How to brake better when cycling

For beginners, not only do you need to improve your fitness on the bike but also need to develop your bike handling skills, especially braking skills. No matter you ride fast or slow, braking is an important skill that you need to pay attention to learning. Braking smartly not only keeps you safe but also makes you go faster. The following tips are for anyone on two wheels.

1. Know your stopping distance

Any driver or cyclist must keep enough stopping distance to avoid the collision. So what isknow your distance the correct stopping distance for cyclists? The stopping distance is a factor of reaction time, speed and mass, the efficiency of your brakes, the braking force applied, road surface, tire width and so on. In fact, the stopping distance mostly depends on your biking speed. From the point of safety, the rider behind has the responsibility to keep a safe distance you can always go slower but you can’t always go faster. You must notice a need to brake and apply braking force. One point you must aware of is that a bike moving at a giving speed has some inertia that needs to be overcome and how much you apply the brakes. Generally speaking, there is one rule that keeps a gap of 2 seconds between you and the vehicle in front which allows you to stop in a controlled fashion. If someone sits close behind you, you can expand your topping zone to buffer his lack of stopping zone. If you ride in the rainy or snowy days, you can increase to 4s. When you have to stop in the bend, make sure that you stop in the visible space. Naturally, you have to slow down in the road bends.

2.Control your excess braking

Because your bike has 2 brakes, one for each hand, if you want to stop safely, you need to control your excess braking. Generally speaking, using both brakes at the same time is a good advice for beginners. For some cyclists who rely on the rear brake for general stopping and when an emergency arises, they apply the unfamiliar front brake as well as the rear for extra stopping power, this will cause the “over the bars” crash. As Jobst Brandt puts it, the typical “over- the – bars” crash is not so much caused by braking too hard, but braking hard without using the rider’s arms to brace against the deceleration: the bike stops, the rider keeps going until the rider’s thighs bump into the handlebars, and the bike, which is no longer supporting the weight of the rider, flips. This case won’how to brake better when cyclingt come with the rear brake when you only use it because once the rear wheel becomes to lift, the rear wheel skids that limit its braking force. Relying on the rear brake is unsafe for cyclists who always go fast because it takes more time to stop with the rear brake than the front brake alone. Try to use your arms to brace yourself securely during hard braking. Besides, hold your weight slightly to the back of the saddle as far as you can go comfortably. When there is an emergency, applying both brakes firmly and putting slightly more pressure on the front brake is very important. Keep your shoulders relaxed and the bike straight reduces the risk of skidding. Once you feel the back wheel skid or lift off the ground, remember to reduce the pressure on the front brake.

3.Battle braking bumps

Most people hate braking bumps because sometimes it causes people to be unable to ride the trail as it’s supposed to be ridden. Sometimes braking bumps hold water which both causes damage and cause crap to get in your eyesbattle braking bumps. If they appear in the middle of bloody berms, it can be a bit alarming when you are leaned over. Generally speaking, braking bumps comes with a turn coming up unexpectedly and a high-speed section ending in a tight curve. With a sign warning of the upcoming curve can fix the unexpected turn problem. Slow down before you get to the curve when you meet the turn at the end of a high-speed section. It’s inevitable to make mistakes regarding this problem, of course, you won’t want any sudden turn after a fast section. In fact, there are two solutions to battle this problem. One is to superelevate the turn to handle the speed as in berm it and the other is to cut brake lines and cables at the trail head during friendly, distracting chit chat.

Conclusion

Braking is an important technique which will not only ensure your safety but also make you go faster. Going out and practicing to brake better is a good investment. Just find somewhere quiet and begin to build up speed and then stop yourself with the brakes.