Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

how many fingers do you use for braking?

11K views 42 replies 40 participants last post by  rooney2oons 
#1 ·
hey fellow Clydes!

as i sat upon my ummm throne reading back issues of MBA i saw an article on how you should position your brakes. ideal set up is to use just the index finger on the end of your brake levers

really? :skep:

i grew up on canti's even before Vbrakes came in. levers were built for 4 finger braking. even then you wished you had more fingers.

with the arrival of V brakes and later on mechanical discs, levers were then built for two finger squeezing. sadly when doing downhills i still ended up in the bushes during sweeping turns. hehehe.

aanyway here's my question- since we are stopping more mass and inertia, are your bikes adjusted for 1 finger braking or do you stick with 2?

personally im perfectly happy with two fingers.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Position the levers toward the center and place your index finger at the end of the lever: you'll have much more leverage and the power of just the index finger will suffice, if your brakes are any good.

When you give one-finger braking a try, it's important to actually move the levers, because if you do it with the finger in the mid-part of the lever, it'll take a lot more effort to pull the lever.

If it doesn't work for you, move the levers a bit towards the handlebar ends and use two fingers.

Another benefit of proper placement of the lever is that the other fingers won't be in the way (crushed) even if the brakes are set to engage with the lever close to the bar.
 
#36 ·
Not exactly, I use 2 but it's the middle finger doing the work. I have way more range of motion using middle+index together than just index, very uncomfortable using just index. In 27+ years mtbing, can't recall ever losing control of the bar from lack of grip with the other 2 plus thumb, even on Ergon grips which some whine about "death grip" issues.

Magura MT 2's. I only use my middle fingers. Does anyone else do this?
 
#41 ·
The less figners you have on the lever the more grip and control you have on the bars, adjust your break levers over and adjust the throw in and try and get used to 2 fingers. Then get down to one if you can, hydro brakes makes it easy to single finger brake. Even most high end mechanical brakes feel good with one finger, but start with two then build your confidence up.

230lbs on avid elixer 5's
 
#42 ·
Hope X2's - 1 finger is plenty. And as Saul Lamikko said, adjust the brakes toward the center so you're pulling on the end of the lever. For those of you that say you smash your other fingers when braking, this is the solution for you as well...also adjusting them properly so you don't bottom them out on hard braking.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top