10-15-2014, 06:08 AM
Hey everyone,
I know talking about ABS vs non-ABS is akin to a religious debate at times, but I just wanted to share my experience today. To give some background, I've been riding for 8 years now. I've had to do panic stops before, and have always been able to threshold break well enough to avoid trouble. Some people might scoff at only 8 years riding, but I consider myself to be a pretty decent rider and know how to maximize my braking.
I understand most people's point of view on why they don't need ABS. This is my third bike, and my first two did not have ABS. I wouldn't want a new rider to assume they can always mash the front brake all the time because ABS will save them. And when applied correctly, you can bring the bike to a stop very quickly and safely without ABS. But what I want to talk about is the times when you or someone else royal !@#%s up.
I was headed home today in rush hour, which here is pretty packed, but not really the congested stop-and-go that most people are used to. I managed to get up to probably around 30-40km/h, and was going to change lanes. I shoulder checked, and in that time the guy in front of me hammered on his brakes. I turned back and had just enough time pull on my front brake. The front tire slipped for the briefest moment, the tire chirped, and I came to a stop, upright, about 6 inches from the guy's bumper. I'm certain there was no lesser amount of breaking I could've used in that situation without rear-ending the vehicle in front of me, or if there was, that margin was very small.
Was I following to close? Yes. Should I have been going more slowly and further back? Yes. I screwed up big time, I'll admit it. But that doesn't change the fact that I would've very likely been either eating ashphalt or bumper if the ABS didn't kick in. It was definitely an eye opener for me to ride more carefully next time. It's easy to say you'll never need it, but that one brief moment where you or someone else on the road makes a mistake, I'd rather have that one last safety net. My pride isn't worth it.
I know talking about ABS vs non-ABS is akin to a religious debate at times, but I just wanted to share my experience today. To give some background, I've been riding for 8 years now. I've had to do panic stops before, and have always been able to threshold break well enough to avoid trouble. Some people might scoff at only 8 years riding, but I consider myself to be a pretty decent rider and know how to maximize my braking.
I understand most people's point of view on why they don't need ABS. This is my third bike, and my first two did not have ABS. I wouldn't want a new rider to assume they can always mash the front brake all the time because ABS will save them. And when applied correctly, you can bring the bike to a stop very quickly and safely without ABS. But what I want to talk about is the times when you or someone else royal !@#%s up.
I was headed home today in rush hour, which here is pretty packed, but not really the congested stop-and-go that most people are used to. I managed to get up to probably around 30-40km/h, and was going to change lanes. I shoulder checked, and in that time the guy in front of me hammered on his brakes. I turned back and had just enough time pull on my front brake. The front tire slipped for the briefest moment, the tire chirped, and I came to a stop, upright, about 6 inches from the guy's bumper. I'm certain there was no lesser amount of breaking I could've used in that situation without rear-ending the vehicle in front of me, or if there was, that margin was very small.
Was I following to close? Yes. Should I have been going more slowly and further back? Yes. I screwed up big time, I'll admit it. But that doesn't change the fact that I would've very likely been either eating ashphalt or bumper if the ABS didn't kick in. It was definitely an eye opener for me to ride more carefully next time. It's easy to say you'll never need it, but that one brief moment where you or someone else on the road makes a mistake, I'd rather have that one last safety net. My pride isn't worth it.