Total Newbie Needs Help!

[VeloVT]

I use my front brakes a bit more than rear. If I'm just coming to a routine stop (like a light I've had time to anticipate) I will use both equally... But for reducing speed decending, or for sudden braking, I favor my front brake (although I don't use it to the exclusion of the rear) because I have experienced rear-wheel skids when slowing significantly while descending. This happens because generally speaking when you're descending you have relatively more weight over the front wheel, and braking, especially suddenly, exacerbates this, further de-weighting the rear wheel and reducing rear-wheel traction. It's a little scary when it happens, especially if you're riding in traffic. In any case, it's a good idea to consciously slide back and make sure you're keeping your rear wheel weighted when braking suddenly or while braking on a descent.

I'm coming down with a cold, somewhat fevery and sore throat, so I apologize if that was a little hard to follow, I'm having trouble concentrating on anything right now.

ETA: the rear wheel skids I've experienced have happened when I've been using my brakes evenly (50/50). I think once it happened because the roads were wet/snowy (luckily I had *read* about rear-tire skids and somehow immediately knew what was happening, and was able to pull out of it almost as soon as it started by letting up on the rear brake -- but it's still scary because you feel that rear tire going out from under you). I've definitely become a lot more aware of where my weight is too. However, it's a myth that using your front brake more, or exclusively, will cause you to fly over your handlebars. It's better to use both for various reasons (even rim & brake wear, not overheating on long hills, plus of course two brakes gives you more stopping power than one brake), but it's not dangerous to use just the front brake as long as you keep your weight back.