Gocycle
®
Owner’s Manual for GX, April 2019
© Karbon Kinetics Limited. All Rights Reserved. 23
Brakes are designed to control your speed, not just to stop the bike. Maximum braking force for each
wheel occurs at the point just before the wheel “locks up” (stops rotating) and starts to skid. Once the
tire skids, you actually lose most of your stopping force and all directional control. You need to
practice slowing and stopping smoothly without locking up a wheel. The technique is called
progressive brake modulation. Instead of jerking the brake lever to the position where you think you’ll
generate appropriate braking force, squeeze the lever, progressively increasing the braking force. If
you feel the wheel begin to lock up, release pressure just a little to keep the wheel rotating just short
of lockup. It’s important to develop a feel for the amount of brake lever pressure required for each
wheel at different speeds and on different surfaces. To better understand this, experiment a little by
walking your bike and applying different amounts of pressure to each brake lever, until the wheel
locks.
When you apply one or both brakes, the bike begins to slow, but your body wants to continue at the
speed at which it was going. This causes a transfer of weight to the front wheel (or, under heavy
braking, around the front wheel hub, which could send you flying over
the handlebars).
A wheel with more weight on it will accept greater brake pressure before lockup; a wheel with less
weight will lock up with less brake pressure.
So, as you apply brakes and your weight is transferred forward, you need to shift your body toward
the rear of the bike, to transfer weight back on to the rear wheel; and at the same time, you need to
both decrease rear braking and increase front braking force. This is even more important on
descents, because descents shift weight forward.
Two keys to effective speed control and safe stopping are controlling wheel lockup and weight
transfer. Practice braking and weight transfer techniques where there is no traffic or other hazards
and distractions.
Everything changes when you ride on loose surfaces or in wet weather. It will take longer to stop on
loose surfaces or in wet weather. Tire adhesion is reduced, so the wheels have less cornering and
braking traction and can lock up with less brake force. Moisture or dirt on the brake pads reduces their
ability to grip. The way to maintain control on loose or wet surfaces is to go more slowly.
CAUTION: Disc brakes can get extremely hot with extended use. Be careful not to touch a
disc brake until it has had plenty of time to cool.
See the brake manufacturer’s instructions for operation and care of your brakes,
and for when brake pads must be replaced. If you do not have the manufacturer’s
instructions, see your Gocycle dealer or contact the brake manufacturer.
If replacing worn or damaged parts, use only manufacturer-approved genuine
replacement parts.
5.4 Shifting gears
Your multi-speed Gocycle has a 3 speed internal gear hub drivetrain.
5.4.1 Shifting Gears
Your Gocycle comes fitted with rotary shifting controls.
The vocabulary of shifting can be pretty confusing. A downshift is a shift to a “lower” or “slower” gear,
one that is easier to pedal. An upshift is a shift to a “higher” or “faster”, harder to pedal gear.
5.4.2 Shifting Internal Gear Hub Gears
Shifting with an internal gear hub drivetrain is simply a matter of moving the shifter to the indicated
position for the desired gear ratio. After you have moved the shifter to the gear position of your
choice, ease the pressure on the pedals for an instant to allow the hub to complete the shift.
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