Brake Levers. Left - Right?

[prm]

Over the past few months bumped into several road bikes from around the 50-70s era, with rear brake lever fitted on the right. Down tube mech shifters were standard configuration. Right - rear. Left - front.

Has UK front braking always been on the right for all types of bikes? Did any UK manufactures adopted this style, or were these bikes imports from US/European regions??

Many Thanks

[PW]

This one comes up fairly often. Both methods have their adherents, but IIRC a British bike is required to be set up with R/H lever working front brake AT THE POINT OF SALE. I *think* but won't swear that it's the opposite on the continent, Campag instruction leaflets are for L/H front.
There's no law requiring you to use either method once you have the bike at home, so fit it up as you want it.

[thirdcrank]

... Has UK front braking always been on the right for all types of bikes? Did any UK manufactures adopted this style, or were these bikes imports from US/European regions?? ...

The point of sale stuff mentioned by PW is fairly recent. I think it's fair to say the standard UK set-up has always been RH front, although some people swap, as PW says. In the days when one front brake + fixed was common, most riders had that single lever on the right. I don't know why because it means you cannot indicate a right turn and brake, but then the brakes in those days were useless anyway.

[drossall]

It's all down to disagreement over which brake you should favour. The vast majority say that your favoured brake should be on the left (right for Continental riders), because it will be available while signalling to turn across the road (and therefore across two traffic streams). A small number of people argue that your stronger hand should get the favoured brake, irrespective of any consideration of turning across the traffic.

Orthodoxy says that the back brake should be favoured. This is because front-wheel skids are more disastrous, a skid is more likely if you are having to use only one brake, and there is a danger of going over the bars. The counter-argument is that the front brake is more powerful, front skids are less likely (because braking throws weight forward and increases traction on the front), skilled riders don't over-brake and lock up the front wheel, and you shouldn't brake while turning anyway.

Personally, I favour that counter-argument, and have my front brake on the left. However, I have a reproduction copy of The Comic from WWII, and they were arguing about it then, so if you disagree I don't see that we are going to settle it by having the debate again now.

As has already been said, at point of sale in the UK, the front brake must be connected to the right lever.

[fixer]

I have my front brake lever on the left, purely because my front brake calipers (sidepull) has the cable clamp on the right (when looking at the front of the brake, it's on the left). This gives a smoother and more symmetrical bends to the front and back cables. The levers are the older non-aero type, for cables the run under the bar tape I suppose it doesn't make much difference which side.

Other than for this reason, I think it really doesn't matter, you get used to using the brakes whichever side they are on.

[drossall]

Actually, if you think about it, when cable runs under the bar tape it makes more difference, because the cable emerges from the tape on the right-hand bar just above the front brake, and that's quite a tight turn to reach the calliper. However, it's plainly not a problem because many, many riders have that set up.

[djnotts]

" In the days when one front brake + fixed was common, most riders had that single lever on the right. "

All the ones I've come across and/or owned/ridden, were t'other way round! Precisely for the reason given - signalling right!

[thirdcrank]

So it's either a bit of a regional thing or my memory is failing In my own case, it was certainly just a case of removing the back brake in winter - the stupid things you do in adolescence to follow fashion. I recently posted about seeing somebody riding through Leeds on fixed with no brakes at all and somebody (Dean?) linked to a fixed-wheel (probably "fixie") fun fest in Leeds where brakes were in very short supply. (See "The stupid things ....") I had a second-hand Peugeot with the front brake on the left and it never bothered me and I certainly wasn't going to go to the trouble of switching it round.

[rbrian]

I suspect I would have crashed my motorcycle pulling in the clutch when I wanted to stop if brakes were the other way round! It must be really confusing in other countries, all motorcycles all over the world have the front brake on the right.

[thirdcrank]

Even with motor bikes nothing is that simple - when I learned to ride one, Britsh bikes had the pedals the otherway round to much of the rest of the world and I'd have to think hard to remember now which way that was. (And that was in the days when motor cyclists used arm signals.) Motor scooters have another system again, I think, but you can get used to more or less anything. One of the biggest shocks I've ever had was trying to backpedal with a coaster brake when I did not intend to stop

[reohn2]

AFAIK its a safety issue, when signaling right in the middle of the road(UK roads)the rear brake is safer than the front one,especially on wet,icy or "suspect" road surfaces,likewise its the opposite on the continent where the left signal applies.
Thats how I've always understood it, which seems logical to me.

[reohn2]

Even with motor bikes nothing is that simple - when I learned to ride one, Britsh bikes had the pedals the otherway round to much of the rest of the world and I'd have to think hard to remember now which way that was. Motor scooters have another system again, I think, but you can get used to more or less anything. One of the biggest shocks I've ever had was trying to backpedal with a coaster brake when I did not intend to stop

Though its got to be said that the foriegn motorcycles were more logical,ie clutch and gear change both worked by the left side(hand and foot),both brakes worked by the right side(hand and foot).
Even the gears were more logical,ie up for up and down for down,rather than opposite .
We are a contrary nation

[ddddddd]

One of the stupid things I have done ...

Having just set off on an unfamiliar cheap mountain bike.
On a gravel driveway, I swung the bike round to deliberately skid the back wheel. Pulled the left lever on hard and did a FRONT wheel skid. - Approx one metre*, before regaining control, somehow uninjured.

*Yes, I was in France.

[rbrian]

When I went to France, at the age of 14, my penfriend let me ride his moped. I don't know which lever controlled which brake, neither one worked, but I forgot that in France they drive on the wrong side of the road...

[rbrian]

Even with motor bikes nothing is that simple - when I learned to ride one, Britsh bikes had the pedals the otherway round to much of the rest of the world and I'd have to think hard to remember now which way that was.

Confusing, wasn't it? Now, all motorbikes, even British ones, have the pedals on the same side as Japanese, Italian, German, and American bikes. The Germans have funny ideas about indicators, but the major controls are all the same. Wouldn't it be better to standardise bicycles too? Just so long as they settled on front brake right lever, of course!