Due to having a rare condition, I cannot brake effectively with my right hand. So I tend to favour the rear brake when needing to slow down for corners. I would welcome your opinion on which tyre you think is good at stopping/braking when used on the rear.

I currently use a maxxis minion 2.35 60a. I mainly ride Peak District trails. 140mm full Sus (if that helps).

Cheers guys

Swap the brakes over.

1+, Swap the brakes over.

Swap the brakes over.

Seems like a sensible suggestion…

as above, far far more braking power is available from the front brake.

Thanks guys, I tried that couple of years ago, but kept crashing (my brain can’t cope with the confusion).

How long did you try for? It does take a while to get used to it, but you do. Far better than trying to slow down using a tyre which is unweighted – no tyre is ever going to be good at that.

Swap brakes over, you will get used to it after a while.

2 brake levers on one side. lower lever with less travel upper leaver with more, that way you can feather front and back as required and also pull on an anchors away moment!

+1 swap the levers over.

Choosing to do most of your braking with your rear wheel only seems a strange solution I’m afraid. Couple of rides and it will become 2nd nature.

+1 for what everyone else has said. You’d get used to it given time.

Failing that though… MAHOOSIVE rotor on the front, with soft compound pads, to give you easy single finger braking. Would say that your current rear tyre of choice, a Minion, is about up there on the braking stakes though anyway. Can’t immediately think of anything more suitable, as Minions are pretty damned good under braking, the problem being that the rear tyre is only gonna do max 15-20% of your stopping given weight shift under braking towards the front wheel!

sit down when you brake.don’t really sit down.but lower your arse back,roll your hips,keep your chin up.
or get the 2 brakes on one lever?
or just ride fixed off road.with a 3sp hub you’ll have all the gears you need.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/bike-brakes-for-people-with-one-hand

Tyres it is hard to know – really soft compound will help…

Only the one reply that’s even vaguely attempted to answer the question.?

Contrary to mboy’s stab at answering (well done for having the courage to take a guess tho 😉 ) a minion is not actually all that great a braking tyre, it does however brake very predictably.
For a tyre to have good braking characteristics the first thing it needs is good braking edges, which a minion doesn’t particularly.
A Highroller has better centre braking edges but unfortunately it has weird braking characteristics when braking while cornering or leant over making it want to push outwards.
The Newer Highroller II would offer a far better combination of straightline and cornering braking performance than the old HR or Minion out of the Maxxis DH range.

DO NOT EVER SIT DOWN WHILE BRAKING. the second you sit down you lose proper control of the tyres traction. instead, if you are only able to brake with the rear, shift your weight rearwards and lower as you brake to allow you to get more traction without locking up.. moving your body weight is equally as important as actual brake lever control and power.

I do agree with mboy in that your best bet is to run a very powerful front brake preferably with a short lever throw that can be set-up to bite v. close to the bars. (without knowing more about your particular condition) generally speaking we have more strength in our braking fingers the less stretched out they are at the brakes bite point. this also allows the non-braking fingers to hold onto the grips better while braking giving less hand fatigue.

Only the one reply that’s even vaguely attempted to answer the question.?

Most of us attempted to help solve the OP’s problem with difficulty stopping, rather than the one he thinks he has with tyre selection.

I remember an article where a team rider for Hope used a single lever with a splitter to both brakes.

If not I’d have thought something like a Nic with those wide centre blocks would be good for stopping. Whatever the tyre, running the widest at the lowest pressure would help.

Or ride a fixie or get back peddle brakes. There’s usually a solution.

Funnily enough a Minion DHR is likely to be a better braking tyre. But I’d put a huge rotor on the front instead!

the best braking tyres I’ve used are the michelin dh tyres.
I said the sit down motion.ie compressing yourself into the bike.not to sit down.
read it properly.

Emmanuel – I did read your post properly and you didn’t actually say any of that ^^ at all! If you read my reply properly you’ll find I was actually agreeing with you but making your easily misinterpereted description a little clearer by explaining why moving your weight helps. You might as well tell him to do the “hokey-cokey” if you’re not going to bother saying the reasoning behind it 😉

Chief – DHRs do indeed brake pretty well in a straight line but that’s about all they do well.. there’s a very good reason no decent riders really use them

yeah,you’re right.I thought the sitting down would convey the movement.
squatting as on the loo might have been better.
git your weight down.even clearer
still.ironic,I accuse you of not reading my post,when it was me not reading yours!ah well.sorry.

still,those michelin dh tyres are worth a look.
heavy as fk,don’t grip for shit.
last well though.
and brake well.in a straight line

and come up small.
perfect tyre.

No worries 8)

Which Michelins’ are you talking about? Michelin do more than a few DH tyre treads?

I would still suggest swapping the brakes over. I spent some time abroad (everyone else seems to run them the wrong way round!) and it took a while to get used to them but I persevered and now it feels strange riding a UK set up. The GF also runs hers rotated as she comes from a BMX background so her back brake is on the right. Now it’s only a problem when someone borrows my bike and I forget to tell them. Stick with it and you’ll get there. It’s like driving left hand drive cars and teaching yourself to be ambidextrous. It takes time (and quite a few mishaps) but worth it in the end. Tyres might help but when it’s steep and wet you’ll just end up locking up and stacking it anyway (just look at dirt jumpers riding trails with 1 brake)

Swapping over is still the only sensible/safe suggestion, picking a rear tyre that has good braking traction is one thing but doing it on the basis you can’t effectively use the front brake is a risk not worth taking IMO. There’s good reasons why the front brake is the correct one to use for the majority of your slowing down.

I’ve seen the two levers on one side set work well for a chap with only one hand; he beat me in a race to prove it.

allright,i looked for a picture of the garin bike in cyclopedia,the picture book,there’s another by fotheringham that’s nearly the same title,
anyway,can’t find any mention or picture on the interweb.so you’ll have to make do with a good old fashioned confused description.
it has no brake levers,the handlebars are hinged so you turn them inwards to brake.
obviously you’d need a travel agent,as it being a 1930s bike they won’t pull enough cable for vees,no hydros either.
you’re not supposed to brake in corners anyway.so no problems,as you can’t brake and steer at the same time.
the bike is a very nice violet colour.

Either that or (swap the levers around and) ride a 3sp fixed hub,so you can brake with your legs.
or get really creative with a motorbike foot brake lever.and swap your levers around.
or get a backpedal brake.and swap your levers around.(this)
in any case,your good hand should control the front brake.(and this)
&post your bodges!

Contrary to mboy’s stab at answering (well done for having the courage to take a guess tho )

I’m loving this kind of mutual respect for agreeing to disagree we’ve achieved… I feel very accepted by you now mate! Has to be said I almost missed you when you got banned the other day, but you weren’t gone long at least… 😉

Oh, and I had (rightly or wrongly) assumed a DHR on the rear of the OP’s bike. Pretty good rear tyre under braking (if not as good as a DHF for anything else) to be honest, can’t off the top of my head think of many that will be better purely for braking. Possibly a sand dune paddle tyre, maybe a full spike like a Michelin DH Mud (on grass), but not many others. The DHF as you say, doesn’t have the edges to be that great under braking, but like you say, it’s very predictable.

What can I say. Thanks guys for the creative thinking. It’s certainly making me think of the different possibilities.

Just a bit more background info:

My right hand (the rubbish one) can use the front brake (Hope V2, organic pads, 180 rotor) when going slowly or fast over smooth ground. The problem occurs when things get rough and fast and that’s when I have to concentrate on holding onto the bars. I then feather the rear brake to keep the speed managble and look way into the distance to way up what’s happening. I can (although it’s delayed) move my right hand to use the front brake, but it’s far from ideal and It can be quite painful/uncomfortable.

I really like the idea of using both brakes with my good hand. Anyone had any experience with this?
How would you imagine I set it up ?

Thanks guys

Go to a hydralic repair shop, show them your brakes and they will supply you with some hose and banjos that will connect one lever to both brakes. Ive had some custom hose work done on the hydraulic clutch on my racing KTM motorcycle, cost bugger all, just bits out of the parts bin from a supplier who stocks Goodrich hoses.

Then ditch the right hand one and use the left to operate both at the same time.

Or write to Hope and ask them to sort it for you – they are the sort of engineering company small enough to care about their customers but big enough to have the time and expertise to sort your problem.

I too would advocate the single lever set up with dual piping (think it was a disabled rider featured in MBUK not too long ago with a custom made jobbie by Hope and a fancy stabiliser on the bar/stem too to help with stability/steering. Hope are well worth approaching as they may have machined stuff on the shelves.
Is there anything that you can do to improve your condition ie Powerball exercises?

Something like this came up previously and someone on here found a brake designed for a quad bike or pilot style buggy that was designed with one lever and two calipers from the off.
I think it was a little heavy but the advantage was that the pistons and reservoirs were all the right size relative to each other.
I think.
Sorry I can’t remember more but someone will. Just hoping it wasn’t TJ that had the information.

having read GW and mboy on the subject I’d just like to say “swap the brakes over” +1 😳

We seem to have convinced you to do that but you’re now on the way to doing both before you’ve tried just the front with your left hand. It’ll be complicated and fairly expensive and you may find you don’t really need it

… mind, I’m not rad, so what do I know

Or just stick both levers on the left hand side to see how it feels…