|
For a bike that mainly sees sunny days and pleasure rides - I have no issue with non-ABS bikes, and most of the bikes in our garage fit that bill. But for a long-distance or commuting bike, which is likely to be used at some point in iffy/wet conditions by choice or not - ABS has become a requirement. Stopping the bike quickly in wet conditions on the street is always going to have some tension, and riders need to stay well below the line of maximum braking to keep from losing the front end and tipping over. It's instinctual - and it greatly increases stopping distance. Not a few percent - it can double or more. The more slippery, the more the delta becomes. With an ABS bike - if there's something in your path that you've chosen to brake for, you can easily and confidently brake exactly as hard as possible, with a safety net to keep the wheels turning along the way. Hopefully it happens almost never. But if it does, it doesn't take that happening more than once or twice, before our brains are quickly retrained to "I get it now". Going forward - if it's a dirtbike or a trackbike - I might forego it. But I can't see myself buying another streetbike without it.
|