having spent time this weekend documenting skill videos on youtube

i find it utterly impossible to achieve this,i have to use all my fingers whilst braking 😯

change your brakes.

Change your cockpit.

I’m not sure what you’re using but one finger braking shouldn’t a problem. I’m running the 2012 XT brakes and they are a joy to use with one finger.

Change your finger? Whereas I use my index finger, some like to use the middle finger.

change your hand position on the bars and lever position.
I one finger brake with either my index or middle finger

You need to practice one-handed. All good riders brake one handed.

Move your brakes inwards so that you can only reach the lever with your index finger. With any hydraulic brakes one finger braking should be easy, and with any decently set up cable brakes it should be fine.

Having the bite point closer to the bar will help, as will having the lever at an angle so you can have your wrists sort of behind the bar whilst you brake. Then just practice.

i have to use all my fingers whilst braking

All of them? Even on my ancient cantilever-braked Marin commuter I only really need two fingers on each hand. Something is probably wrong with your brakes, get them serviced.

Move your brakes inboard more, I found it forced one finger and as your pulling the end of the lever you get ample leverage.

having spent time this weekend documenting skill videos on youtube

maybe you should ride more 😉

my brakes lever clamps are 3 fingers width from the edge of the grip – so that my index finger rests nicely in the end of the hook of the lever. are yours butted up against the grip? i see this a lot.

Middle finger braking here for me. I find it much better with the levers a fair way from the bar so as to have the brake bite point when your finger is at its strongest Push the brakes inboard helps as well so your are on the outer end of the lever

It all depends on how your brakes & shifters are laid out on the bars.

Start by moving your brake levers towards the stem, so that the little hook of the lever sits comfortably under your index finger. This not only gives you the maximum leverage from the single finger, it also prevents the end of the lever from overlapping your middle finger – allowing a longer pull without danger of crushing the middle finger.

To acheive this, you may need to swap the positions of the shifters and brakes. Brakes seem to come fitted on the outside, and moving them towards the stem means that you have to move the shifters too. Swapping them round avoids this problem, so I can’t understand why this configuration isn’t the standard way of doing it.

I did this on my first bike – after a couple of years with the standard configuration – and was delighted by how little braking fatigue I know get. I was so pleased, I applied the same configuration to a new build, and would never go back.

A full hand of braking for me normally means, too fast, out of control, all fingers to the deck 😉

using all my fingers is a habit i have picked up,and i do tend to hang on for dear life slightly.
i have hopel brakes
what does one mean by cockpit?

if one finger doesnt stop you, new brakes (or a bleed and new pads) you need

also braking with more than one finger means less fingers wrapped around the bars which means less control and safety

Hope Brakes? They should be more than sufficient to stop you. How old are they? Have they had time to bed in?

I’ve heard a rumour of a voice activated braking system in development.

All you have to do is say “Whoaa boy Whoaa” and by the pitch of your voice it knows how much to brake.

Does it matter? Look at it this way, your technique has built-in failsafe redundancy. All these one finger johnnies will be stuffed if their finger falls off, whereas you have a spare.

Have you tried moving the levers further in?

i have to use all my fingers whilst braking

Do you grit your teeth and close your eyes too? 😆

Have been playing with this too – one finger braking seems frighteningly fast at times. Might try the middle finger idea though.

I’ve heard a rumour of a voice activated braking system in development.

All you have to do is say “Whoaa boy Whoaa” and by the pitch of your voice it knows how much to brake.

Or an eye detection system, which brakes harder depending on how much you squint 😉

one finger or two….. 😯

Must be something wrong with your brakes. Stop lubing your brake discs. I don’t know how anyone controls their bike on tecnhical terrain if they use more than one, or max two fingers. I need the others wrapped around my handlebars to control where the damn bike is going!

Two fingers works well for me, both on the mtb and the motorbike. Seems to leave plenty of grip on the bars but give more control over brake levers than one finger.

Seems to leave plenty of grip on the bars but give more control over brake levers than one finger.

really… you’re doing it wrong

Have you tried moving the levers further in?

i have not tried that method no so thats next on the list of tasks to do.

i probably do grit my teeth yes i certainly am not the best of cyclists but one does try.

I started with Canti brakes and you needed as many fingers as you get on the levers to work those bu**ers.

After twenty years of two or more fingers I decided two years ago to retrain myself to one finger braking… I moved my levers so I could only use one finger, and I had it sorted on that first ride. One finger is all I need now and I love it.

XTR brake levers only have enough room for two fingers at most.. One finger braking for me.

i have to use all my fingers whilst braking

Are you using v brakes and cleaning your rims with baby oil?

Milkie – how long are your thumbs?!

Milki – thumb……and index finger – I guess you dont change gear or use the dropper too often.

4 fingers on the bars to hold on for dear life, 1 finger pulling at the end of the lever = easy get enough braking with any half decent brake

Milkies set up looks pretty familiar to me; The outer edge of the lever clamp on my bike is c.55mm inboard of the inner edge of the grips, which is optimal for single finger braking for me.

To be fair, I’d like my shifters about 8mm nearer the grips, but have matchmaker mounts, so it is what it is.

Hopes will stop you just fine, sounds like contaminated pads/rotors or a bleed is in order..?

I’m 50/50 on troll or clueless. Go and buy this and come back when you understand it and can apply some of it: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Mountain-Skills-Brian-Lopes/dp/0736083715

Alternatively, move your brakes inward (the other side of your shifters) so only your index finger can reach them. Sorted.

I’ll add that a pair of juicy fives did require 2 fingers to get enough power (and that was coming from v brakes so I was used to high braking loads) but when I sapped to XT’s (the slightly older version) it was great with just a single finger. However, it did take me a while to get used to only taking one finger off the bar.

transapp – Member

However, it did take me a while to get used to only taking one finger off the bar.

I keep the one finger on the brake pretty much all the time, even when not braking. Possibly not a good thing.

Some hydraulics are just gash even if you bleed them properly and have ‘bitey’ pads fitted. Shimano M485’s are an example of a bad brake. They always feel soft after multiple bleed attempts and techniques, with 1 finger almost able to pull the lever to the bars.

My Juicy 5’s feel strong in comparison, with a definite bite point and strong enough to one finger brake. After moving them inboard to force one finger braking it’s now the norm. I do have a 200mm rotor though, because I’m fairly heavy.

I used to find it impossible to one finger brake and felt far more comfortable two finger braking, however with a lot of different setups to my cockpit and brake lever adjustments I finally achieved one finger braking, I changed my Hope M4 levers to the Tech one with bite and reach adjustment which gave me more powerful brakes without the need to feel I had to pull so hard on my levers, I moved my lever setup inward and at an angle that followed my natural forearm and hand alignment. I now have far better control and braking than ever before.