Typically you want to use your rear brake most. If you clamp down hard on the front brake, the front wheel will lock up and either skid or endo (throwing you over the handlebars), neither of which is a good thing. Bias your braking to the rear in most cases, giving the front light pressure.

You should favour the _front_ brake as this is where most of your stopping power lies, particularly downhill. But don't pull too sharply or you'll go over the bars - a gentle, firm increasing pressure is the way to do it, especially with disc brakes, which can be extremely powerful. The steeper the hill you are going down, the greater the amount of weight which is on the front wheel, and the less amount of weight on the back wheel. The centre of gravity of the rider and the bike, i.e. the point through which the weight acts is a point somewhere between the riders hips and the bottom bracket, and forward a bit. If you are travelling downhill and this point moves beyond the point where the front wheel is contacting the ground, then you will go over tha bars. As there is so little weight on the back wheel on steep hills and whilst under the influence of heavy braking, it will skip around on bumpy surfaces and not be very effective. The best way to think about it is as the front brake as the 'stopper' and the rear brake as the 'modulator' or 'braking stabiliser' - it keeps the effects of braking even throughout the bike. The rules are different in gravel or sand or other very loose surfaces, where you'll need to use both brakes liberally, paying very close attention to the effects, such as lockup, and easing off accordingly. The back brake really helps with turns on gravelly or sandy downhill sections.

agg pash dont listen to that shit okay depends on the condition normal riding more front less rear wet both equally really steep well lots of front and back but you have to be way back

When braking, most of yours and the bike's weight will be on the front tires. You should use about 70% front brakes and 30% rear. Firstly and yery importantly, put your pedals at "9 and 3 o'clock' and take your butt off your seat and behind it, so you are leaning back. Then input your braking by easing on the brake levers. This is known as Threshhold Braking. Leaning back will prevent you from going over the handle bars and you will stop faster than you thought possible on a bike. If anyone tells you that rear brakes are more important, tell em to watch a car that is braking hard. The nose goes down and the front brakes are almost fully responsible for stopping the vehicle.

Every time I tried nearly equal braking techniques as most people here seem to favor, I have at best wobbled and have actually flipped forward in panic situations. Most often, it reduced the lateral grip of the front tire sufficiently to cause me to lay it down. Road rash SUCKS! As a result, I set the front brakes on my bikes ridiculously light; squeeze the lever halfway before my pads even touch the rim. The rear brake on my bikes will lock up if you're not accustomed to it as the pads are hovering about 1/32" away from the (obsessively straight) rear rim. However, since I tend to be riding with more of my weight shifted rearward, I need a little more rear braking force. The way I have my brakes set, I maintain control even on ice and I don't go flipping over the bars or having the bike slide out from under me all the time.

When mountain biking: using to much back brake while going downhill will lock the back wheel and cause you to skid. Using to much front brake will... make you go over the handlebar. Use some back but more front brake. Doesnt matter how much you use ether just don't be to abrupt - press s l o w l y !

A sudden use of front brakes can cause the rider (in this case, you, our god) to flip over the bike. This can cause injury to the ribs and wrists. You should use your rear brakes more often. It is a good idea when having your hand on the rear brake when going at high speeds.

You should use the front brake more than the back. The reason is that as you work against momentum your weight moves forward and since your center of gravity is above the point where you contact the ground (unless you're riding a strange bike on equally strange terrain) you rotate forward and put less pressure on the back wheel and more on the front. So the harder you brake with the back wheel, the less traction you get, and the harder you break with the front wheel, the more traction you get (the rules change a bit when in loose conditions). Of course if you break too hard you flip over the bars. The way I learned front brake limitations (It may not be the best way, but it worked for me) was to find a flat, open, grassy area, like your front lawn and while riding on it, gently pull your front brake, stand up, and jump a little bit. Your back wheel will momentarily lift off the ground. Gradually increase the breaking power, jump a little bit more, and employ techniques like pushing the bike forward and leaning back at the same time. Eventually, you'll get a feeling like you're about to fall forward. That's a sign that you shouldn't go forward anymore. Over time you'll be able to get more control over the bike while doing this, just be careful not to pull the front brake too hard or you'll flip, or even worse, you'll skid, make a nasty mark on your lawn, and make your neighbors think they're just that much better than you. Once you get good at this, you can use what you've learned to NOT lift the back wheel off the ground when going down a hill.