Stand up braking

[redrider]

A student this weekend stood up while doing the Quick Stop for evaluation 3. The bike halted as though it had just plowed into freshly poured concrete. I have never seen a bike stop so quickly without drama. No skid, lock-up or stoppie. She said it was muscle memory from years of riding bicycles. The time and distance chart said 14 feet- she accomplished it in 6. I am impressed.

[Triple Jim]

Sort of odd... I've never stood to stop a bicycle or motorcycle, and have never seen it done.  On a bicycle, raising the center of gravity will make a stoppie more likely, and a stoppie is likely to send you over the handlebar to the ground.  My H2 and my DT100 will both stoppie in a very hard stop, so I stay low for a hard stop on those.  The Mille doesn't try to raise the rear wheel, so I use all three disks for an extreme stop on that bike.

As long as all the rubber in contact with the road is up to its sliding limit, you're stopping as fast as you can.  Apparently the rider you described just has an odd habit.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Sounds like a stoppie to me.

[Testarossa]

She may have moved aft while standing -- basically an anti-stoppie move. I do it habitually on the mountain bike.

[LowRyter]

I can understand that standing on the pegs allows the rider to move back and forth to actively change the CG during the stop.

[Triple Jim]

She may have moved aft while standing -- basically an anti-stoppie move. I do it habitually on the mountain bike.

That I can relate to.  Sliding rearward on a mountain bike can make the difference between a successful stop and going over the bar, especially in situations like downhill stopping.  But aren't you aft and on the seat in that case?

[Testarossa]

But aren't you aft and on the seat in that case?

No. The seat isn't long enough to slide back on it. You have to come up even if only an inch and move your butt aft -- then you can wag it up, down, fore, aft, right, left or whatever you need. Think about how a trials rider moves around. Fore-aft balance is helped by clip-in pedals.

[lucian]

I can see where standing on the pegs and leaning way back may help as it does in off road mountain biking, or dirt riding on a mc. Essentially you are just bracing yourself against the inertia trying to throw you over the bars. This I suppose helps keep more weight on the rear and increases traction so improves stopping. However translating this to an emergence stop in a split second on the street is unlikely, especially if you are ridding two up. Also on the dirt this method will yield a controlled skid, but on asphalt I don't know. I think the fastest way to stop is by not moving forward too fast to start with. Interesting thread for sure.      dave

[Triple Jim]

No. The seat isn't long enough to slide back on it. You have to come up even if only an inch and move your butt aft -- then you can wag it up, down, fore, aft, right, left or whatever you need. Think about how a trials rider moves around. Fore-aft balance is helped by clip-in pedals.

I understand.  I guess I was not distinguishing between being an inch off the seat and sliding back on it.  But either way I don't think it's what an observer would call "standing".  Of course to the rider, if most of his weight is on the pedals, it feels like standing.

I've been on some very steep descents when I had to move back so far and stay so low that my stomach was on the seat.  Reclining maybe?   

[H-E-ROSS]

Full upright gives you wind advantage; it is amazing how well your body works as a chute. In the mean time, (and while we all hate to think about it), ditching the bike and launching is sometimes the best alternative in an emergency situation. You get a little more control with this maneuver from a standing position. I have sadly used this technique on both pedal & motorized bikes.