Your MTB Braking Questions Answered, Using Data from Brake Ace

We're re-sharing one of our favorite episodes from 2022, so be sure to listen in case you missed it! Check back next week for more another fresh episode. Dr. Matt Miller is the inventor and founder of Brake Ace, a sensor that collects data about your braking and an app that makes braking recommendations to help you ride smarter.  He’s also a former elite-level mountain bike racer and has coached riders at all levels of the sport. In this episode we ask: How did you make your way up to the elite level of mountain bike competition? Why did you decide to look at braking performance as a part of your PhD program? What does the Brake Ace sensor look like, and how does it work? How difficult is the hardware side in terms of development? What’s different about your approach to studying braking performance? How did you figure out which metrics to focus on? Let’s talk about some common braking questions.Does the front brake generally offer more stopping power than the rear? Is locking up a wheel and skidding bad in terms of speed and/or performance, or is it desirable in certain situations? Should mountain bikers brake before a turn? How soon? Should we brake at all once we’re in the turn? What are some common braking skills riders need to work, or bad habits they need to break?How do the pros compare to weekend warriors in terms of braking skills? Do some of us brake too often? Could working on things like cornering and overall confidence allow us to simply brake less? Mountain bikers seem to be split between preferring brakes that modulate power, and those that have a quick bite. Is one better than the other in terms of performance? If bigger rotors offer better stopping power, why not max them out? Is it just because of weight, or is there another consideration? Tell us a bit about the MTB scene in Rotorua. How has it grown and changed over the past few years? Learn more at brakeace.com and sign up for their email list to be notified about availability. Cover photo by Tyler Perrin. The Singletracks podcast is brought to you by TPC -- The Pro’s Closet. Spring is the perfect time to upgrade, and TPC has an industry-leading selection of new and Certified Pre-Owned bikes, plus frames, wheels and accessories. Each Certified, Pre-Owned bike is inspected, tested and serviced, and every bike includes thirty day returns. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tpc.bike/singletracks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and enter code Singletracks40 to save forty dollars on every order over two hundred.