CBProductions Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 For the past couple of months I have been riding very little and yesterday me and a friend finally got a decent riding in. I broke my 2005 magura levers and cracked the other but that was from another ride, just decided to run away on this ride. So I started riding without a front brake and I seemed to have progressed really quickly and have a better feel on the bike. Has anyone else found this? Does that mean my angles were wrong on my bars e.t.c Cheers in advance Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al_Fel Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 Adam from merseytrial is a perfect example of this. he's been hooking to back wheel, gapping to front wheel side hopping, riding natural and doing pretty much everything else good trials rider can with no front brake at all. Amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIX Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 I dont really know what you mean when you say you progressed? What did you progress? Certain moves or generally? Before you broke it did you use to leave the front brake off until needed? Some people say it can make you gap further and help balance on the back wheel. It could of be at an odd angle, although if you had your front and back the same angle then I doubt it would make a differece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBProductions Posted July 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 Yeah I just used to cover it and I think they weren't at the same angle. I generally progressed my riding today , my confidence and my technical abilities went up. I am going to be riding without a front brake for a while now. If you look at bmx'ers they do a lot considering they don't use any so I suppose we could delve into the realms of one brake. Thank you for your views hopefully more people will enlighten me as well. Cheers Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Bleech Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 I found sidehops easier with no front brake, because i go up to front wheel and it forces me to flick my back end up quicker. Also speaking to Rossi ages ago he said his sidehops improved tons we he was front brakeless. I think no front brake help to learn to use your body weight more, instead of relying on your brake. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBProductions Posted July 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 Yeah I found my sidehops very much easier, I do believe I shall keep it this way for a bit until I wish to go back. Thanks for your views people :turned: Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tipsy Jock Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 I found sidehops easier with no front brake, because i go up to front wheel and it forces me to flick my back end up quicker. Also speaking to Rossi ages ago he said his sidehops improved tons we he was front brakeless. I think no front brake help to learn to use your body weight more, instead of relying on your brake. Mike ← Hmmm might give that a try tomorrow, with nothing other than curbs to ride anything that breaks the monotony is good lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Bleech Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Hmmm might give that a try tomorrow, with nothing other than curbs to ride anything that breaks the monotony is good lol ← lol go fully brakeless as well, thats fun too. (Y) :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich4130 Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 I was trying fronthooks with a pallet and I was finding it much harder actualy bunnyhopping into it while covering the frontbrake (something I never usually do) I tried just going uber fast and bunnyhopping as high as possible and got it yo bash, I find covering the brake gives me less confidence as I can't hold on to he bars as well, I assumed it was because I ran without one for ages, but maybe I'm not alone.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hardman Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 lol go fully brakeless as well, thats fun too. (Y) :D ← I was running my bmx brakeless for 2 weeks got the hang of it but I went back to a rear brake as thats my style of riding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIX Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 When I had my bmx it was brakeless. I just couldnt get the back brake to work proper so I took it off. Its good for skateparks because you just flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Nichols Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 When I'm riding I only cover my front brake if I know I'm going to use it. I've found that this makes for higher backwheels/bunnyhops and further gaps. I also really like the feeling off not covering the front brake, it somehow feels more powerful. When you see a front wheel spinning during a move it looks sweet as well. Why pull the brake if you dont need to brake?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.Wood Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 I try not to use it to help with arm pump. But i don't purposefully not use it to improve technique, just as a measure to lower arm pump problems. I agree about the front wheel spinny thing hehe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munkee Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Half way through a natural ride my rear hose split, resulting in brakeless riding which actually was a lot more fun than i had all day really. You flow so well and in some places i was doing better than when i had two brakes simply because you had to keep on going. I always cover my front brake when riding normally, whenever i get arm pump on natural i just find somewhere to rest a pedal or trackstand with front wheel jammed against a rock to take off some of the pressure for a while. Certainly makes you a bit smoother in some cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOLO Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 i broke my old hope mini and rode front brake less for a week,,, loved it,, gave me ALOT of confidence for taps, and makes you hop higher and move your body weight more, , and then about 8 months later i snapped my avid caliper and rope 2 days without front brake again. again it was a good little break (no punn intended) from usual riding ,, also i have at the moment a kids bike, wich i have built up with no brakes and no chain and has moto style foot pegs not cranks.. its really amazing what u can get done on it.. having sed that i think i love riding kids bike WAY to much ,, hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross W. Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 I rode frontbrakeless for about a month or so during the winter, didn't seem to help at all though. :- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Drewery Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 gave me ALOT of confidence for taps, and makes you hop higher and move your body weight more ← I find that i cant tap with my finger covering my front brake as i learnt to tap when i didnt have a front brake so it stuck. When my wheel hits the wall i cant help but pull the lever so i get nowhere. Does anyone else find that they can only tap without covering their front brake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOLO Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 ye thats the one,, al though i do still cover the front brake when its there,, i want to start not covering it,, but i fear i might not get it back on quik enough for natural.. and ye i do find sometimes i pull it on tap, and fek the whole thing up.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIX Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 I cover the front brake for taps but dont pull and let the front wheel spin. SOmetimes when I mess a tap up and get the pedals wrong I end up endoing on the edge of the wall. You dont want that to happen without your front brake as you can imagine. If its like a tap to gap to front wheel you dont want to be faffing around when your on the back wheel trying to find the brake leveer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 I find that i cant tap with my finger covering my front brake as i learnt to tap when i didnt have a front brake so it stuck. When my wheel hits the wall i cant help but pull the lever so i get nowhere. Does anyone else find that they can only tap without covering their front brake? ← I found that for ages when I was learning to tap, I was instinctively pulling the brake as soon as the front wheel came off the ground. When I realised what I was doing, I started actually being able to get up stuff :- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoyoyo Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 Personally i don't think i would be safe without a front brake,but i might try it next time it brakes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBProductions Posted July 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 Second day of riding without a front brake, and I have managed to learn to rolling gap 2m and get up over bar height cleanly using most techniques not :S (Y). I'm impressed now and do believe it shall be an interesting few weeks yet. Cheers for all the replies. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Motivator Posted July 7, 2005 Report Share Posted July 7, 2005 I bent my avid on a ride and rode front brakeless then. Didnt like it. I rely on my front brake quite alot so meh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat hudson Posted July 7, 2005 Report Share Posted July 7, 2005 somthing similar happended to me but not related at all. when my rear brake broke on my bmx leaving me with just a front brake i really didnt like it at all. it sucked cock. i had no control. however, on removing my front brake i got betterat manuels. i only really used it to slow down without going heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek before anyway. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merseytrial Posted July 17, 2005 Report Share Posted July 17, 2005 Adam from merseytrial is a perfect example of this. he's been hooking to back wheel, gapping to front wheel side hopping, riding natural and doing pretty much everything else good trials rider can with no front brake at all. Amazing. ← Cheers!!! :- Before you broke it did you use to leave the front brake off until needed? Some people say it can make you gap further and help balance on the back wheel. ← Dont know about gapping further but it defo helps balance on the rear wheel. I found that for ages when I was learning to tap, I was instinctively pulling the brake as soon as the front wheel came off the ground. When I realised what I was doing, I started actually being able to get up stuff (Y) ← Year I used to have that problem too. When running front brake, try putting your front lever lower than your back. This is cos your body is in different positions when using the back to the front. Ye I think running no front brake can be good for taps and balance on the rear wheel. As some one else said in this tread it forces you to put the body in the right place rather than relying on the front brake. So once a rider has learned to ride front brakeless then they should be well better when they put one back on. I reckon ill be able to do a foot higher with my splats and side hops once I get out on my new bike with f+r hopes trials. Also going to front wheel on walls is gunna be mega fun :D :) Craig are u still riding front brakeless? If so keep at it cos u wont even miss it after a few weeks. That if you already dont (Y) yay adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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