Finger on the Front Brake The other week @michael.szymandera.pl asked about keeping a finger on the front brake whilst riding obstacles. I prefer to encourage everyone to ride with the finger on the front brake all the time. The control a rider gains out of having the front brake immediately accessible is significant. Those who ride finger off the brake, tend to ride at the whim of the BIKE and momentum. There are some downsides, some riders can tend to over use the brake, but this is much easier to correct, than someone who can't use the brake well enough (I tend to deal with those riders specifically if the problem arises). Also whilst you are learning to ride with a finger on the brake, it is fine to also practice riding without the finger on the brake. There is no harm in doing both. Generally riders need to learn to ride with a finger on the front brake all the way up to learning to splat. The skill is especially important for punching and to a lesser extent ride technique. The progression is something like this; Use finger on the front brake for - Turning base control > With obstacles > Ride Technique > Punch Technique > Base level splatting > Then improve riding finger off the brake to > Increase splats with no finger on the front brake. The hardest part is getting used to using the throttle and front brake independently... but once you do the level of control really improves! Hopefully the video highlights, how much we use the front brake and throttle independently and the wide range of control you can gain from it. DO you ride with a finger on or off the brake??

Posted by Neil Price at 2024-10-01 07:33:44 UTC