Braking technique

JamesBrckmn

How do you brake, as i have heard people talk about 2 finger and 1 finger braking, but what is best?
On the trails i ride, for drop offs and jumps, i like to have as many fingers on the bars for more control and so i can lift the front wheel on drops, but sometimes it is so steep 1 finger braking isn't powerful enough, so i would use 2 finger braking, but then i can't lift the front end enough. :? So, what braking technique do you use?
Thanks, James

bannedbiker

1 finger, no questions!

bails87

One or two depending on if I really need grab the brakes, pretty much always just the one finger though.

On my old cable discs I was having to grab with four fingers, decent hydros make it much easier. What brakes have you got?

cee

1 finger....

move the brake levers inboard so that your pointy finger hits the lever as close to the end as possible and adjust it in so you can reach it.

MacAndCheese

always covering the lever with one finger...but I use a second for any medium-hard braking...stupid really as my brakes would be fine with just one most of the time.....

cavegiant

1/2 fingers depends on the brakes and your size.

I use Formula the One, most powerful brake out there, so one finger even though 18st.
If I need extra power with pulling hard with one I will add a finger.

Were you mainly asking about 1/2 finger or how, when and why to brake?

p.s. the why is easy, to slow down

jairaj

as said above try adjusting your brake levers so you're pulling on the end of the lever to get the most force of it.

But i imagine its more of a personal preference? everyone will have their own style and be slightly different. I don't see what's wrong with the way you do it. ie have one finger covering the brakes and in times of need, use 2 fingers .

Maybe try a few training rides, sessioning a bit of trail and progressively using less and less brakes. You'll be amazed at how fast you can hit some lines. Then you'll hardly need the brakes at all so problem solved.

doug@basqueMTB.com

I always use 1 finger. If I couldn't then I'd buy new brakes, it's as important as that for me. If you use 2 fingers you only have your two smallest fingers and your thumb holding onto the bars which isn't very strong.

Using less brake is good, definitely, it's very important to getting better and riding with more control. However, as you get faster you want to confine your braking to a shorter distance, do it as efficiently as possible and pick and choose your section to brake on, so I think that you need to be able to get the most power from the brake then. That means your problem won't be solved :-)

James, it's worth mentioning that the best way to lift the front end isn't by pulling with your hands... you shouldn't need to have a lot of fingers on the grips to lift it, a lot of the power comes from your feet.

P-Jay

Since I started DHing I learnt 1 finger braking pretty quick. Need the rest to grip the bars for grim death ha ha.

Tbh 1/2 not the end of the world. More important is using your body weight to maximise the amount of braking force you can use without locking the wheels.

ilovedirt

I try only to use 1 finger most of the time, gives you better modulation and more control over the bike. If you find you can't get enough power, maybe your rotors are a bit small or your brakes could do with a bleed?

supersonic

1 or 2, whatever feels best. There is no right or wrong here.

ddraver

supersonic wrote:

1 or 2, whatever feels best. There is no right or wrong here.

RUBBISH!!!

Michael (the guy from switchbacks, Spain) was adamant about using 1 finger braking. It took a few days of nagging from him and adjustment from me but i am totally sold on it now, as were the rest of the group! You don't need 2 fingers and it's surprising how much more "feel" you have with one finger....

Give it a try/get your mates to nag you, at least you ll know either way

supersonic

I still prefer two fingers. So does my girlfriend.

The Northern Monkey

I've got fat fingers.... 1 is enough.


For braking that is.

projectsome

I have 1 finger on my brakes most of the time whether I'm using them or not. I'll use 2 if necessary. and the whole hand if I'm crapping myself

The Northern Monkey

projectsome wrote:

I have 1 finger on my brakes most of the time whether I'm using them or not. I'll use 2 if necessary. and the whole hand if I'm crapping myself

Bloody hell, If i used more than one finger I think my bike would stop still and I'd carry on going!
Thats nearly happened many a time too

Tolk

supersonic wrote:

I still prefer two fingers. So does my girlfriend.

Northwind

JamesBrckmn wrote:

How do you brake, as i have heard people talk about 2 finger and 1 finger braking, but what is best?

Whichever feels best, anyone who tells you there's a universal best way is to be ignored tbh. What works for them might not work for you. Like, many people say 1 finger gives better control and feel. For me, 2 fingers needs less effort, which means a lot more control and feel. Exact same on motorbikes, my bike'll stop with 1 finger but if I want to stop it as fast as possible it's 2, every time without exception.

Neither is wrong though. Off road, using 1 finger can give the advantage of better grip on teh bars for braking on really rough stuff, if you look at most DH racers they use 1 finger. But then, they also use the brakes a lot less than us mortals, and ride in a manner that'd get most of us turned to dog food.

The Northern Monkey

Northwind wrote:

JamesBrckmn wrote:

How do you brake, as i have heard people talk about 2 finger and 1 finger braking, but what is best?

Whichever feels best, anyone who tells you there's a universal best way is to be ignored tbh. What works for them might not work for you. Like, many people say 1 finger gives better control and feel. For me, 2 fingers needs less effort, which means a lot more control and feel. Exact same on motorbikes, my bike'll stop with 1 finger but if I want to stop it as fast as possible it's 2, every time without exception.

Neither is wrong though. Off road, using 1 finger can give the advantage of better grip on teh bars for braking on really rough stuff, if you look at most DH racers they use 1 finger. But then, they also use the brakes a lot less than us mortals, and ride in a manner that'd get most of us turned to dog food.

lol. I was amazed when i found out peaty uses 160mm front and 140mm rear rotors :shock: now thats a guy that doesn't brake

lawman

one finger mostly, two when it gets hairy

Northwind

bigbenj_08 wrote:

lol. I was amazed when i found out peaty uses 160mm front and 140mm rear rotors :shock: now thats a guy that doesn't brake

Was that not just for the world cup?

lawman wrote:

one finger mostly, two when it gets hairy

Oh my word could I have some fun with thay line. But not without committing libel

ilovedirt

bigbenj_08 wrote:

Northwind wrote:

JamesBrckmn wrote:

How do you brake, as i have heard people talk about 2 finger and 1 finger braking, but what is best?

Whichever feels best, anyone who tells you there's a universal best way is to be ignored tbh. What works for them might not work for you. Like, many people say 1 finger gives better control and feel. For me, 2 fingers needs less effort, which means a lot more control and feel. Exact same on motorbikes, my bike'll stop with 1 finger but if I want to stop it as fast as possible it's 2, every time without exception.

Neither is wrong though. Off road, using 1 finger can give the advantage of better grip on teh bars for braking on really rough stuff, if you look at most DH racers they use 1 finger. But then, they also use the brakes a lot less than us mortals, and ride in a manner that'd get most of us turned to dog food.

lol. I was amazed when i found out peaty uses 160mm front and 140mm rear rotors :shock: now thats a guy that doesn't brake

That was just for that one race in canberra, it was just pretty much a smooth flat dry downhill with very little tech element and the game was all about speed, hence why he was running almost slick tyres at like 2.1" or something. I'm pretty sure he usually runs 200/180mm

lawman

Northwind wrote:

lawman wrote:

one finger mostly, two when it gets hairy

Oh my word could I have some fun with thay line. But not without committing libel

yer as soon as i posted i was like oh god they're gonna have fun with that

JamesBrckmn

Thanks for your replies. They are avid juicy 3's with 160 f&r, and i have the brakes inside the shifters, so the shifters are nearer the end of the bar. My first finger is on the very end of the lever, so they are in a good position, perhaps i just need to brake less or get stronger fingers.

Chaz.Harding

A smooth technique - minimal braking - will make you a better rider.

Brake however feels best.

projectsome

bigbenj_08 wrote:

projectsome wrote:

I have 1 finger on my brakes most of the time whether I'm using them or not. I'll use 2 if necessary. and the whole hand if I'm crapping myself

Bloody hell, If i used more than one finger I think my bike would stop still and I'd carry on going!
Thats nearly happened many a time too

That's happened a few times on the old HT. :oops:

Atz

As long as you're not skidding into corners you're fine. For 90% of UK riding the 160mm rotors will be fine but you can get a bit more confidence going up a size on the front (or at least I did on my HT).

Like everyone else said, do what feels comfortable. I only started 1-finger braking once I was riding trails that threatened to bounce my hands off the bars, until then 2 was fine.

monkeypants

Depends what I'm doing, I do most of my braking with my middle finger. I get extra bar control this way over using my index finger for braking.