Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiggles
Locking up the front won't happen if you brake properly
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...just make sure there's enough space. The same goes for the rear brake. It's physics. The traction has limits and the bike simply can't stop instantaneously without that energy going somewhere. In emergency braking you try to flirt with the limits of traction without passing those limits. You have a lot more traction in the front as the weight shifts forward but it is still a balancing act between running out of room to stop, running out of traction to apply, or keeping momentum from sending you over your front tire in a failed endo-stoppie. If you didn't have enough space to stop without locking the front, well, sliding is not going to stop any faster. Even so, as you run out of space you also run out of reason to hold back on a brake that you obviously haven't reached the limits of as long as it still has traction. If you reach that limit right at the point of impact, oh well, you tried, but if you panic early and discover that limit with room to spare: you fail.
All I'm saying is that you should lock the rear rather than run out of space trying to stop without locking it, but you don't have that same option with the front. IOW, don't overload the front to tip-toe around overloading the rear.
While the vast majority of accidents from locked front wheels could have been prevented with proper braking technique, you could achieve maximum braking and still end up deciding between a collision and going down by locking the front. If I could think fast and it came down to continuing to apply progressive braking to stop without skidding and running over a small child or something, I might be inclined to lock it up anyway to avoid that.