[Closed] Adapting to euro/us style brakes

Didn't bother reading what was written did you....
So STW...

Who? Me?

I'm in the none issue camp. Far less tricky than first time driving abroad.

Don't know how true that is or if there is some authoritative source for the info..

Sheldon Brown couldn't find one.

[i]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.
For this reason, I set my own bikes up so that the right hand controls the front brake, which is not the norm in the U.S.

I also do this because I'm right-handed, and wish to have my more skillful hand operate the more critical brake.[/i]

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

I am pretty sure I would find it very hard to adapt based on riding hire bikes with euro style brakes, motorcycles with different gear shift sides and bicycles with different direction twistshifters.

I would go so far as to say that for me it would be really quite dangerous so it would be swap or not ride for anything other than bimbling riding

I never understood why this is a big deal.

When I first moved over here (the UK) 15 years ago, I brought my Trek Fuel 90 with me. It obviously had the brakes on the North American way. I didn't know there was a difference, but when I then bought a bike in the UK, I tried it, thought to myself "oh, the brakes are on the other way 'round", and got on with riding.

Today, one of my road bikes has its brakes on the Euro/NA way, and I hardly notice.

Don't worry about it!

Did a week in Majorca on a hired full sus with euro brakes. Never again - it was fine 95% of the time but the 5% was the fun steep stuff and my brain just reverted to UK set up.

This logical idea is, unfortunately, accompanied by the incorrect premise that the rear brake is the primary brake.

I have to confess, however, that though I live in France I swap my bikes over to the proper and correct way i.e. Front brake on the [s]fapping[/s] stronger hand because that's how I like it. I had a dilemma with my son's Isla and left him with them the "wrong" way round having [s]over analysed the question for weeks and weeks[/s] considered things and decided he might borrow bikes likely to be set up the other way in the future, so was probably better off complying to the norm.

I am pretty sure I would find it very hard to adapt based on riding hire bikes with euro style brakes

i was pretty sure i would too, in reality it made no difference at all.

Interesting variation in responses here. My guess is that it reflects the wide range of people on here and OP should certainly not assume that just because some people don't have problems, that they won't either.

Personally, I've ridden UK-brakes on bikes for 30 years now and I am 100% confident that no matter how much I chant "right is rear, right is rear", when thing go wrong, I [i]will[/i] grab the wrong brake and grab it hard, and it [i]will[/i] hurt like hell!

For me, at least, it would be "swap the brakes, or don't ride" without any question whatsoever. Useful thread though, and I'm going to take my [url= https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Park-Tool-MWF1-Flare-Nut-Wrench-For-Hydraulic-Brakes_100309.htm ]trusty flare spanner[/url] with me when I next head off to foreign climes with the intention of renting a bike.

If it's a week from now then switch your own brakes across now to get used to it. Ive switched all my bikes now and it does take a while to get properly used to bit you do. As mentioned by others, the problem isn't when you are cruising along but rather when you have to brake suddenly.

Could you not just leave the levers as they are but cross your arms over, that way right hand will still operate front brake?

jambo - I have ridden with wrong way brkes - It was fine for pootling around but I didn't get used to it even over a whole days riding and if I wasn't concentrating on which brake to use I grabbed the wrong one.

I wonder if the different responses come from whether you are in the "[i]slow rider, brake dragging camp[/i]" (as this is unlikely to make a huge difference if slowly riding adn draggin either brake) or you're in the "[i]thrash the bejeesus out of my bike, snatch the rear brake, skid the tyre, 100%on/off braking camp[/i]"??

DrP

DrP - I am in the ride slowly but brake hard using front brake mainly camp - hence grabbing the rear instead leads to skidding not stopping

First trip Les Gets, I rode a hire bike with brakes euro style and didn't die. I'm a bimbler though, so was riding conservatively, if as others have said if your more aggressive/on the limit type of rider you could run into problems.

I'll never get why Euros and the Yanks use the left lever for the front. The front requires fine modulation so as you don't flip over the bars - most people are right hand dominant, thus having better co-ordination with the right hand surely?

See..i disagree with this "more control with the right hand" argument....

I'd crash and die because I'd think i was grabbing the rear brake, and it'd be the front. Nothing to do with not enough 'modulation'..

People can modulate/control a brake jsut fine with either hand (the control needed to wheelie needs to be fine... rear brake etc etc).

I tried riding trials at the Morzine trials show at the PdS in 2011 (i think). I'm actually (well, was) a pretty good trials rider. I looked like a complete rookie buffoon as the bike was set up euro style 😳

DrP

I'm not so sure, have you ever watched someone play the Piano for the first time?

And I don't just mean the inability to seperate what you're doing with each finger, but the fact that they cannot get the dynamics right - especially with their non-dominant hand. I reckon dynamics are a pretty good indicator of how well you can modulate your brakes.

I read somewhere that driving on the left is statistically safer as well, because more people are right hand and right eye dominant.

Interesting variation of responses, thanks all. I'm already in the US not riding, so experimenting with my own bike not possible. No tools or owt with me except an Allen key multi tool.

Have been told over the phone that they are running Shimano brakes on their rental fleet. So therein lies the issue. Not sure how well they'd take to being run upside down.

I'm just going to not book and turn up at the shop on Saturday and offer them a bit of extra money to swap them over. Its the penultimate day of the season for the bike park so hopefully they'll see it as a chance to wring the last few quid out of one of the hires before they flog them all.

If they're dicks about it I'll just go hiking instead. Have had my Mtb holiday earlier in the summer so not feeling like I've got to ride.

I've done it twice. Once was at a MTB event I rode in Austria, I arrived with a broken bike, so had to hire one. 211km, 7,000m climbing, and descending with no problems on brakes the wrong way.
2nd time was a road bike hire, no problems descending Etna at speed.

I read somewhere that driving on the left is statistically safer as well, because more people are right hand and right eye dominant.

Something to do with ducking to the left when the other tribe lobbed rocks at you. That's why driving on the left is the correct way according to the Institute of Studies - we always swerve left to the safety of the ditch*.

Hth
Marko
*This might be made up (or true).

Incidentally I'm also riding in Santa Cruz whilst I'm here on a factory demo bike. They've got no issues swapping brakes over for me. So the guys at mammoth are being a bit dickish imo.

I hired a Surly Krampus in the States. Cable disks do 2 minute job to correct the setup myself.
Wouldn't even consider ridding in any serious way with them arse about face.

Something to do with ducking to the left when the other tribe lobbed rocks at you. That's why driving on the left is the correct way according to the Institute of Studies - we always swerve left to the safety of the ditch*.

Hth
Marko
*This might be made up (or true).

[b]Institute of studies[/b]

I assume this is a joke - as you're referencing the Daily Mash

but

Research in 1969 by J. J. Leeming showed countries driving on the left have a lower collision rate than countries driving on the right, although he acknowledged that the sample of left-hand rule countries he had to work with was small, and he was very careful not to claim that his results proved that the differences were due to the rule of the road. It has been suggested this is partly because humans are more commonly right-eye dominant than left-eye dominant. In left-hand traffic, the predominantly better-performing right eye is used to monitor oncoming traffic and the driver's wing mirror. In right-hand traffic, oncoming traffic and the driver's wing mirror are handled by the predominantly weaker left eye. In addition, it has been argued that left sided driving is safer for elderly people given the likelihood of their having visual attention deficits on the left side and the need at intersections to watch out for vehicles approaching on the near-side lane. Furthermore, in an RHD car with manual transmission, the driver maintains his or her right (i.e. in the majority of people, dominant) hand on the steering wheel at all times and uses their left hand to change gear.

I run my brakes the Euro way round and if I borrow a bike from a friend it’s a bit of work to remember which way round things are. I’m not sure I’d want to ride anything that wasn’t a chunk inside my comfort zone though.

Those telling you that you'll adapt quickly are either deluded, lucky or perambulators. If you have time to think Right = Rear then you're riding with my Grandma. Either swap them or don't ride anything more challenging than a towpath.

I think I agree. If I was riding somewhere familiar then possibly I'd give it a go and see how I got on. It isn't worth trying it and breaking myself and ruining the rest of my holiday though. Also, the unhelpfulness of the companies in question isn't motivating me to give them my cash. Will speak to them in person about swapping them over and see what happens.

Those telling you that you'll adapt quickly are either deluded, lucky or perambulators. If you have time to think Right = Rear then you're riding with my Grandma. Either swap them or don't ride anything more challenging than a towpath.

You'll adapt quickly 😀

Would it be economical to buy a set of saints/ SLX/ Deore in a USA bike shop, have the levers swopped in the shop, attach them to the hire bike and then flog them on eBay when you return?

Would it be economical to buy a set of saints/ SLX/ Deore in a USA bike shop, have the levers swopped in the shop, attach them to the hire bike and then flog them on eBay when you return?

This, flog a set of Zees to me. In London, if you're near by and the brakes aren't ****ed by the time you get back, I'll pay for them in cash - or via paypal if you so wish.

Those telling you that you'll adapt quickly are either deluded, lucky or perambulators. If you have time to think Right = Rear then you're riding with my Grandma. Either swap them or don't ride anything more challenging than a towpath.

No, just better than you at a simple task.

At what? Riding with his grandma?

You pervert.

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All this talk of going over the bars by grabbing the wrong brake is nonsense.

I can go over the bars by grabbing the correct brake so its clearly not to do with swapping!

If anything, at least for right-handers, grabbing far too much brake will be on the rear, causing a 27ft skid rather than an OTB.
Maybe cack-handed lefties might OTB rather than skid? 😉

If anything, at least for right-handers, grabbing far too much brake will be on the rear, causing a 27ft skid rather than an OTB

This +1, panic braking on a hired road bike & I hit the "skid but don't slow down very much" brake twice in the same emergency stop manoeuvre

I rode a bmx for 20+ years with my brakes euro. Had a few years away from cycling but returned with my first mtb that had brakes the wrong way round. Must have been the break but i had no issue adapting. Fast forward ten years and i order a set of brakes that arrive euro. I thought it'd be piss easy to revert to my old ways of braking so didn't swap them over. First ride was interesting (wet dh). More crashes in one run than the last few years combined. Nothing too dramatic - a few otbs and a lot of accidental front dabs at inconvenient times with predictable results. I'm used to it now mind, three months later. The only way to know if you'll adapt quickly is to try it out.