understand your post.You talk about untrained riders not using their back brake then you go on about "trail brakers" And what has riding for a week without a back brake got to do with sitting at a red light with both feet on the ground? :unsure:

[wwdph02]

Really?

[sprintster]

Really?

Yes!