How To Brake On A MTB

Braking correctly on a mountain bike is one of the biggest learning challenges, and braking efficiently represents one of the leading problems for new and inexperienced mountain bikers.

Poor mountain bike braking technique is a massive cause of crashes and accidents. For amateur riders, it’s incredibly easy to travel too fast and run out of talent before slamming on the brakes at the last minute, locking up the bike's wheels, causing a loss of traction and, in all likelihood, a fall.

Part of avoiding poor braking performance is to practice riding more and improve scanning down trails reading obstacles and areas of the mountain bike trail which require braking and those areas which do not require braking. This skill has been well covered on our blog before. However, this post will look at the different braking methods on a mountain bike and how and when to deploy them. One of the best ways of predicting the trail ahead and braking evenly is to ride with one finger covering the brakes - this allows for instant smooth braking performance, rather than snatching and grabbing at the brakes at the last minute.

Progressive Braking/Smooth Braking

It takes a little time to learn the response of your mountain bike brakes, but once you have done - you can start to master the art of progressive braking. It’s important to remember that mountain bike brakes can perform right across their range of stopping power, it’s not a case of entirely on, or completely off. Learning how to brake progressively eliminates the risk of over-braking and skidding - and in doing so, allows you to get a great feel of your bike and how to scrub speed off effectively. An example of this in action, is how light braking allows the front wheel of the bike to become weighted, increasing grip Vs slamming on the front brake and having the wheel skidding.

MTB Braking Body Position

As your bike brakes and slows, it’s logical that your body position needs to change on the bike - to deal with all the different forces at play. As your bike slows down, your body will naturally head towards the front end of the bike, and in extreme cases - this can see your head over the handlebars. To counteract this, the best way to negate this is to extend your arms and move your hips backwards. Remember to keep your body relaxed when braking and look ahead at obstacles and terrain you will be riding over.

Using Both MTB Brakes

Mountain Bikes are universally equipped with two brakes for a reason, both have their different uses, and both need use at other times. Most of us will remember a time when we have grabbed a handful of the front brake when descending and almost ended up over the handlebars - the result of this for some mountain bikers is to prevent the front brake when descending ultimately - using only the rear brake in fear of a repeat performance of harsh front braking.

The most effective way of controlling speed when descending is to use both the front and rear brakes. Avoiding the front brake is not advised, with it providing around 70% of the bike's total braking power. The rear brake can only give about 30% of the braking power that the front brake can, so is best suited for regulating speed when travelling over obstacles and tricky terrain.

If you want to stop in the shortest possible time, use the front and rear brakes together. There are many reasons to do so; when brakes are applied together and evenly, the back brake negates some of the extreme effects of the front brake, allowing for a very controlled braking experience.

Avoid Skidding On An MTB

Although skidding is helpful in extreme situations, such as when riding down the steepest dropoffs - it’s not recommended for general use. That’s because when riding down technical descents, the more momentum your wheels have, the more grip they have. There’s a fine balance between finding the right speed and remaining in complete control.

Brake Before Corners

This is a mistake many riders make, especially more inexperienced mountain bikers. Ideally, always brake before the corner and not whilst you are in the act of cornering. This takes practice to perfect, scrubbing off enough speed to feel comfortable around the corner, but the results are massive - with braking when cornering being a key reason that riders lose grip and control of their bike.