What sides are your brakes on??

Tim76 · 02-02-2022 2:34pm #1

Hi all,

I recently bought a new a bike and noticed that the brake levers are on opposite sides to my old bike. To explain, on my old bike (a Giant) the left hand lever operates the rear brake and the right hand lever operates the front brake. To me this seems to work perfectly for countries where you drive on the left (although, as to why a Taiwanese bike has this set up remains to be seen) as it leaves your right arm free to signal and you can carefully control your speed using the left lever to activate the rear break. Also, as I'm right handed, I can use my right hand to drink from the bottle and my left hand again to manage the speed if needed. Finally, when you have to stop at a junction you can slow the bike with the left hand hand and move up the rear cassette with the right hand using the right lever at the same time - I would imagine trying to use the right lever to activate the rear break and change gears at the same time would be difficult.

For all the reasons outlined above, not to the mention the fact that my reflexes are accustomed to the left/rear - right/front set up, it would seem like switching the controls on the new bike would be the way to go. However the new bike (a Trek) has hydraulic breaks with internal cabling which complicates matters a bit, so now I am considering switching the Giant to the Trek set up (I will still be riding both bikes for the foreseeable). Even though I am struggling to see any advantages with having the rear break on the right hand side!

Anyway, just wondering what set up everyone out there is using and if indeed there is any advantage to having the rear brake on the right?

Am I just better off biting the bullet and paying to get the Trek switched over to my old set up? The last thing I want is to be coming down hard on a front disc brake in an emergency situation!

cletus · 02-02-2022 2:50pm

It's not a particularly difficult switch to make. If you go back to the shop you bought it from, I'd imagine they'd do it for small money

fat bloke · 02-02-2022 3:26pm

Yeah I prefer left rear braking too. My newest (to me) bike is the opposite and I intend to get it rectified.

02-02-2022 3:29pm

Are there not regulations as to how the brakes are set up on bikes entering different countries? It's determined for one by the side of the road you ride, I know there is more to it but just can't recall what, something to do with prioritising the rear break and hand signals.

Anyway I've had brakes swapped for free in the past when buying a bike.

Tim76 · 02-02-2022 3:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118570936#Comment_118570936

I don't know about regulations but the left lever/rear brake set up seems to be the standard for left-hand drive countries like the UK and Australia. While the opposite is true of the Continent and US.

Aside from that though, the more I think of it, being able to reduce the speed with the left lever/rear brake while moving up rear cassette at the same time before stopping seems pretty crucial. Especially if you want a quick getaway when the light turns green. Any right lever/rear break guys out there to advise how they manage this scenario? I know you can slow the bike with the front break but i generally just use that to fully stop the bike and only after activating the rear brake first.

cletus · 02-02-2022 4:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118570936#Comment_118570936

I know it's done by default on different sides depending on the country, and it seems to broadly correspond with the side of the road you would cycle or drive on, but I don't think it's a thing that's regulated for.

magicbastarder · 02-02-2022 4:19pm

I know you can slow the bike with the front break but i generally just use that to fully stop the bike and only after activating the rear brake first.

they saying goes is that the back brake is for slowing down, the front brake is for stopping.

Tim76 · 02-02-2022 5:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118571273#Comment_118571273

Exactly. How are you meant to gently slow and change through the gears at the same time if the right leaver does both or am I missing something here?

saccades · 02-02-2022 5:47pm

When I bought my MTB from the UK, the shop had standing orders that any export had to be built with the brakes the opposite way around to the UK. Despite Ireland having the same brake set up as the UK. Not too much of a pain as the levers were reversible but made me chuckle.

@Tim76 with finesse. Shimano had XTR flappy paddle shifters out for a while which were fitted to a demo bike I had. In theory it could be great, in reality my head nearly melted.

jrar · 02-02-2022 6:18pm

My most recent purchase was a European make so the set up was straight Continental i.e. l/h lever for front brake, r/h for rear - so I asked the shop to change it over which they did no problem.

cletus · 02-02-2022 6:20pm

Yeah, this really isn't a big deal. If you're any way handy at all, you could do it yourself. Otherwise it's an easy job for the lbs

Breezer · 02-02-2022 6:22pm

My understanding is that the UK, and only the UK, has the rear on the left and the front on the right. Any bike I’ve had in Ireland is the opposite way.

As for slowing down and shifting down at the same time, I’ve never really thought about it. So I’ve just grabbed my bikes indoors and gone through the motions, and it seems I just use different fingers for each action. The fact that I’ve never really thought about it suggests to me that it’s something you’ll get used to easily enough. But if it bothers you, it’s an easy switch. UK bike shops do it pre-sale for literally every bike they sell.

cletus · 02-02-2022 6:24pm

All my bikes, and any bike I ever had, was left hand rear brake

Breezer · 02-02-2022 6:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118571954#Comment_118571954

Interesting. All bought new in Ireland? Perhaps imported via the UK and the shops here didn’t bother changing back? I don’t think we’ve any legislation on it.

cletus · 02-02-2022 6:42pm

All bought in this country. I've seen two Peaugots that were the opposite, but I always assumed it was because they were French bikes

magicbastarder · 02-02-2022 6:48pm

the only bike i've ever had with the brakes a la mode francais was a secondhand bike bought off joey100 here on boards, because he's clearly a deviant.

Breezer · 02-02-2022 7:26pm

I stand corrected!

fat bloke · 02-02-2022 7:35pm

Motorbikes also follow a right = front brake standard. It doesn't really matter I guess to any particular rider as long as you're consistent. You just don't want to grab a handful of the wrong lever cos if you lock up the front then you're hitting the deck!

alentejo · 02-02-2022 8:09pm

I bought an Orbea some years ago and it has the brakes set up as per continental Europe, Warnings over the bike though. I think all orbeas at the time were the same

cletus · 02-02-2022 8:14pm

Now that I think if it, a mate of mine got an orbea 18 months ago, and it had the continental setup

WOT · 02-02-2022 8:34pm

I’ve 2 bikes that I use regularly.

One is left - rear, the other is right - rear

Occasionally confuses me, keeps me thinking. Don’t think I have a preference really.

Tim76 · 02-02-2022 8:47pm

The brother has 2 Trek bikes and they are both set up a la mode francais.

I'm guessing it's like the petrol tanks of cars, the side is determined on whether it was produced in a left hand drive country or right.

secman · 02-02-2022 9:11pm

Just in from a spin on a Trek, I'd actually have to go out and check it😃.

I tend to ease on both brakes when using them, pet hate of mine..using brakes on the bike , especially ona downhill, sacrilege 🤣

Tim76 · 02-02-2022 9:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118572545#Comment_118572545

Don't think I could cope with that drama - especially given some of the drivers out there! I've had some very close calls and hitting that rear brake a millisecond before the front one is the only thing that has saved me. If I encounter a similar situation on the Trek, with it's current set up, and the reflexes kick in then I'm arse over tit onto the road.

CramCycle · 02-02-2022 9:31pm

I'm gonna go against the grain here. Mine are set up conti style and I think it is better (for me). No issues whatsoever. ALthough I still laugh at a college friend who took my bike after a few beers and faceplanted in a puddle.

Idleater · 02-02-2022 10:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118572781#Comment_118572781

I also have always set up my bikes with the same brake-as-derraileur. Front shifter, front brake etc. Never had an issue braking and shifting (if needed) or with indicating (right which is the "more cautionary") and maneuvering in traffic. Also MTB, road, city and single speed (with back-pedal coaster).

YMMV I guess.

02-02-2022 11:48pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118572781#Comment_118572781

Had a French housemate do the same on my non-French brakes when he borrowed my bike. Back then I never knew there was a difference until he arrived back in a jock having come off at the bottom of our road which was downhill and a 90 degree right. Thankfully he was ok and so was the bike which I still have as it happens.

To this day I'll always check getting on a new bike.

gn3dr · 03-02-2022 12:15am

Right back, front left..the correct way😁

Wishbone Ash · 03-02-2022 7:48am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118571559#Comment_118571559

Most of the world seem to manage it that way.

All bikes I've ever had have been rear/left. It can be a bit disconcerting when descending a wet mountain abroad on a hired bike and locking up the rear.

secman · 03-02-2022 9:12am

Emonda's are left/front

Domane is left/front

Pretty sure the Plantet X is the same as I had to check it last weekend as back brake was a bit sticky.

Stone Deaf 4evr · 03-02-2022 9:16am

I always thought it was to do with the idea that most people are right hand dominant - so that hand is better conditioned for finesse, something that is generally preferred when dealing with the front brake so as to limit the potential for launching yourself over the bars. I always thought that was why motorbikes were set up the same way.

magicbastarder · 03-02-2022 9:19am

am curious now what the standard in the US is; does it follow the assumption that the deciding factor seems to be the side of the road which is driven on?

Large bottle small glass · 03-02-2022 9:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118574123#Comment_118574123

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/over-the-bars.html

Wildly Boaring · 03-02-2022 9:36am

2 cubes in the shed. Both left front brake.

Either is fine with me.

Not sure how people end up going head first off it though. Unless they're trying to skid to a stop on the rear

Damienmac · 03-02-2022 9:40am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118574138#Comment_118574138

I've always wondered about this too. So the logic was to move the dangerous thing away from your good hand. That's nuts if true.

magicbastarder · 03-02-2022 9:40am

without doing rigorous experiments, the same pressure applied to the front brake and the rear brake create different levels of deceleration; so people are used to being able to pull on the rear brake harder than the front. so if they do that out of muscle memory, it's easier to come a cropper.

magicbastarder · 03-02-2022 9:41am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118574138#Comment_118574138

quoting the relevant section:

Formerly, bicycles in the USA had their front brake on the right hand, as do motorcycles. A concerted effort by right handed safety advocates, moved the "dangerous" front brake to the left hand, where it could do less harm, and there it remains today.

Tim76 · 03-02-2022 10:09am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118574006#Comment_118574006

Clearly they do. But pulling the break lever toward you while also pushing it to the side to drop gears just seems to be adding a level of awkwardness that doesn't need to be there - not in LHD countries anyway. I get why you would have the right/rear set up in RHD countries, i.e. for signalling but I think the left/rear set up is still the better option when you need to stop relatively quickly - otherwise you're stuck in a big gear.

Remember its the main lever that moves the derailleur up the cassette not the little paddle underneath. To add to the digital dexterity required, you are trying to pull and push this lever towards the bike at the same time. Again, I've never ridden this way before so perhaps it becomes instinct after a while - and a couple of very slow accelerations at the lights :)

magicbastarder · 03-02-2022 10:11am

you just think ahead. coming to stop at lights, you'd change gears to an lower gear before braking.

Tim76 · 03-02-2022 10:16am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118574271#Comment_118574271

But why do that when you can do both at the same time ;)

Each to their own I guess, but a very interesting thread reading everyone's comments. I'm surprised there was such a split. I wonder if Ireland will go the way of the UK at some stage and try and regulate the set up?

magicbastarder · 03-02-2022 10:17am

least i think you do that. all muscle memory to me now; either that or i brake first and as i'm coming to a final stop i change at the last second when there's no pressure on the gears. you should be pedalling while changing gears anyway.

Tim76 · 03-02-2022 10:30am

I would normally start to slow the bike with the left lever/rear brake, start changing gears with the right lever at the same time, keep on slowly rotating the cranks until the gear change is complete, clip out and then bring the bike to a full stop with the right lever/front brake.

I've a bad feeling I'm going to be overthinking this on my next spin and end up on the ground! 😄

Edit - I should add that I would do the above when I would have to stop moderately quickly. With more warning I would initiate the gear change first, slow with the left and then coast in to a full stop. With little or no warning, it's slamming on the left lever a millisecond before the right and keeping my weight at the back of the bike - no gear change then!

cletus · 03-02-2022 11:02am

You seem to be overthinking it as it is.

I honestly couldn't walk anyone step by step through my stopping procedure. Muscle memory and feel.

magicbastarder · 03-02-2022 11:12am

easiest thing to do is learn how to wheelie properly so you don't worry about front wheel braking.

Wildly Boaring · 03-02-2022 11:17am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118574557#Comment_118574557

Maybe that's my issue.

If my brakes were the other way around I'd be a wheelie master!!!!

cletus · 03-02-2022 11:27am

You should be good at the nose manual, though...

DaveyDave · 03-02-2022 12:45pm

Two Canyons, one front left/rear right, one front right/rear left. Easy enough to differentiate. You'd notice very quickly while out on the bike which is which.

positron · 03-02-2022 1:12pm

All my bikes - many bikes in India, Boardman and Specialized here in Ireland - are all the same "left-rear, right-front" brake setup. Of course any motorcycle I have ever ridden is also the same way (left-clutch, right-front brake).

However I recently picked up a Trek hybrid and noticed that the brakes are the other way around. I will see if I can change it around but I am not too keen to keep it.

What we really need are linked braking systems - pull either lever and both front and back brakes evenly. It can't be that to design especially with hydraulic disc brakes?!

magicbastarder · 03-02-2022 1:15pm

there are some occasions where you would not want to engage the front brake at all, i suspect. if i'm on a road surface i think might be slippery, i'd defintely want to try rear brake only first.

03-02-2022 1:23pm

It’ll probably become more common as more bikes are from continental supply chains due to Brexit, but it’s trivial to swap them.

You should keep them the way you’re used to as there’s a lot of automatic response, muscle memory involved.

magicbastarder · 03-02-2022 1:48pm

yep, i don't want it to be 'easy enough' to differentiate which braking system is set up on the bike - i want to know automatically, because reflexes will take over in an emergency which could make an emergency worse.

What sides are your brakes on??

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