Braking
Correct Form
The correct way to brake on a bike is by reaching one finger out towards the brake lever while keeping the rest of your fingers wrapped securely around the handles.
Why? With only one finger braking, you have your three other fingers griping the bar. This ensures your hands are the most secure and balanced while riding.
4 Things to Think about when Braking
- Feathering vs. Continuously Holding
- Hovering one finger over each brake whenever there’s a chance you may have to slow down or stop
- Usage of one finger and one finger only
- Always apply equal pressure between both the front and the back brake
Incorrect Form
The incorrect way to brake on a bike is using all your fingers to pull the lever. Like this:
Why? By braking with all of your fingers, you no longer have a good grip of the bar and you risk losing control of your bike more easily. One finger is plenty strong enough to pull a brake lever towards you.
Other reasons to use the correct braking technique
- You want to avoid wearing away your brakes
- You want to always be ready, just in case
- One finger has plenty of strength to pull brake levers back towards you, and you want to avoid hand cramping and capitalize on keeping as much of your hand on the bar as possible so you stay stable and in control
- Going over the handlebars is not much fun, yet the front brake does 80% of the stopping work so it’s important you use both
Feathering
Use your index fingers to gently pull the brake levers back towards you. Rather than keeping the levers held back, periodically go between pulling the levers back and letting them go slowly. This process will help ensure that your bike brakes last longer and you keep maximum control within your surroundings.
Braking in Real Settings
Remember to use the tips we’ve listed for you above!!!
Additionally, check out our body positioning page and notice that we’re all in the “attack position” while descending this trail.