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OK, I've had a few inquiries about Emergency Stops, so I thought
I'd paste in a few web resources' content about that maneuver.
Practice the Emergency Stop at your own risk (duh!). If you have any
questions, stop by OlyBikes and talk to me (Larry).
From the League of American Bicyclists website:
EMERGENCY: QUICK STOP
1.
Emergency
* A quick
stop will allow you to safely stop your bike
* If you
must stop to avoid an obstacle
*
You do not want to lose control of your bicycle in an
emergency situation
2. Brake
application
* Front
brakes have the most power but can cause a crash if misused
* Either
brake causes weight to shift forward, increasing the power of the
front brake
* Brakes
need to be adjusted properly for maximum braking control
3.
Weight transfer
*
Shift weight back over the rear wheel by sliding behind the
saddle
* Use your
arms to push the bike out in front of you
* Keep the
handlebars straight; do not try to turn
4. Front
brake
* Practice
using your front brake to avoid going over the bars
* Braking
hard with the front brake causes weight to shift forward
* Apply
more front brake than rear; release the brake a bit if the rear wheel
skids
5. Rear
brake
* The rear
brake has less stopping power than the front brake
* Too
little weight on the rear wheel will cause it to skid
* Not
enough weight on the rear wheel will cause the rider to go over the
bars
The content at Seattle
Bicycle Touring Club's website is very similar, but because
the Emergency Stop is so foreign to most folks, including long time
cyclists, checking it out also can help "round out" the
message to help it sink in better:
http://www.seattlebiketours.org/members/effective_cycling/panic_stop.html
Panic
Stop
by Susie Jones
There is an art to effectively stopping a bicycle in an emergency. Doing it incorrectly could cause you to: 1) hit the object you are trying to avoid; 2) somersault over the handlebars; 3) lose control of the bike as the rear wheel skids out from under you. If you are like many people, you instinctively grab both brakes in an emergency and apply them equally until the bike begins to skid. This is inefficient because you have no control over a locked wheel (it cannot be steered), and a wheel that is skidding offers you virtually no stopping power.
When you apply either the front or rear brake, the bicycle begins to slow down and your weight transfers forward because of inertia. The more weight a wheel supports, the more effective the applied braking force, and the less tendency to skid.
Thus, if you apply only the rear brake hard, your weight is shifted to the front, decreasing weight on the rear wheel. since the rear wheel is supporting less weight, it will skid as you brake, decreasing the effectiveness of the brake.
Applying only the front brake hard also shifts weight to the front wheel. In this case, however, the weight transfer increases the effectiveness of the brake, and the tendency of the braked front wheel to skid is greatly reduced. However, the danger is that if the front brake is applied too hard, the rear wheel will lift off the road and the rider may be pitched over the handlebars.
The implications, the, for effective braking are as follows:
* Braking
with the rear brake alone will avoid pitchover, but it is not very
effective.
*
The theoretically fastest stop is made with the front brake
alone, but this is dangerous-only a slight error will pitch you
over.
* The best
system for a fast, safe stop is to use both brakes in a 3:1 ratio,
front:rear, which produces the optimum deceleration. If the rear wheel
starts to skid, this indicates that you are unweighting the rear wheel
almost to the pitchover point. Therefore, when the rear wheel skids,
ease up slightly on the front brake.
* When
braking hard, slide your body back in the saddle as far as possible.
Although it is not necessary for an effective panic stop, you can
transfer even more weight to the rear wheel by lifting your buttocks
off the saddle and thrusting them straight back over the rear
axle.
by Susie Jones
There is an art to effectively stopping a bicycle in an emergency. Doing it incorrectly could cause you to: 1) hit the object you are trying to avoid; 2) somersault over the handlebars; 3) lose control of the bike as the rear wheel skids out from under you. If you are like many people, you instinctively grab both brakes in an emergency and apply them equally until the bike begins to skid. This is inefficient because you have no control over a locked wheel (it cannot be steered), and a wheel that is skidding offers you virtually no stopping power.
When you apply either the front or rear brake, the bicycle begins to slow down and your weight transfers forward because of inertia. The more weight a wheel supports, the more effective the applied braking force, and the less tendency to skid.
Thus, if you apply only the rear brake hard, your weight is shifted to the front, decreasing weight on the rear wheel. since the rear wheel is supporting less weight, it will skid as you brake, decreasing the effectiveness of the brake.
Applying only the front brake hard also shifts weight to the front wheel. In this case, however, the weight transfer increases the effectiveness of the brake, and the tendency of the braked front wheel to skid is greatly reduced. However, the danger is that if the front brake is applied too hard, the rear wheel will lift off the road and the rider may be pitched over the handlebars.
The implications, the, for effective braking are as follows:
--
- Larry
Leveen
OlyBikes Locally-Owned
Bike Shop
"Bikes, Parts, Repairs and GREAT Customer Service"
http://www.olybikes.com
Phone: 360-753-7525
(website features FREE bike safety & advocacy materials)
"Bikes, Parts, Repairs and GREAT Customer Service"
http://www.olybikes.com
Phone: 360-753-7525
(website features FREE bike safety & advocacy materials)
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