Front Disc brakes and MTB Shoes

aodhu

Recently I got my self a nice shinny new mountain bike with disc brakes front and rear. I noticed that the back wheel will spin freely but the front disc brake is always on. I.e. it will spin but not for long as the brakes slow it down. The bike cycles fine and I’ve been to two different bike shops and they both say it’s normal. Can anyone tell me why this is the case? What’s the point in having the front brake always on?

Second question are mountain bike shoes a good idea if you’re actually planning on going off road? Are they easier to get unclipped then road shoes? It just seems to me that you might want to get your feet free in a hurry when doing proper mountain biking. I’ve even seen a turn style where you kick one of your leg forward, would that not be quite tricky with shoes??

Morgan

It sounds like the front disc may be out of adjustment a little bit. If the wheel turns a few revolutions before stopping I wouldn't worry about it though - you won't notice while riding. If it'd dragging badly though you might want to something about it.

The main difference between road and mtb shoes is that you can walk in mtb shoes. When biking off road you'll end up pushing the bike sooner or later and you wouldn't get far in smooth soled road shoes. The pedals/cleats are differnet too. MTB cleats are smaller and the pedals are usually double sided. They can cope with a good bit of mud. I suppose they are easier to clip out of but the movement is the same - rotate the heel outwards to unclip.