I’d be interested to know how it came about that we have our brake levers opposite to the rest of the world. Seems a bit daft, to me. Is there a reason for it?

IIRC its so you can keep the rear brake covered while indicating you’re turning right across the traffic. I think its the same in other LH driving countries.

Motorbikes – front brake on right everywhere (modern bikes anyway before someone points out Royal Enfields are different). So why pushbikes different?

Apparently Japan and New Zealand agree with us and run them front right rear left.

Ahh, good point re motorbikes. Indicators? Maybe my theory is cobblers! Curiouser and curiouser…..

I’ve heard the covering rear brake thing before, dunno if it’s legit or a common(ish) misconception tho

I think Stiggy is right. You can cover the rear brake while turning right and indicating.

Yeap, Stiggy is correct. Its for RH turn signal.

I have my bike setup continetal stylee, wrt brake levers.

Motorbikes – front brake on right everywhere

Yep, this is what bothers me too. It’s simply daft to have it different to a motorbike, no matter what anyone says.
IMO, being as most people are right handed, right hand is the dominant hand so therefore should control the dominant brake. Front dominates if you have two brakes. If you only have one rear (e.g. BMX racing) then it makes sense to have the one and only rear on the right.
🙂

As a motorcyclist, I’d hate to ride a bike with brakes the wrong way around.

Apart from the fixie where the only lever goes on the left so I can brake and signal right

The signalling reason has always struck me as odd as if you’re going fast enough when signalling that you can’t control your speed with the front brake you’re probably going too fast for the situation.

It’s not intended for ‘proper’ cyclists though is it, it’s for those who are taught the front brake is evil and will send you straight over the bars at the slightest provocation.

I think it makes (a modicum of) sense.

Grab a handful of rear brake by accident = a skid
Grab a handful of front brake by accident = OTB

‘We’ are not most cyclists.

Ru your brakes how you want. It isn’t that difficult to get used to them on each side.

I think the good reasons above are by happy accident. Originally the rear brake was considered most useful and therefore more important to cover when doing a more difficult right turn. Now we know different. I have UK brakes in Spain and it makes way more sense, eg. I can use the front brake when approaching a roundabout while signalling for the last exit.

Whatever the reason this summer I took a shuttle to the top of monte baldo in italy with a rental dh bike, set of full taps and ended up in a heap on the first corner… Funny now, embarassing then!

Is a load of bollocks – even the most unidextrous are more than capable of modulating a brake with their “wrong” hand – it’s not exactly a fine motor skill. It basically comes down to what you’re used to and are trained for – the vast majority of the world ride with the front brake controlled by their left hand and seem to do OK.

IMO, being as most people are right handed…

I literally laughed out loud at this.

Too many cloudy ales this afternoon PP?

I switched and became a wrongun since the 90’s. This was partly because the team I rode for’s best rider had done a season on a Belgian team and setup his bike that way around so our spare bikes were set up ‘continently’ and it was easier to be that way too. It might also have been because he was cool 😳

I also think rode bikes cable neater that way around.

It is also amusing to lend on of my bikes to unsuspecting friends!

Which is the reason I switched back in the early 90s! Not just road bikes either – front V brake routing certainly works better with a left hand lever.

Summary of all the best theories here on Sheldon Brown. I tend to find his conclusion the most persuasive:-

The theory that seems most probable to me is that the national standards arose from a concern that the cyclist be able to make hand signals, and still be able to reach the primary brake. This logical idea is, unfortunately, accompanied by the incorrect premise that the rear brake is the primary brake.

All my bikes, both with and without motor, were bought / built up here in Spain – which means my motorbike has the front brake on the right, while the pushbikes have it on the left. Not noticed any problems switching from one to the other…

At a guess motorbikes have the brake on the same side as the throttle – so you can’t brake and accelerate at the same time. Given most people are right-handed it makes sense for this to be on the right. AFAIK the use of a handlebar mounted clutch is a more recent invention, which is why it’s on the left.

PeterPoddy – Member

Motorbikes – front brake on right everywhere

Yep, this is what bothers me too. It’s simply daft to have it different to a motorbike, no matter what anyone says.[/quote]

and for the majority who don’t ride motorbikes?

for most not yanking on the front brake while trying to turn right seems like a good explanation and would account for the regional variations.

Although it’s easy to swap these days so not really an issue, most decent levers are reversible.

Years ago I was told by an ex pro that left front means you can drink/ eat/ mess with clothing in the pack and cover the main brake.

As per ratadog.
Right hand side road users use left hand to signal left and importantly here in north america the right turn signal is not a right arm extended, its the left arm out but bent towards the sky at the elbow. Always leaving right rear brake covered.
Motorcycles are not as flexible as you have the clutch/ gears on the left and braking on the left the right.

or really you can use the hand thats not covering the brake to drink/eat/mess with stuff

I think the brakes should be Euro and the shifters swapped too… IMxHO it would make for better hose and cable runs to the back end.

Surely that depends entirely on the frame? By crossing your cables you can usually get a neater routing anyway.

Agreed about the frame. I’d like the shifter on the left going to the mech on the right, the lever on the right going to the caliper on the left, and the braze-ons to suit 🙂

dazzlingboy – Member
Motorbikes – front brake on right everywhere (modern bikes anyway before someone points out Royal Enfields are different)

They’re not

dazzlingboy – Member So why pushbikes different?

Because on a pushbike both front and rear brakes are hand operated so it was originally to deal with the slowing with the back brake while indicating right thing.

I run right front rear left on all the bikes but the bmx’s. The rears are on the right as I broke my hand years ago and the left pinkie and finger next to it is weaker. so manuals (or my attempt at anything on the rear wheel for a short time) resulted in a feeling like my hand was about to come off. If there’s only one brake, it’s fine and there’s nothing to get used to. When both brakes are swapped over it seems to confuse the brain!

By crossing your cables you can usually get a neater routing anyway.

Do you mean cross the gear cables? how many frames can you do that on nowadays? I own one frame where both gear cables are downtube routed and I can’t cross them coz the downtube is too fat. Have tried crossing TT cables but doesn’t really work IME

With front cable port mechs available now dunno why downtube cable routing aren’t standard on HTs

If you only have one rear (e.g. BMX racing) then it makes sense to have the one and only rear on the right.

Nope, rear (only) brake on the left for me. Just because I don’t have a front brake, it’s no reason to change them around!

I have mine the other way from years ago buying a bike in the states, I have to remember to tell friends if they fancy a shot on one of my bikes, hopefully before they steam downhill!

A few Italian Pro’s have it same way round as us.
Gianni Bugno for example

Do you mean cross the gear cables? how many frames can you do that on nowadays? I own one frame where both gear cables are downtube routed and I can’t cross them coz the downtube is too fat. Have tried crossing TT cables but doesn’t really work IME
With front cable port mechs available now dunno why downtube cable routing aren’t standard on HTs

Dunno, admittedly I’m only running a rear mech cable, but easy to do on my Superfly, I ran the shifter to the LH side of the headtube, then diagonal under the TT, gives a much better routing.

When cycles and motorcycles started out – a long time ago – front brakes were seen as dangerous in the prevailing conditions at the time ie. no tarmac – dirt and gravel roads , many two wheeled and even 3/4 wheeled contraptions had only rear brakes , motorcycles had smaller brakes on the front than the rear – the dreaded front slip was a constant worry – hence the right turn/front brake location allowing a safe signal – it was not about efficient braking it was about safety.

Apart from the fixie where the only lever goes on the left so I can brake and signal right

I use my head to signal, or my elbow – I’m not taking my hands off the bars.

Handedness makes sense to me, not sure my left is as good at braking as my right but leaving that aside my right’s definitely stronger and is simply the one I’m used to doing the most work with. So doing the hard work with the hand that’s most used to it just makes sense