What is proper use of the front brake

[Ambluemax]

When I started riding dirt bikes, riding was not a closed course affair. I was just 10 or 11 years old cruising around aboard my uncle's XR100 around his farm yard. When he was teaching me how to ride, he specifically instructed me not to use the front brake b/c if I grabbed it too hard I would endo.

That was fine back then, but now I find my thrills on a motocross track. Though my abilities have increased, my use of the front brake has not. From reading mags and just being around the sport, I get the feeling that the front brake is a very important tool that I am not using.

Can someone please explain to me the proper use of the front brake? Is it just an oh sh*t mechanism used when the rear isn't working fast enough, or are there specific critical times for it's use? Can it be used solo, or is it only used in conjunction with the rear brake?

[khabibulin]

Yes the front brake is very important, Coming around rutted croners the front brake is supposed to be used to keep the tire in the rut and not wondering out of it.I had a bad expierence when I didnt use the front brake on a turn and my tire cross rutted and then I got T-boned by my friend it hurt.

Here this might help

http://www.transworldmotocross.com/mx/how_to/article/0,13190,343908,00.html

[cmtbiker]

uhhhh, i dunno about everyone else, but i use the front brake more than the rear...by a large margin. most of your stopping power comes from the front.

[TwistiT]

its ther to help slow the bike down, combined with the rear brake. If you mean technically on a MX track, its there to keep presure on the front wheel so it can bite (in some cases), to help the front suspension be compressed and to assist in turning.

[Supafreak_711]

The front brake provides about %70 percent of your stopping power (according to my MSC pamphlet) You do not however want to just jam the front brake in. You must be smooth with it and you will learn how much you can use before endoing the bike or locking the front tire. The rear is generally less dangerous because you can drag a locked rear tire and not have any problem staying on the bike.

I use the front brake more than the back, you just have to learn the limits. You can put much more stopping power to the ground with the front brake, but you can also put to much (causeing an endo or locking the tire).

I hope this makes sence... Its getting late and im too stressed at the moment to sleep, despite being very tired (restless mind, tired body).

[berkeman]

On firm ground, do some stoppie drills for fun. Lift the back tire off the ground and see how far you can carry it about 2-3" off the ground. You're not going for high show-off stoppies here, you're learning how hard you can brake with just the front when there is good traction. When there's good traction, 100% of your hard braking is done with the front, since the back has no traction as it skips along the dirt.

Then find some loose traction places to practice -- loamy tilled soil or loose dirt. Learn to brake really hard with the front up to and past the place where the front tire locks momentarily. You need to learn what it feels like when the front end locks and starts to wash or fold. Practice releasing the front brake briefly and getting back into it, until you can feel the maximum braking traction that's available.

On loose dirt, you'll use something like 70% front brake power as already mentioned. With good traction (tacky dirt), you will lift a small stoppie with 100% front brake. You should learn to listen for the sound that both tires make when you're at 100% braking on both for the available traction going into a corner -- there really is a sound that they make right at maximum traction as the rolling friction keeps trying to transistion into skidding friction. When you get consistent at braking that hard going into corners, you wil pass a lot of people at corner entries. But you know that already, just from the other end.....

EDIT -- And as Supafreak said, don't just jam on the brakes all of a sudden hard. You want to roll into them progressively and hard, but don't slam them on harder than your front suspension can keep up. You need to let the front suspension keep working as you get harder and harder on the front brake, in order to get maximum friction back from the front tire. The friction that you can get depends on how loaded the front end is (F=mu*N for you other geeks), so getting on the brakes smoothly balances the loading of the front end and the friction you can get back. Depending on the traction available, take about 1/4 second to 1 second to go from no brakes to maximum braking...

[kxfreak]

well, just remember to be careful when using your front brake, it might slow the bike down alot, but when coming into a corner or just riding on a wet or muddy track it can cause the bike to slip right out from under you.

[but head]

as you approach the turn as soon as you let off the gas grab the front brake 1st , the front will dive then apply your rear 2nd , do all your braking with the front brake when the bike is standing straight up you should be standing position while braking most of the time as the bike begins to lean in the turn in most cases rut or berm let off the rear brake or brakes sit down right behind the gas cap apply gas and slip the clutch throw your inside leg up for weight balance to the front look to the exit and to the next obstacle you go. to do this smoothly it take lots of practice remember put your weight to the outside foot peg of the turn your going through very important. ? some guys drag the front brake a little while going through a rut or berm in tight corners that helps keep the front wheel in the rut or berm. that takes more practice and skill.

[Ambluemax]

Thanks guys!! I'll try to practice some of that stuff this weekend.

[LowSlide]

Applying the front brake first causes the front to dive as the weight transfers forward, making the rear end light, and easy to lock the rear, and or ineffective in stopping. as Berkeman says. Sometimes you want this. Good for turning/sliding. Hitting the rear brake first, just before the front brake, is beneficial sometimes because it pulls back on the bike, and the bike dives a little less, so the rear end isn't as light and both brakes will have maximum braking traction. Also, in a turn, a little back brake pulls the bike back and to the inside, making turning easier in cases.

You also want to lean back when braking, lean forward when accelerating.

Approaching a corner, lean back while braking, once at the speed you want, drop onto the front part of the tank and lean forward to accelerate around the corner. Outside elbow up, weight outside peg, etc...Try to release brakes slowly so the suspension doesn't pogo up and down. Squeeze on, squeeze off.

G'Luck,

lowslide

[LowSlide]

Thinking out loud...While front brake is most of your stopping power for sure, and can be all of it, it dives the front end. Which is fine in lots of cases. One case where you will want to keep the front end from over diving out of the suspension sweet spot, can be rough bumps before a corner. Going into those with the front suspension tapped out makes for a rough ride. Hitting the back brake first, and diving a little less, even a 1/2 inch less, keeping the bike more balanced in the suspension, can make for a smoother slowdown, and easier on the wrists.

[thumperwrestler]

According to the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Manual, up to 75% of braking should come from the front wheel. I use it very often. The front brake will stop you much quicker. think about it, all your weight and momentum is on the front when moving or slowing down. If you stop that momentum, then the bike will slow. The back just slides around under heavy braking, the fornt WILL slow you down.

[yz_for_me]

I hardly use the rear brake any more but when I first started riding MX I was in the same boat as you. I pretty much only used the front brake as the Oh sh** lever. Like you I knew the front brake was supposed to be used more often, so I decided to just learn how to use it. It took a while, and a lot of practice and conditioning to use the front brake without thinking about it. Like others have said, spend some time getting to know how much brake you can apply in different situations. It takes a bit of mental retraining, but your speed and control will be much better.

Besides being able to stop much quicker with the front brake, you also have far better feel with the front. This lets you apply just the right amount of braking for different situations. For example, if it's really slimy, you want to apply the brakes more carefully than if you are in nice tacky dirt. With the rear brake it's really hard to get that kind of feel.

[punkrock MX]

the front brake is very important and you will get most of your stopping done with the front, start using it more but control it, dont just slam it, modually apply it as needed

[SoCalrider21]

It is sad but I only use my front brake, and it has got me in bad situations. But I am going to try and use my rear brake more, but it just feels really weird to use it. I don't know if it has to do with I am 6'1", but it feels really wierd.

[LowSlide]

In addition to what ThumperWrestler said about the front slowing you down, when your forks are compressed, they turn the best/sharpest at that point.

Instead of "Hitting the back brake", it's more accurate to say drag the rear brake. Dragging the rear brake has 3 chassis effects which can be useful at times.

It robs some of the forward momentum resulting in less front end dive when stopping with the front brake if applied first.

It slows the rebound/extension of the rear shock, which can be helpful for keeping rear end traction on off camber corners.

It pulls the bike back and to the inside when turning because the rear is turning less than the front.

It helps, for me anyway, to have a small bit of play in the rear brake so that it isn't an on/off switch. Whatever gives you the best feel. I have to practice it. MX boots aren't all that great for feel.

[thumperwrestler]

and one more tip, don't use the fornt brake in the snow. But i do highly recommend riding in the snow. It teaches alot at a lower speed.

[LowSlide]

Heh, good point. I wish I had some snow to practice on. Was driving cross the states and saw some bikers out on a frozen lake last winter, and so wished I could do that. One guy could actually wheelie quite a ways on the ice. I was in awe.

Lot's to learn on ice.