Leaning versus Knee Down

[OreoGaborio]

Originally Posted by No Worries

Emulating racers on the street can lead to trouble. There are riders on this forum who don’t use the rear brake, just because some road racer was shown braking with the rear wheel off the ground. Using the rear brake tightens your line, and pulls you to the inside of the corner.

Careful.... same physics, same pavement, regardless of location.

I use the exact same cornering techniques on the track as I do on the street... and my foot is as far away as possible from the rear brake lever when i'm mid-corner. Not only is it far more risky to use the rear brake mid-corner, but you also have far more control with the front.

Think about it this way.... Would you rather lock up the rear mid corner and highside or the front and lowside?

I'll take a lowside over a highside anyday.



Now if you're talking about straight line emergency braking, that's totally different. Now we're back at the basics, which dictate that both brakes applied simultaneously will give you maximum braking power AND as the weight transitions to the front, the traction available at the rear tire reduces dramatically.