A question for those who are left handed. Is your rear brake set up on the left or the right? After looking at this photo I just had to ask
The majority if Italians used to ride w/ their brakes reversed. Not necessarily related to being left-handed.
Ditto. It was an Italian thing. We had some lame theories like shorter cable run and right-front is like a motorcycle, but I never did learn why.
its a Euro thing, supposed to emulate the moto
I once crashed in a crit and got a Mavic bike from the pit that had the levers reversed. Tried to modulate what I thought was the rear thru a crazy turn for a bit of balance and ended up crashing again. By that time my original bike was ready to go again, all was well after that. the ride home kinda sucked as I was all skinned up, nothing a bag of hardees and a few tall boys didn't fix
Well, not all Euros. Maybe it has to do with which side of the road they use :)
Pretty sure that is a 56 x 13 she's turning.
I always thought it was a motorcycle thing.
Most of my cycling buddies who have motorcycles set their bikes up the same way.
Beryl Burton ROCKS. The Queen Mother of UK cycling.
I run the front on the right because I bought a motor cycle. Took a while to get used to because I used the normal left front before that. But I was pulling the clutch instead of the brake and confusing myself so I switched. I think it took a good year to become totally comfortable and could brake correctly even in a panic. In hindsight it was dumb. On the other hand no one wants to ride my bikes.
I'm right-handed, but have some degree of ambidexterity, both from studying art and from breaking my right hand in a moto mishap.
My bicis are left-front / right-rear, and while I might flub a shift going between my Shimano and Campy bikes on sequential days, my mind and hands (and feet) don't get confused between moto and bicycles.
Lots of ways to look at this topic. I usually handle the water bottle with my right hand, so I have front brake access, if needed...
The first time I rode a road bike in Canada I almost took myself out as I was used to the 'reversed' (what is reversed depends on your frame of reference) set up. Until then I had never even given it a thought.
I've ridden clutch motorcycles since age 9 and currently have a 2007 R1 - and realize that the F brake is via the right hand/lever - never had an issue even with panic stops. I also bike a lot - bicycle more miles/yr than moto - and on the bike don't have an issue with the F brake being w/ the left. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal to know which hand works the F brake on bicycle vs. moto. In any panic stop bike or motorcycle you're leaning back quite a bit to avoid getting pitched over the bars - and on moto - if you reef on both levers knowing one is the F brake - you're still fine. With a panic stop on a bicycle - you'll be hitting both brakes hard (at same time) and getting your weight back immediately = thinking about it like that - it almost doesn't matter which hand is running which brake
I also ride Motos and bikes, and I am absolutely right-handed (me throwing a ball left-handed is comical), but interestingly, I have absolutely no problem when changing from pedal bike to moto bike. I actually experimented with reversed levers a long time ago, but went back to traditional setup as I got no benefit. Go figure.....
Exactly the same for me. Such is "muscle memory".
I tried it for cross reasons long ago & switched all bikes - not very practical - but adjusted quickly.
most practical reason I continued w/ it: while drinking w/ the right hand I would prefer my other hand to be controlling a *REAR* brake. Braking while drinking is not a habit of mine, simply a "just in case" set up.
My first road bike, 1980s Gazelle, came with front brake engaged on left. Being a lefty and a newbie on the road, I switched brakes around (left = rear) after a close call almost running into a car in which I turned my bike into a bucking horse with left hand much faster on trigger than right. I used that setup for entire time I rode in NL but haven't used it since.
I have long thought that front brake should be on the right (for righties) so the dominant hand controls the dominant brake. But all my early bikes had left front, so I learned left front. I certainly wasn't going to switch while I was racing (and maybe take down the field) or after when my head injury meant that my left hand was now my more skilled hand. Now I have no excuses for continuing to ride with left front except the knowledge that if I switch, there will be one crash (at least) because I forgot, and at approaching 60 yo, I really don't want that.
Ben
RE: moto
I raced motocross from '76-'88 and still ride plus I have a cruiser for riding to work. I run R-r/L-f levers on my bikes. I don't have "what lever should I pull" issues but then again, I don't twist the grip on my Scott to go faster or shift and brake with my foot either. I do however make brrrraahpp noises when I'm riding alone...OK, I do it when I pass people too.
I'm left handed; at least I write that way.
When I was a teenager and just getting into cycling, I was riding home from the bike shop. It was the mid-70's and cable TV was just entering the market. As I rounded a corner, with my head down, I looked up to see a cable TV tech pulling wire across the road, RIGHT AT NECK HEIGHT!
I grabbed a fistful of left hand brake, which locked up my front wheel quite effectively and launched me over the bars in full view of the tech.
I always remembered that day and some years later decided to try left lever/rear brake as method of prevention for my poor panic stops. It's been decades since I switched and I've been pleased ever since; I have much better modulation of my braking, under duress and otherwise.
Ha! That is almost an exact parallel to my bucking horse bike incident that caused me too reverse brake handling, except I managed to stay mounted...just barely. Probably strapped my shoes in too tight to get launched.
I ride moto & bikes. In the past I had british & jap motos which have the rear brake/shifter reversed.
It has never been a problem, after you ride a while, your brain automatically knows which on to go for! But you have to practice. Riding with guys that claim they never use the front brake sends a big warning to my brain to stay away from them.
I saw the movie "Personal Best" in my youth, I do not remember seeing that woman in the movie, I fondly remember seeing some other women in that movie.
What were we talking about?
I always thought it had to do with which side of the road you drive on, and the resulting hand you signal with (ie left hand in norh america). You'd want whatever hand is still on the bike to be on the rear brake so you don't go over the bars.
That was at one time considered Italian, although probably a larger percentage of Japanese use the right front thing. I have been using the right front thing on my road bikes for over 40 years, but my cross and mtb bikes have left front. On the road I use probably 90% front brake and mtb and cross a lot more rear brake. My right hand is much smarter than my left and I do have a motorcycle history as well, so feathering the front brake on the road is a nice feature.
In cross and mtb I usually grab a handful of brake in a hurry and don't want my smart right hand hitting a big brake. Then having it be the front brake when I do need to stop in a hurry. That spells over the bars on the mtb.
Never saw anyone in Spain going the Euro route and using the right lever for the front. If I did I would have snapped a pic and posted it on here!
cerv that's brilliant
i'm right hand dominant and fairly ambidextrous. Although I ride motorcycles I've never set up my bikes to have the front brake on right because I was used to that set-up on motorcycles. I was riding bikes before motos. I set them up right/front, left/rear because if I'm cruising along the roads and taking a drink from the bottle w/ my right hand, I can still make a quick and controlled stop with the rear brake without locking up or going over the bars.
Riding the motorcycle has nothing to with how I set up my bike brakes for mtb or road. Besides, on my BSA the rear brake is on the right foot, and shift lever is on the left foot. Which is reversed from American and Jap bikes.
Now that took some muscle memory retraining when going from the BSA to the Honda. I'd end up shift or braking with the wrong foot sometimes.
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