Do you always have one finger on the brakes or just sometimes?

PB Forum :: Downhill
Do you always have one finger on the brakes or just sometimes?
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flag jumps
Posted: Oct 29, 2008 at 21:51 Quote
Hey,
I was just wondering if during a downhill race you are ALWAYS supposed to have one finger on the brakes or can you take it off to pedal faster or jump? I know that you are supposed to have one finger on the brakes when going fast downhill, but I didn't know if you were always supposed to have one on each brake?
Thanks.
Zander.
flag skierdud89
O+
Posted: Oct 29, 2008 at 22:05 Quote
why was someone hassling you?
I can't help but to keep my index fingers on the levers at all times thats just how I am. if the lever is there my finger just moves to it lol
flag JokerMachine
Posted: Oct 29, 2008 at 22:06 Quote
What do you mean by "you're supposed to have"? You can ride brakeless if you want, it's just a bad idea. Nobody is going to scold you for having your fingers off the brakes. If you can get them back on after the straightaway or pump section, go for it. I usually keep my finger on my back brake and then move my front brake finger up onto the lever when I enter a dangerous situation. But that's just me.
flag dexterrobson
Posted: Oct 29, 2008 at 22:23 Quote
do you want to die?
flag grobertson90
Posted: Oct 29, 2008 at 22:41 Quote
i always have my finger on the brake no matter what im riding, its just habit, one time i went brakeless on my hardtail for a day and in photos my finger was out even though there was no lever lol
flag wanabe
Posted: Oct 29, 2008 at 22:48 Quote
I don't race and don't keep my finger on the brake but when I am riding as fast as I can down a hill I defiantly keep one finger on each brake
flag SpikeX
Posted: Oct 29, 2008 at 23:23 Quote
For fast, wide-open DH (or tracks I know well), or when I'm just riding to school or around the city or whatever, I usually don't have my fingers on the brakes at all. It only takes a few milliseconds to put your fingers on and start braking. But in rock fields or very technical parts of DH tracks I always have one finger on both the brakes.
flag iggz
Posted: Oct 29, 2008 at 23:25 Quote
I only use 1 finger on the lever and keep it there always basically.
flag coca
Posted: Oct 30, 2008 at 0:23 Quote
hucker2010 wrote:
i always have my finger on the brake no matter what im riding, its just habit, one time i went brakeless on my hardtail for a day and in photos my finger was out even though there was no lever lol

Haha, I know what you mean.

photo

1943794


Always...even if it's not there.
flag skierdud89
O+
Posted: Oct 30, 2008 at 5:47 Quote
coca wrote:
hucker2010 wrote:
i always have my finger on the brake no matter what im riding, its just habit, one time i went brakeless on my hardtail for a day and in photos my finger was out even though there was no lever lol

Haha, I know what you mean.

photo

1943794


Always...even if it's not there.
no front brake? whats going on there?
flag rubberdown
Posted: Oct 30, 2008 at 6:38 Quote
Can't remember who said it but the greatest braking quote ever:

"two fingers scared, one finger style"
flag PedalUpBombDown
Posted: Oct 30, 2008 at 7:31 Quote
rubberdown wrote:
Can't remember who said it but the greatest braking quote ever:

"two fingers scared, one finger style"
Very true. I keep one finger on each brake all the time, even if I'm just pedaling down a flat dirt road for transportation. When I need to slow down in a hury though, I'll put two fingers on the front brake, but leave the rear with one. I've found that if I put two fingers on the back brake during panic situations, I lock up the back wheel. If I keep it to one finger, I modulate even when I'm about to shit myself.
flag the-A-team
Posted: Oct 30, 2008 at 7:56 Quote
i usually keep one finger on my levers going through wide open sections and depending on how technical, if its super technical two fingers on the back and one on the front but that's just me, i have grown used to riding with 2 fingers on the brakes though
flag skierdud89
O+
Posted: Oct 30, 2008 at 9:33 Quote
PedalUpBombDown wrote:
rubberdown wrote:
Can't remember who said it but the greatest braking quote ever:

"two fingers scared, one finger style"
Very true. I keep one finger on each brake all the time, even if I'm just pedaling down a flat dirt road for transportation. When I need to slow down in a hury though, I'll put two fingers on the front brake, but leave the rear with one. I've found that if I put two fingers on the back brake during panic situations, I lock up the back wheel. If I keep it to one finger, I modulate even when I'm about to shit myself.
thats why I adjust my levers so they pull to the bar cuz then it's hard to lock up your wheels, least on my DH
flag jonbikes
Posted: Oct 30, 2008 at 13:35 Quote
skierdud89 wrote:
PedalUpBombDown wrote:
rubberdown wrote:
Can't remember who said it but the greatest braking quote ever:

"two fingers scared, one finger style"
Very true. I keep one finger on each brake all the time, even if I'm just pedaling down a flat dirt road for transportation. When I need to slow down in a hury though, I'll put two fingers on the front brake, but leave the rear with one. I've found that if I put two fingers on the back brake during panic situations, I lock up the back wheel. If I keep it to one finger, I modulate even when I'm about to shit myself.
thats why I adjust my levers so they pull to the bar cuz then it's hard to lock up your wheels, least on my DH

That's a horrible reason to do something like that. Being able to lock your rear wheel is important, without it, you loose part of your steering ability.

I usually ride with my fingers wrapped around my bars and not on the lever unless it is an unfamiliar trail, or I know I am going to need to brake soon. By keeping my fingers off of the brakes, it is not so hard to stay off of them going into corners, helping you get over the mental factor of not braking into corners when you don't need to.
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