At 12:27 AM +0100 1/18/09, Michael Schmid wrote:
>Just to set this right, although there is a regulation in the german DIN
>(Deutsch Industrie Norm)that the front brake is attached to he right
>brake lever, which came from the tradition of a coster brake as a main
>brake, today almost all race bikes in germany are set up attaching the
>right lever to the rear brake.
I was wondering about this, because when I was a child in Germany, my
Peugeot 10-speeds were set up left-front. Recently, in a "Home
Depot"-style store, I saw inexpensive bikes with the right-front
setup, and when I looked it up, I found the DIN requirement. Now that
would be fun, when you upgrade from a cheap bike to a more expensive
one, you also have to relearn your reflexes...
>The explanation given to me alway was
>that as a righthander your right hand is the stronger one and this setup
>minimizes the risk of going over the bars in case of an emergency brake.
If you shift your weight back, you are not going to go over the
handlebars even if you brake hard. And with good brakes, you can
obtain maximum brake power even with your left hand.
>Only coaster brake bikes or very cheap bikes are set up the other way
>round.
>Regards
All the claims of superiority of one setup or the other are spurious. In the end, both ways of setting up your bike are equally valid.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
140 Lakeside Ave #C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com