8541Hawk

Our tip today is a turning point for every rider that begins using it, and from the point that it is part of their day to day riding they never go back to how they rode before they learned this technique, or more accurately this "System"

A general explanation of trail braking is that as you enter a corner you continue to have brake pressure into and sometimes through the corner releasing pressure slowly, deliberately in a manner that allows the bike to not only slow down controlling the speed but also allowing the suspension and tire to take on the loads safely. It is the release of this brake pressure and where that release takes place that trail braking is all about. We release the brake lever in a manner that the suspension and the tire are not subjected to extraneous forces that could effect the desired line or worse yet, lesson traction. So that is it, trail braking describes how a rider releases or Trails off of the brakes.

So how we can learn to bring this into our riding requires a bit of patience and quite a bit of practice because in many riders they have been instructed to have all their braking completed before any corner, many are taught and firmly believe use of the brakes in a corner will cause them to fall down or other such horror stories. Many people have had situations where they applied brakes in a corner and the bike stood up or worse, they lost grip and had an accident. This is all true and thus why this is an advanced technique and one that requires a rider to learn it at a level that is safe.

Starting off we should get a feel of what the bike we ride does while braking into a corner. The safest way to test this is to use a large open parking lot and do a drill called a J turn. at first you want to enter the turn with just enough brake pressure to feel the bike slow but not have the suspension load up. So for the initial runs just roll up to the turn apply light brakes and go through the turn making note of how as the bike slows the the rate of the turn increase, or in other words you and the your bike are able to tighten up the corner by quite a bit. What normally will happen in the beginning of this drill is the rider has a difficult time making it more then half way through the 180 degree turn before all momentum is lost and they are required to release the brakes and pick back up the throttle. So the rider must learn to brake less but longer. This in its self is quite illuminating as the rider realizes that they are using less brake pressure yet have more control, they are putting less load on their tire then doing this drill in a traditional manner.


see attachment for a view of the J pattern and 90 degrees of trail braking.



This diagram shows how just as we pick up the brakes smoothly as we are closing the throttle, we do the same but in reverse at the release point. That is the trail part of this exercise.

Continue practicing this paying attention to controlling the line, not allowing the bike to wobble/weave at mid corner. You will do this with precise body position and looking through the corner. The looking through the corner is very important for when this technique comes into play out on the street.

What you are beginning to get a handle on is this system of riding where you can continue to brake right up to the point you are ready to open the throttle (The Exit). This is an important concept because it is going to remove an element that is in your riding now, that element is The coast If you are ever coasting, as in not braking but not accelerating you not giving the bike a control, or as I tend to say, you are out of control. That will be the key to this system of riding is it makes you have more control of a situation by forcing you to break down every corner you enter into its entrance and its exit. You never open the throttle till you see the exit so you want to stay on the brakes in a very small manner up to that point. So the real skill is how long you can trail off the brakes. The experts at this can carry brakes for what seems like forever. When you follow them their brake light seems to never go out, yet they are smooth and carry impressive pace.


This is the introduction to this system.

RWhisen

Thanks for the tips. After riding on the dirt for 20 years I had to teach myself what the front brake was for when I hit the street. Fortunately I have always used a combination of front and rear brakes on the street to get the bike to do what I want it to do. Seems like second nature to me.

8541Hawk

No worries and glad to help. On the street, most of your braking comes from the front.

The rear brake and its proper use is another topic and an even more advanced skill but can be used for things like tightening you line through a corner or setting the chassis is certain situations, along with just helping slow you down if you are going in a straight line.....

7moore7

Funny that picture helps as much as anything...

I think I've been trail braking a little this whole time but not been conscious about it. I never really felt right coasting through the corner. Started out braking as much as needed until the corner like they teach you in MSF and then slowly accelerated out. But riding more and more that braking sort of bled into the corner and accelerating started later.

I should really take some more riding classes...