Brake reversal

K

ks9mm

Guest
HI All,


is it possible to swap front and rear brakes on avid Juicy 5?

I mean control front tire with right hand and rear with left?


years and years of motorcycle riding created this habit...and I am not sure I want to brake it... I still have my race bike.

Thanks!
 

Bike N Gear

Shop: Bike N Gear
Shop Keep
HI All,


is it possible to swap front and rear brakes on avid Juicy 5?

I mean control front tire with right hand and rear with left?


years and years of motorcycle riding created this habit...and I am not sure I want to brake it... I still have my race bike.

Thanks!

Just switch the right lever to the left side of handlebar & repeat. Thats why the avid's say juicy 5 on the top & bottom of the levers.
 
K

ks9mm

Guest
is this something folks do? or I am smoking....something...
 

ytc100

New Member
is this something folks do? or I am smoking....something...


According to Sheldon Brown:

Which Brake Which Side?

There is considerable disagreement as to which brake should be connected to which lever:
Some cyclists say it is best to have the stronger right hand (presuming a right-handed cyclist) operate the rear brake.

Motorcycles always have the right hand control the front brake, so cyclists who are also motorcyclists often prefer this setup.

There are also observable national trends:
In countries where vehicles drive on the right, it is common to set the brakes up so that the front brake is operated by the left lever.

In countries where vehicles drive on the left, it is common to set the brakes up so that the front brake is operated by the right lever.

The theory that seems most probable to me is that these national standards arose from a concern that the cyclist be able to make hand signals, and still be able to reach the primary brake. This logical idea is, unfortunately, accompanied by the incorrect premise that the rear brake is the primary brake.
For this reason, I set my own bikes up so that the right hand controls the front brake, which is not the norm in the U.S.

I also do this because I'm right handed, and wish to have my more skillful hand operate the more critical brake.
 

Bike N Gear

Shop: Bike N Gear
Shop Keep
is this something folks do? or I am smoking....something...

Yes, I have too many customers who do this, for the same reason as you. Its loads of fun to test ride their bikes, when you forget that the levers are reversed.
 

J-Dro

Well-Known Member
Hmm just for kicks I might give this a try. My right hand is much quicker on the brake lever for whatever reason. Sometimes that means an undesired skid in a quick braking situation when I really wanted to use more front brake.
 

anrothar

entirely thrilled
The theory that seems most probable to me is that these national standards arose from a concern that the cyclist be able to make hand signals, and still be able to reach the primary brake. This logical idea is, unfortunately, accompanied by the incorrect premise that the rear brake is the primary brake.


sheldon brown is WRONG!!!!! :scared: the reason for the hand signal reason(which is correct), is that a person maintains more control over the handlebars while braking one handed when using the rear brake. if braking with the front brake while riding one handed, there is a tendancy for the bars to want to turn. also, while riding one handed, more of your weight will be on the rear wheel than under normal braking, which would increase it's effectiveness.
 

Wobbegong

Well-Known Member
Apparently most riders in the UK run their brakes reverse to the usual. I saw a post about this on MTBR.
 
D

DANSPANK

Guest
I used to run my brakes with the rear brake lever on the left but changed after coming here and testing a few bikes. A few episodes on a rented Diablo bike encouraged me to switch to the rear brake on the right now.

But if you ride a motorbike then I would suggest matching the front brakes (rear brake is operated by your foot isn't it?) as you don't want to mess that up heading down the road at 70 or whatever...
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Some CX racers do this so they can control the rear brake for dismount situations.
 

CycleBoy

Sussex Bike and Sport
Shop Keep
Just switch the right lever to the left side of handlebar & repeat. Thats why the avid's say juicy 5 on the top & bottom of the levers.

actually, with the avids its just a good idea to flip the clamps over so that the arrows are pointing up. Also, tighten the top pinch bolt all the way and then tighten the bottom. It's an avid thing
 

TonyC

Active Member
I used to run my brakes with the rear brake lever on the left but changed after coming here and testing a few bikes. A few episodes on a rented Diablo bike encouraged me to switch to the rear brake on the right now.

But if you ride a motorbike then I would suggest matching the front brakes (rear brake is operated by your foot isn't it?) as you don't want to mess that up heading down the road at 70 or whatever...


you wouldn't mess up on a motorcycle since the clutch is on the left.
the rear brake is pretty much useless on a motorcycle at 70. that's why sportbikes use 2 huge discs on the front.
 
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