Euro Brake Setup

navrig2

How do folks cope with hiring bikes in Europe which have the brakes the other (wrong) way round?

Will hire shops swap them?

stevie63

Don't know, but personally I set my bikes up with the euro way as the cable routing flows better and it means that I can indicate right in traffic whilst braking.

ThatBikeGuy

I’ve always used the euro brake setup. Only found out because the guy at LBS mentioned it when he was servicing my bike.
Thought everyone had their brakes that way round...

kingstongraham

You get used to it pretty quick. It's not that difficult. You're already having to think about staying on the right side of the road, and it starts to become natural about the same time.

cougie

I've never had problems with hired bikes abroad. You just need to take everything a bit steadier than on the bike you're used to.

The braking routing does make sense. You'd not want to be in the middle of the road turning across traffic only to slam on the front brake and go over the bars.

flasher

stevie63 wrote:

Don't know, but personally I set my bikes up with the euro way as the cable routing flows better and it means that I can indicate right in traffic whilst braking.

This.

defever

I never knew brakes were setup differently... Which way is which?!

My old bike is setup with left lever for front, right lever for rear. Is this UK or Euro?

dstev55

defever wrote:

I never knew brakes were setup differently... Which way is which?!

My old bike is setup with left lever for front, right lever for rear. Is this UK or Euro?

Euro

Us Brits are just backwards :roll:

defever

Ah thanks!

That's been cleared, I can certainly say it doesn't really matter, as I've hired bikes in this country several times, borrowed friends bikes handful of times and never really noticed that the brakes can be set up differently!

So, no, it's shouldn't be an issue, or at least would only require few min to adjust just like getting used to a bike that's not yours.

Happy cycling!

StillGoing

stevie63 wrote:

Don't know, but personally I set my bikes up with the euro way as the cable routing flows better and it means that I can indicate right in traffic whilst braking.

Exactly this. With a right turn (UK) you want to be able to cover the front brake and stop whilst indicating moving across the lanes.

timothyw

philthy3 wrote:

stevie63 wrote:

Don't know, but personally I set my bikes up with the euro way as the cable routing flows better and it means that I can indicate right in traffic whilst braking.

Exactly this. With a right turn (UK) you want to be able to cover the front brake and stop whilst indicating moving across the lanes.

Which would mean in Europe, where they drive on the right, you'd want them set up UK style.

And we're back to the original problem.

big_harv

I may be wrong here but thought the "UK" set-up is a legal requirement. Along with reflectors and a bell. Technically anyway.

pilot_pete

In normal use it is not an issue. However, in an emergency with little experience of a different setup means you are highly likely to revert to the learned motor response and pull the brakes on as if they were set the way you are used to. This may, or may not cause you a problem depending on various factors and road conditions.

PP

Matthewfalle

Pilot Pete wrote:

In normal use it is not an issue. However, in an emergency with little experience of a different setup means you are highly likely to revert to the learned motor response and pull the brakes on as if they were set the way you are used to. This may, or may not cause you a problem depending on various factors and road conditions.

PP

simon_masterson

Makes sense if using a front brake with cable pull on the left - means the cables don’t have to cross each other or the stem. Altogether more elegant.

LWLondon

I’ve always wondered, what do the British bred pro’s use, given they nearly always race abroad?

proto

LWLondon wrote:

I’ve always wondered, what do the British bred pro’s use, given they nearly always race abroad?

They tend not to worry too much about hand signals when racing.

jollygiant

I found it strange for about the first 10 miles but then end of the day you can feel things are going to lock up before they do so you just ease off.

As for the turning right bit, are you really braking that hard whilst indicating that your likely lock everything up?

Matthewfalle

LWLondon wrote:

I’ve always wondered, what do the British bred pro’s use, given they nearly always race abroad?

I suppose the same as they did growing up in Belgium and Kenya/South Africa I suppose.

svetty

Pilot Pete wrote:

In normal use it is not an issue. However, in an emergency with little experience of a different setup means you are highly likely to revert to the learned motor response and pull the brakes on as if they were set the way you are used to. This may, or may not cause you a problem depending on various factors and road conditions.

PP

Friend of mine did just that on a slippery bend in Majorca - broke his collarbone....

cougie

proto wrote:

LWLondon wrote:

I’ve always wondered, what do the British bred pro’s use, given they nearly always race abroad?

They tend not to worry too much about hand signals when racing.

True but they put in thousands of miles out training. I think they probably stay with what they've always used though.

flasher

Matthewfalle wrote:

LWLondon wrote:

I’ve always wondered, what do the British bred pro’s use, given they nearly always race abroad?

I suppose the same as they did growing up in Belgium and Kenya/South Africa I suppose.

Euro in south Wales too.

navrig2

Svetty wrote:

Pilot Pete wrote:

In normal use it is not an issue. However, in an emergency with little experience of a different setup means you are highly likely to revert to the learned motor response and pull the brakes on as if they were set the way you are used to. This may, or may not cause you a problem depending on various factors and road conditions.

PP

Friend of mine did just that on a slippery bend in Majorca - broke his collarbone....

Which is why I asked the question in the first place.

Previously we hired in Mallorca from a hire shop run by a Brit who set the bikes up UK style. This year we are headed to Calpe and the shops there setup Euro style (no surprise).

figbat

I have hired bikes with the 'wrong' setup - these have all had cable brakes so took 5 minutes to correct (these were MTBs back a few years in France and in Canada). I recently bought a Cube bike for my 7yo son which was also left-handed, so I swapped that over too. Hydraulics would be more of a challenge, but luckily my MTBs have all come the right way around.

On motorcycles the right lever is the front brake - always. I like a bit of consistency not only across bicycles but wherever I may need to pull a lever to illicit a retardation, sometimes suddenly and without time to think.

I also counter the argument that it is easier to brake and signal right with a cock-eyed setup with... turning left! I suspect we generally do around 50% of each (although no doubt the need to signal left is probably overlooked/forgotten/discounted more than signalling right). Plus you have another brake you can use in either case.

I am possibly displaying a slightly dogmatic, entrenched, in-my-day, coming over here swapping our brakes kind of resistance but they don't move pedals around in cars do they? Which brings me to the wiper/indicator stalks and the old (better) British/Japanese/RHD way of having the indicators on the right which has been largely wiped out by LHD-dominance and standardisation. I used to love a double-clutched down-shift into a roundabout whilst simultaneously activating the indicators. I miss that Honda CRX.

jimmurray

Canyon setup their non uk euro bikes ‘euro’ style and uk bikes ‘uk’ style. Refused point blank to setup a uk bike ‘euro’ style for me.

pilot_pete

Navrig2 wrote:

Svetty wrote:

Pilot Pete wrote:

In normal use it is not an issue. However, in an emergency with little experience of a different setup means you are highly likely to revert to the learned motor response and pull the brakes on as if they were set the way you are used to. This may, or may not cause you a problem depending on various factors and road conditions.

PP

Friend of mine did just that on a slippery bend in Majorca - broke his collarbone....

Which is why I asked the question in the first place.

Previously we hired in Mallorca from a hire shop run by a Brit who set the bikes up UK style. This year we are headed to Calpe and the shops there setup Euro style (no surprise).

Well that’s how people cope/ don’t cope! Like I said, you get used to it pretty quickly for normal riding, but in an emergency, or when you have gone into a bend a bit deep or something, you are highly likely to revert to what you know and possibly cause yourself a problem. What more can be added to ‘how do people cope’?

PP

daniel_b

Flasher wrote:

stevie63 wrote:

Don't know, but personally I set my bikes up with the euro way as the cable routing flows better and it means that I can indicate right in traffic whilst braking.

This.

+3

MiddleRinger

I've always set mine up "UK" style with front brake on the right.

Matches my motorbike...

(okay so it's really because that's the way I've always had the brakes on my bikes since a kid)

StillGoing

figbat wrote:

On motorcycles the right lever is the front brake - always. I like a bit of consistency not only across bicycles but wherever I may need to pull a lever to illicit a retardation, sometimes suddenly and without time to think.

I also counter the argument that it is easier to brake and signal right with a cock-eyed setup with... turning left! I suspect we generally do around 50% of each (although no doubt the need to signal left is probably overlooked/forgotten/discounted more than signalling right). Plus you have another brake you can use in either case.

I rode and raced motorcycles for years and having the euro set up on bicycles never bothered me.

Turning left doesn't create a problem in any need to move across traffic, hence the signal can be done without the need to be braking to a stop generally. For right turns, you likely have to move across the lane to take up position and turn across the opposing flow of traffic. Any of those may require you to use maximum stopping effort by using the front brake whilst signalling.

carbonclem

Pilot Pete wrote:

Navrig2 wrote:

Svetty wrote:

Pilot Pete wrote:

In normal use it is not an issue. However, in an emergency with little experience of a different setup means you are highly likely to revert to the learned motor response and pull the brakes on as if they were set the way you are used to. This may, or may not cause you a problem depending on various factors and road conditions.

PP

Friend of mine did just that on a slippery bend in Majorca - broke his collarbone....

Which is why I asked the question in the first place.

Previously we hired in Mallorca from a hire shop run by a Brit who set the bikes up UK style. This year we are headed to Calpe and the shops there setup Euro style (no surprise).

Well that’s how people cope/ don’t cope! Like I said, you get used to it pretty quickly for normal riding, but in an emergency, or when you have gone into a bend a bit deep or something, you are highly likely to revert to what you know and possibly cause yourself a problem. What more can be added to ‘how do people cope’?

PP

On a hire bike in Tenerife, I thought it was ok and had got used to it, then a car pulled out on me, I grabbed the rhs lever instinctively and locked the bike wheel up and began to slide, luckily (like a boss) I saved it and it was ok, but it sure pulled me out of any complacency.

timothyw

To be honest, in an emergency situation I tend to grab both brakes anyway, so I honestly doubt it makes that much difference. I've never managed to go over my handlebars without hitting something - not since I was five years old anyway!

I had one bike that was setup euro for a good while, it never bothered me that much - I mean, it was nice when I switched it, and I probably wore the rear rim a bit more than I ought have, but it was never that big a deal going back and forth between it and my other bikes.