Becoming left handed to stay healthy

[Bmblbzzz]

What slightly irked me was that it was perfectly clear from the OP that he has his bike cabled the "Continental" way (which, incidentally, is also common in many places where they ride on the left; I've encountered it in NZ and India) but a few people were acting as if this did not make sense; pretending (I'm sure they must have been pretending) not to understand.

FWIW I prefer my bikes the "British" way and have recabled bikes so they're the way I'm used to. It's very easy to do, especially with flat bars. I'm being perfectly serious when I say don't change your bike to suit the norm; change it to suit what you prefer or are used to. Far safer to have your brakes where you expect them to be than where others think they should be.

Also, try not to fiddle with cameras, phones, etc while riding.

[Bmblbzzz]

At the age of 11, my dad bought me a brand new bike!
I wonder if internationally, rod brakes were right front left rear?

Probably. I don't know about rod brakes specifically, but bikes with a coaster rear brake and a lever-operated front brake seem to have the front brake on the right regardless of what country they're in. Which side you have your brakes cabled can become an issue with V-brakes, particularly on smaller frame sizes, as it makes the cable enter the noodle at an extreme angle.

[meic]

What slightly irked me was that it was perfectly clear from the OP that he has his bike cabled the "Continental" way (which, incidentally, is also common in many places where they ride on the left; I've encountered it in NZ and India) but a few people were acting as if this did not make sense; pretending (I'm sure they must have been pretending) not to understand.

On the one hand it could have been clear but on the other hand it wasnt.
The reason why it wasnt obvious is:
If he normally rides with his left hand operating the front brake why was it all of a sudden a problem that his left hand was operating the brake?

The same problem would occur every time cat runs out on him, with or without a camera, which is why I asked if he had made a grab for the wrong side of the bar.

The post would have also made no sense to me if reversed to a cyclist with UK wiring, fiddling with his camera with his left hand, over braking with his right hand instead.

[Audax67]

To my mind you're more likely to have an accident if you swap your brakes over from what you're used to than if you occasionally tweak a camera.

WRT using a camera while driving, it's illegal because it diverts attention from the road, but many things we're obliged to fiddle with on the bike are liable to divert attention, e.g. fumbling for the switch on a headlamp, drinking, switching a GPS display or even steering and signalling at the same time. The day the Law obliges us to stop to do any of the above** is the day I stop cycling.

**And I wouldn't put it past some overpaid governmental time-server to produce a bill that obliged us to keep both hands on the bars even when signalling.

[Bmblbzzz]

What slightly irked me was that it was perfectly clear from the OP that he has his bike cabled the "Continental" way (which, incidentally, is also common in many places where they ride on the left; I've encountered it in NZ and India) but a few people were acting as if this did not make sense; pretending (I'm sure they must have been pretending) not to understand.

On the one hand it could have been clear but on the other hand it wasnt.
The reason why it wasnt obvious is:
If he normally rides with his left hand operating the front brake why was it all of a sudden a problem that his left hand was operating the brake?

The same problem would occur every time cat runs out on him, with or without a camera, which is why I asked if he had made a grab for the wrong side of the bar.

The post would have also made no sense to me if reversed to a cyclist with UK wiring, fiddling with his camera with his left hand, over braking with his right hand instead.

Because normally he uses both hands to operate both brakes, front and rear.

TBH I expect he'd have been in trouble if he'd only been able to use his back brake, just that instead of going over the bars, he'd have locked up the back wheel and quite possibly have come off sideways.

[Bez]

TBH I expect he'd have been in trouble if he'd only been able to use his back brake, just that instead of going over the bars, he'd have locked up the back wheel and quite possibly have come off sideways.

Or just carried on forwards with the rear wheel locked and hit the cat

[meic]

What slightly irked me was that it was perfectly clear from the OP that he has his bike cabled the "Continental" way (which, incidentally, is also common in many places where they ride on the left; I've encountered it in NZ and India) but a few people were acting as if this did not make sense; pretending (I'm sure they must have been pretending) not to understand.

On the one hand it could have been clear but on the other hand it wasnt.
The reason why it wasnt obvious is:
If he normally rides with his left hand operating the front brake why was it all of a sudden a problem that his left hand was operating the brake?

The same problem would occur every time cat runs out on him, with or without a camera, which is why I asked if he had made a grab for the wrong side of the bar.

The post would have also made no sense to me if reversed to a cyclist with UK wiring, fiddling with his camera with his left hand, over braking with his right hand instead.

Because normally he uses both hands to operate both brakes, front and rear.

TBH I expect he'd have been in trouble if he'd only been able to use his back brake, just that instead of going over the bars, he'd have locked up the back wheel and quite possibly have come off sideways.

Which has absolutely no connection with which hand is on the camera and which hand is on the brake.

[Mick F]

There are times that I come down a hill and have to hold my left arm out to indicate turning left.
I therefore have to brake with my right hand ............. front brake.
I never do a header, even if I have to brake sharply.

[thirdcrank]

... **And I wouldn't put it past some overpaid governmental time-server to produce a bill that obliged us to keep both hands on the bars even when signalling.

Just to put the cat among the pigeons, rather than in front of cyclists, the are getting there. Here's the Highway Code

Rule 66
You should - keep both hands on the handlebars except when signalling or changing gear ...

(Nobody's told them that nowadays, you can generally change gear with both hands on the bars.)

[sjs]

It's not being pedantic.
Your issue is that you were using your right (dominant) hand to adjust your camera, then had to do an emergency stop with your left hand.

For the vast majority of us on this forum our bikes are wired the other way, so if you'd had been "normal", you wouldn't have had an issue at all, and not posted about it either, or even given advice without considering that you have your bike wired the opposite way.

My question is why do you have your front brake on the left?
Are you somewhere abroad?
Did you not realise that in UK we normally have rear brake on the left?

I'm left handed. Should i cable my bike the "wrong" way then?

[Mick F]

I met a chap in Carlisle once. He had only one arm, and was riding LEJOG. His bike had both brakes on the same side.

Cable it any way you want.
Just be aware of how you've done it, and get used to it.
Whatever you do, don't panic with the front brake.

Even at the age of 11, I was set in my ways regarding F/R brake levers and I knew the way they should be wired normally.
Yes, do what you want, but be aware of it and get used to it.

[thirdcrank]

I met a chap in Carlisle once. He had only one arm, ....

How did he faff with things like his camera?

[Bez]

Maybe he adjusted it using the knob.

[Bmblbzzz]

I met a chap in Carlisle once. He had only one arm, and was riding LEJOG. His bike had both brakes on the same side.

Cable it any way you want.
Just be aware of how you've done it, and get used to it.
Whatever you do, don't panic with the front brake.

Even at the age of 11, I was set in my ways regarding F/R brake levers and I knew the way they should be wired normally.
Yes, do what you want, but be aware of it and get used to it.

^^This.^^

[MikeF]

It's not being pedantic.
Your issue is that you were using your right (dominant) hand to adjust your camera, then had to do an emergency stop with your left hand.

For the vast majority of us on this forum our bikes are wired the other way, so if you'd had been "normal", you wouldn't have had an issue at all, and not posted about it either, or even given advice without considering that you have your bike wired the opposite way.

My question is why do you have your front brake on the left?
Are you somewhere abroad?
Did you not realise that in UK we normally have rear brake on the left?

I'm left handed. Should i cable my bike the "wrong" way then?

If it suits you why not?
I believe the original thinking of front brake right hand and rear left was that the "powers" thought it safest if you could use your rear brake, if necessary, with the left hand when signalling right for a turn.

Incidentally the convention for taps is hot on left and cold on right, but how many are the other way?