Neil recently got the new Pipedream A.L.I.C.E. in for review. After taking it out of the box, he realized it was set up “moto,” where the right brake actuates the front caliper, and the left controls the rear. He thought it would be fun to keep it that way to see how it rides. In our latest video, Neil takes us along for a few rides and shares his thoughts…

Interestingly, many parts of the world run their brakes in an opposite configuration from one another. Here in North America, it’s common to have our rear brake lever on the right and the front on the left, whereas in the UK, Australia, and India, among others, the standard is to have rear brake actuated by the left lever and the front by the right. Reversed, British, Australian, normal, “Moto” or whatever you want to call it.

How did this come about? The most popular theory suggests that the position was influenced by which arm people signal to turn, thereby having the other hand operate the rear brake for the sake of better control. Of course, this was dictated by which side of the road (and car) folks traditionally drive on: e.g. British signal out the right window and Americans on the left. Another line of thought is that 19th-century French bikes only had a rear brake, so they naturally put the lever on the right for prevailing right-handed folks. It’s even been suggested that when bikes were transitioning from coaster brakes in the UK, a front brake was added and intuitively went on the right. Either way, the right-front standard stuck with motorcycles, which is why it’s often referred to as “moto”.

In our latest video, Neil got a British bike in for test, which was naturally set up Moto style. He decided to give it a go, as is, and see how it felt. Watch it below.

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