MARCH 2018 mbr 61
W
ant to go faster?
Just let go of
the brakes,
right? Well,
not exactly.
While kicking
the habit of dragging the
brakes, and eliminating those
unnecessary confi dence brake
checks will make you faster,letting go altogether is not
advised. The best way to gain
speed is by braking smart —
recognising where you should
be braking, and where you can
release them for more grip and
more control.
With that in mind, we’re
going to look at how to balance
your braking depending on thesteepness of the terrain, show
you how to hold the levers, and
explain which brake to apply
in different situations. If you
can trust your braking skills,
then you can gain confi dence
and take chances safe in the
knowledge that you’ll be able
to take immediate control when
you drop the anchors.THE COACH
ANDY BARLOW
Before joining Dirt School Andy
liked to win things — races like
the Scottish XC Champs and the
Scottish Downhill Championships.
Since 2009, though, he’s coached
some of the world’s best riders
with Dirt School and helped
bring on the BASE MTB course
at Borders College in the Tweed
Valley. But what Andy really likes
to do is communicate those same
pro techniques to everyday riders.
THE FALL
GUY
MATT MORRIS
This month’s Fall Guy is Matt.
Matt’s been riding regularly for
about 10 years. Although he
lives in the Tweed Valley and
keeps himself fi t, he doesn’t
compete very often. Instead, he
likes pushing his limits on social
rides with his friends, and enjoys
exploring the many excellent
trails on his doorstep. Matt had
some formal tuition with us about
six months ago, and noticed a
huge difference to his riding
afterwards, so he’s come back
for more.
FRONT/REAR BALANCE
Although both your brakes essentially do the same thing — bring you to a stop — each one has a very
different impact on grip, balance and control as you slow down. Knowing which one to favour in any given
situation is crucial to gaining the confi dence that allows you to ride faster.FRONT
The front brake, as it does in a car, will
do the most stopping for you. It’s the
one that will respond well to loading
up as you apply it, and it will stop you in
the shortest distance. If you use it in the
wrong situation though, you will lose a lot
o f t r a c t i o n a n d r e d u c e y o u r a b i l i t y t o s t e e r
and balance. Prioritise the front brake if
you’re on terrain that you can trust, or
you’re going in a straight line and when
you want to slow down quickly.REAR
On the other hand, if you’ll forgive the pun, the rear brake
will take longer to bring you to a stop, but will be a lot more
predictable when the ground is loose or you fi nd yourself
fi ghting for grip. This is because it allows you to come off the
front brake entirely, leaving your steering mostly unaffected.
Even releasing your front brake for a split second, to steer
onto a better line, will offer an appreciable step up in the level
of grip on offer. It therefore makes sense to try and prioritise
your rear brake when you’re on steeper, more technical terrain
and you want to slow down. You can favour your front again
once you can trust that grip.SET-UP
Most brakes are powerful enough to allow
one-fi nger braking, but to get the perfect
set-up you need to start with your hands.
Ideally you want to ride with your hands as
close to the ends of your bars as you can —
don’t leave more than about 10mm showing.
As you straighten your forefi nger and rest iton your lever, it should sit in your fi nal knuckle
without having to pull the lever to get it into
place. Try and settle your fi nger just inside the
nook at the end of the blade, so that you’re
maximising leverage. You can move your lever
clamp along the bars and adjust the lever reach
to make this happen.