Quote Originally Posted by TsPoet
She's talking performance. Your LBS and I are talking ease and safety.
I am definitely talking about safety.

Unless you jam the brakes at some speed, you won't go over the handlebars. If you use the rear brake with any force, you'll make your rear wheel skid, endangering both yourself and any cyclist that may be on your side (which is often the case when stopping at intersections in a city).

Plus, I repeat, only the front brake actually STOPS the bike. The rear brake only makes your rear wheel drag on the pavement. So stop promptly, efficiently, and above all safely, you have to learn to use the front brake.

This is why I strongly suggest trying different ways of braking in a parking lot, where you can set yourself a spot for braking (I want to stop my wheel right at this line - not beyond it). You can experiment with one brake or the other, with both brakes, with different speeds too.

When braking, you should be using only the front or both brakes depending on the situation (if going at high speed you may indeed want to start feathering the rear brake to slow yourself down before you hit the front brake) and transfering your weight to the rear of the bike (moving to the rear of your saddle).

I invite anyone who doubts this to consult great references like Effective Cycling, Sheldon Brown's braking page (http://sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html), or any cycling book.

I KNOW everyone is scared to fly over the handlebars, but because of this fear of a situation that may happen only exceptionally, they endanger themselves in ALL other normal riding/commuting situations by not using their brakes properly.

Please, please, please, learn to use your front and rear brakes adequately.