If you’ve never ridden a loaded touring bike before, be aware, that like a loaded truck, they take longer to stop. Always anticipate when you will need to stop, and start braking before this. You also need to make sure that your brakes are well adjusted, and if on a long tour, that you carry spare brake pads as they wear out quicker when used with a loaded bike.
New Brake Pads
For those of you that are scared to use the front brake too hard, because it will flip you over the handlebars, this will not happen on a fully loaded bike. The sheer weight of the rear panniers and/or BOB trailer stop this from happening. I use my front brake for 75% of my braking. At the worst, your front suspension fork may dive, making it hard to control the bike, or the front tyre will skid.
Here is another oddity that some people may not be aware of. In some countries the front brake lever is mounted on the right side of the handlebars, in others, it’s mounted on the left. In Australia, the majority of bicycles are sold with the front brake lever on the right. You can actually change it to suit your personal preference.
With the common rim pull brakes found on most bikes, they work by applying friction to the rim to slow and stop the bike. With the extra weight on a loaded touring bike, there is more heat and the bike also takes longer to stop. When descending a steep hill or mountain, and you wish to slow down, or keep your speed down, do not use both brakes at the same time if it’s a long descent.
Why you may ask? The heat builds up and the rim overheats, and can cause your tyre to blow off of the rim. Also your brake pads may melt. I have actually melted a pair of brake pads from being towed behind a motorbike. Test this at your own risk though.
The best method to keep your speed down on a long descent is to pulse the brakes and use them alternatively. I generally use the front first, and pulse it, to bring my speed down. I alternate with the rear brake. Using this method, allows the hot brake to cool slightly. If you still need to stop in a hurry, apply both brakes, but be aware they might take longer to stop.
This pulsing method also works well in wet weather to dry the brakes, which allows them to work properly. Usually on a loaded touring bike, the extra weight and heat, dry the brake pads rather quickly when they are wet. This technique works well with disk brakes as well, because they don’t always work well in water either.
I have not covered disk brakes much because they are generally not easily available all around Australia in the way that standard rim pull brake pads are. At least in remote parts of Australia, a hardware store may have a set of rim pull brake pads, but they are not going to have disk brake parts.
Depending on the type of handlebars and brake levers that you have, you may be able to devise a parking brake for your loaded touring bike. Have you noticed that they always try and roll off on their own? Some methods I have seen involve using a large rubber band or some velcro to hold the brake lever on. Another method is to pull the lever, and insert a small rod through behind the lever, so that the lever can’t return. This effectively holds the brake on.
Parking strap holding front wheel in place.
