different speeds and on different surfaces. To better understand this, experiment a little by walking your bike and applying different amounts of pressure to each brake lever, until the wheel locks.
WARNING: Some bicycle brakes, such as
! becoming familiar with these brakes and exercise particular care when using them. Applying these brakes too hard or too suddenly can lock up a wheel, which could cause you to lose control and fall.
When you apply one or both brakes, the bike begins to slow, but your body wants to continue at the speed at which it was going. This causes a transfer of weight to the front wheel (or, under heavy braking, around the front wheel hub, which could send you flying over the handle- bars). A wheel with more weight on it will accept greater brake pressure before lockup; a wheel with less weight will lock up with less brake pres- sure. So, as you apply brakes and your weight shifts forward, you need to shift your body toward the rear of the bike, to transfer weight back on to the rear wheel; and at the same time, you need to both decrease rear braking and increase front braking force. This is even more important on steep descents, because descents shift weight forward.
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