Now this is probably going to sound daft to the highly skilled technical riders here, but I'm not one of those, I just like riding my bike to get out in the open. When it comes to stopping I've always just applied both brakes together and the bike stops. Now I know that the front brake is meant to have more stopping power (although I assume that this is due to being at the front as, presumably, for a give rotor size both brakes have the same power) and that's clearly my experience (I have a larger front rotor too) – when descending at speed the front brake clearly slows the bike much faster than the rear.

At slower speeds the rear wheels tends and to lock easily and skid, with the front, the bike slows but the wheel doesn't lock (and I guess that this is a reason for using the front brake more).

This is probably all basic stuff but how do you lot tend to use the front/rear combinations is braking?

You're right that it's the basics; but it's the key to riding your bike. You need to move your weight around. Move your weight right back and you can use much more braking force. Both front and rear.

I can't see why your front wouldn't lock; it should be possible. Not always welcome, though, you need to be expecting it. That what they call modulation; it's feel and knowing how much squeeze gives the braking you want.

Your front is much more difficult to lock because it has much more weight pushing the tyre into the ground than the rear has.

And the more you brake the more your weight shifts onto the front wheel thus increasing the amount of force it can take, whilst simultaneously unweighting the rear, making it more prone to locking.

A way I had it described to me is:

– back brake for slowing down
– front brake for stopping

Although of course that's pretty simplistic and often you would use both, but I found it helpful. On steeper, techier stuff you don't want to be using much front brake as it will tend to push you forward and possibly over the bars. Also if it does lock out you will lose your steering.

If you just feather the back brake on steeper stuff you can shave off a bit of speed, and if it locks it's only the back wheel and you can afford to let it slide around a little without losing your steering.

Same for bike, motorbike, car etc. The harder you brake the more your weight moves forward. The ultimate result if you brake too hard with the front on a grippy surface is that your rear wheel comes off the ground – i.e. no weight on it at all. This is why the front brake has more effect. I am absolutely no expert, but the theory is that if you want to increase overall braking force, move your weight back when braking hard to keep a reasonable weight distribution between front and back