Trail braking?

[ericr]

Originally Posted by No Worries

Not only am I a scientist, but I'm a realist too. Compare the stopping distance of cruisers with sportbikes in the magazines. The cruisers weight 200-300 pounds more, have smaller rotors, and touring tires, but stop in the same distance. If they put sticky tires on the cruisers, they would stop quicker. Could it be that the cruiser has two wheels on the ground while stopping?

If I was on a modern sportbike braking so hard for a tight curve that my rear wheel was off the ground, I don't think I could successfully make the turn. Anyway, it doesn't take a modern sportbike to go quickly down Lookout Mountain, as some bicyclists go down quicker than many sportbikes.

Sooner or later, someone from TWF will make it out to Denver and will want to ride Lookout Mountain. I want them to know how to ride it quickly and safely.

You have to take into account the weight bias of sportbikes vrs cruisers though. Most cruisers have probably 60-70% of thier weight on the rear wheel at rest. Most modern sportbikes have 49% of thier weight on the rear at rest. When braking and the wieght transfers forward, the back tire contact on a sportbike is negligible. The cruiser still won't hit 50-50% even under braking in most cases so the rear brake helps a lot more on them.