When trail braking, keep a little pressure on the front brake.
I’ve written a number of times about trail braking but the last time I did I got a note from Dan with some surprising information. Dan said he was familiar with trail braking but his definition of it was totally different than mine. He sent along a link to an article by Nick Ienatsch that explained what trail braking is and how it works.
I did some quick Googling to see what showed up on a search and sure enough, the bulk of what I found fit Dan’s idea of trail braking. The best I could find about the technique I called by that name was “dragging the rear brake.”
Obviously I found this very interesting. What I have called “trail braking,” the practice of revving the engine while slipping the clutch and applying some rear brake, was brought to my attention by an instructor in a Beginning Rider Course, and that is what he called it. So that is what I have called it ever since.
What Nick Ienatsch describes is something quite different. You can read his article via that link above but basically the idea, as I understand it, is for when you go into a curve at highway speed. You always want to shed excess speed while still mostly upright, before you initiate your lean, but in trail braking you don’t fully release the front brake. You maintain slight pressure so that if the curve turns tighter than expected you can squeeze a little tighter to shed some more speed. If you have no brake pressure applied and then add a bunch you can get yourself in trouble. If you already are applying some pressure and just increase that a little, then things are likely to go more smoothly.
That’s a really interesting concept for me in more ways than one. When I first learned to ride I was told, and for years everything I read said, do not apply the front brake in a curve–you’ll high-side. And truth be told, I violated that dictum many times because from time to time I found myself in turns that were tighter than anticipated and what else was I supposed to do? Run off the road? I’ve always been extremely careful and cautious in doing so, and I’ve never had any problem.
It’s only in the last few years that I did finally read something saying that braking in the curve is a viable option, as long as executed properly, and that felt like a vindication. And now that I understand the concept I’m eager to experiment and master this technique.
So I guess I won’t call dragging the rear brake “trail braking” any more. But you can bet I’ll continue using the technique for making slow speed U-turns easy. And maybe some day the guys I ride with will finally ask me how it is that I can make these turns so much more easily than they can, and maybe then those old dogs will finally learn a new trick.
Biker Quote for Today
The only people who wear helmets are pansies, nerds, and anyone who wants to live when the idiot next to you doesn’t check his blind spot when changing lanes.
