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4/1/2008
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US
Xracer
6/20/2018 5:40am
6/20/2018 5:40am
Edited Date/Time
6/23/2018 6:19am
Several times over the years I've seen guys put in good rides with "no brake" (witness Barcia last weekend). Makes me wonder...for all the fawning we do over the brakes on modern bikes...are they overrated? At the pro level, amazing OEM brakes aren't good enough, so they put on billet calipers, big rotors, etc. Then Barcia goes out a gets a 3rd with no brake at all? Seems like old Schwinn bike brakes would suffice for most guys. I had this epiphany a few years ago when I restored an 84' RM250 for VMX and discovered that I absolutely loved the old dual leading-show drum brake on that thing. So progressive and easy to modulate and still enough power to lock the wheel with a man-sized, 2-finger squeeze. The rear suspension was really good too, but that's another story. Anyhow I started hating modern brakes after that...too touchy, just altogether too much for a 225-pound thing. I know all you pro weekend warriors who "feel frame flex" and such will disagree and call me names, but I know there are some of you slowly nodding in agreement.
The Shop
-Ricky Carmichael
(context: he was talking about supercross)
Makes me think he's dragged the brake forever
I'd guess good riders can go 70-75% of their normal speed with only one functioning brake. To get to their fastest laps, they need both to perform like normal.
I'd also think that with the available engine braking it's easier to pull that off in the four-stroke era.
Pit Row
with engine braking you can get away with using very little braking or if you spend enough time practicing without touching it you can do laps where you almost never use and instead just throw the bike over in corners, but thats some pretty high level confidence
A little thing I do sometimes when laid over accelerating through a rutted berm is give a mini tap to the front brake while still on the gas. It keeps me settled in and from popping up or out to soon. It’s on tight turns mostly. Barely any pressure at all to the lever, but it works for me.
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