Quote Originally Posted by mimitabby View Post
I've been down some steep switchbacks that came up suddenly.
Um, no, the switchbacks were there the whole time, and if you were looking ahead you would've been able to complete your braking before entering the turn. What I said before about "seeing with your whole eyes" and looking where you're going.

Smilingcat's correct about the limits of traction, but the thing is that corners often collect sand, gravel, water or oil, so that all of a sudden you have a lot less traction to spare than you did a ten seconds ago when you decided to apply the brakes. So just like in a car or motorcycle, the best practice is to complete your braking before entering the turn, then accelerate through the apex to improve your rear wheel traction.