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Side question, why don't they make a hand brake that breaks both wheels at the same time? For example in mountain biking I was always told you want to brake bot

Side question, why don't they make a hand brake that breaks both wheels at the same time? For example in mountain biking I was always told you want to brake both the front and back at the same time yet I've never seen a hand brake that you can attach both cables to.

boris 6y ago
You apply different amount of breaking. Sometimes you would only use the rear break (for example, if you want to take a corner by locking and sliding your back wheel). To illustrate this point further: the common setup is to have the rear break on the right hand side of the handlebar. But some people ride it the other way around. If you are used to one way and then have to ride the bike that is set the other way (say, a borrowed bike), it completely messes up your riding.
SyzygistSix 6y ago
Because that isn't how people use brakes. I'm pretty sure most people use the rear brakes to slow down and as control, whereas the front brakes are for stopping rather than slowing down. >I was always told you want to brake both the front and back at the same time This isn't true at all. And even when one does use both brakes, pressure on each is not the same.
- eythian 6y ago
  Really? I don't know if I'm representative, but I pretty much only use the front brakes. I only use the rear ones if I'm trying to avoid an accident because I'm not slowing fast enough on the front. I don't even know if it helps much, it's just a reflex.
  - hansvm 6y ago
    If I don't have to stop in a hurry I default to using the rear brakes -- I can't screw that up in a way that'll send me over the handlebars.
timdaman 6y ago
Years ago I read about just this thing in a book Bicycling Science(link below). It was super clever. The rear brake was on a spring loaded mount. When it clamped down the caliper would travel a small distance to the rear before hitting a stop. It is pulled by the wheel it is grabbing. Attached to that traveling caliper is a cable to the front brake so the motion of the rear caliper would activate the front one. Neat trick effect of all this is it is near impossible to flip over the handle bars. As soon as the rear wheel leaves the ground the spring return on the rear brake pulls the rear brake forward releasing the front braking pressure. The effect is you can potential get max front braking power automatically using a simple purely mechanical system. https://books.google.ca/books/about/Bicycling_Science.html?id=0JJo6DlF9iMC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y https://books.google.ca/books/about/Bicycling_Science.html?i...
- foxyv 6y ago
  This is REALLY COOL! I have that book on my shelf and I need to finish reading it. On my Catrike I would love something like this. It really needs something that balances braking between left and right so I'm not Yawing whenever I brake my left more than my right.
cardinalfang 6y ago
You normally want to use different force front and back. But there are brakes designed for bike polo and the single-handed: https://bikerumor.com/2019/11/15/paul-pulls-both-brakes-with-the-return-of-the-duplex-double-brake-lever/ https://bikerumor.com/2019/11/15/paul-pulls-both-brakes-with...
sideshowb 6y ago
I've seen exactly this on adaptive bikes (i.e. for people with one hand). But most of us are fortunate enough to be better off with regular brakes: two hands means double the power, and as we improve we can modulate front/rear separately in some situations e.g. deliberate endo to get around a tight switchback.

boris 6y ago

You apply different amount of breaking. Sometimes you would only use the rear break (for example, if you want to take a corner by locking and sliding your back wheel). To illustrate this point further: the common setup is to have the rear break on the right hand side of the handlebar. But some people ride it the other way around. If you are used to one way and then have to ride the bike that is set the other way (say, a borrowed bike), it completely messes up your riding.

SyzygistSix 6y ago

Because that isn't how people use brakes. I'm pretty sure most people use the rear brakes to slow down and as control, whereas the front brakes are for stopping rather than slowing down. >I was always told you want to brake both the front and back at the same time This isn't true at all. And even when one does use both brakes, pressure on each is not the same.

eythian 6y ago
Really? I don't know if I'm representative, but I pretty much only use the front brakes. I only use the rear ones if I'm trying to avoid an accident because I'm not slowing fast enough on the front. I don't even know if it helps much, it's just a reflex.
- hansvm 6y ago
  If I don't have to stop in a hurry I default to using the rear brakes -- I can't screw that up in a way that'll send me over the handlebars.

timdaman 6y ago

Years ago I read about just this thing in a book Bicycling Science(link below). It was super clever. The rear brake was on a spring loaded mount. When it clamped down the caliper would travel a small distance to the rear before hitting a stop. It is pulled by the wheel it is grabbing. Attached to that traveling caliper is a cable to the front brake so the motion of the rear caliper would activate the front one. Neat trick effect of all this is it is near impossible to flip over the handle bars. As soon as the rear wheel leaves the ground the spring return on the rear brake pulls the rear brake forward releasing the front braking pressure. The effect is you can potential get max front braking power automatically using a simple purely mechanical system. https://books.google.ca/books/about/Bicycling_Science.html?id=0JJo6DlF9iMC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y https://books.google.ca/books/about/Bicycling_Science.html?i...

foxyv 6y ago
This is REALLY COOL! I have that book on my shelf and I need to finish reading it. On my Catrike I would love something like this. It really needs something that balances braking between left and right so I'm not Yawing whenever I brake my left more than my right.

cardinalfang 6y ago

You normally want to use different force front and back. But there are brakes designed for bike polo and the single-handed: https://bikerumor.com/2019/11/15/paul-pulls-both-brakes-with-the-return-of-the-duplex-double-brake-lever/ https://bikerumor.com/2019/11/15/paul-pulls-both-brakes-with...

sideshowb 6y ago

I've seen exactly this on adaptive bikes (i.e. for people with one hand). But most of us are fortunate enough to be better off with regular brakes: two hands means double the power, and as we improve we can modulate front/rear separately in some situations e.g. deliberate endo to get around a tight switchback.