>>>Now that the bar-wrap saga is almost laid to rest, may I submit "brake
>>>levers" for discussion...In England, since most of us rode fixed wheel in
>>>the winter and even early season time-trials, the one and only brake
>>>lever was on the right hand side. Various ideas of this were that we rode
>>>on the left-hand side of the road, the right hand was generally the
>>>stronger of the two and mainly, if a young chick had joined the group, it
>>>was easier to push her along into a head-wind. When racing on the
>>>Continent, the mechanic would oblige my request to switch the cables
>>>around but with some mirth. On emigrating to the States in 1974, I thought
>>>it best to "go with the flow" and did my brakes American and Continental
>>>style...all went well until 2 years ago on the "Sunday Bash" whilst in
>>>Britain....I switched bikes with a young chap who wanted to try a
>>>Campagnolo Record equipped bike ...with about 5 miles to go and in
>>>pouring rain, we went down a 1 in 4 (called Scarth Nick),,,and I tapped
>>>the wrong side lever going into a bend...The bike did a complete 180 ..I
>>>managed luckily to stay upright,,,but even luckier, the other guys
>>>thought I did the manouver on purpose and marvelled at my performance..
>>>
>>>So, which is the correct side? COLIN LAING ( awaiting Obama's stimulus
>>>check)
The current Bicycle Quarterly "Brake Special" (Winter 2008) has a discussion of brake setup. Of course, it comes down to personal preference.
One of our editorial team prefers "right front" because he considers his front brake too important to be left to his less coordinated hand.
The other member of the editorial team prefers left-front, because his right hand is too important for eating, reaching for bottles, and shifting, to be bothered with minor tasks like braking. (With good brakes, you don't need huge hand strength to brake effectively.)
The different national traditions also are explained in detail in the above-mentioned article. Germany, Italy and Britain prefer (or mandate) right-front. France and the U.S. prefer left-front. Why? The reason actually is the way the rear brake is actuated...
In the 1920s, most bikes had brakes only at the rear. Later, front brakes became mandatory (except in the U.S., where they still are not required). Countries that used coaster brakes then used the right hand when they added a (front) rim brake. (Most people are right-handed.) Countries that already used a rear rim brake (operated with the right hand) had only the left hand remaining to operate the new (front) brake. (The U.S. simply followed French tradition when Schwinn introduced the first mass-market bikes with rim brakes.)
So no way is right, just like riding on the right or the left of the road is a matter of convention, rather than one being better than the other.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
140 Lakeside Ave #C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com