css teaching trail braking?

Magicians are not supposed to reveal their secrets.

 

What is this stoopid trail braking you are talking about? Listen to The Code and always finish your braking in a straight line, quick flick the fuck out of your bike then pin the throttle............if you haven't crashed already.

 

The Code invented trail braking. But he kept it for himself,I think

 

I've communicated with misti before but never really argued with her because she is so friendly and not the real target of my qualm. She is a CSS instructor so I would hardly call that an impartial source. If he did invent it, he sure as hell spent a looooong time preaching the quick flick technique. He probably kept it for himself to make money off of it.

 

Legitimate answer to OP question: Yes, I have seen that they are now explicitly teaching trail braking in either level 2 or level 3.

As someone who drank the kool-aid and still does, trail braking was not explicitly a separate drill when I took the levels back in the mid 2000s. However, it wasn't ruled out and was definitely used by the advanced students, e.g. Elena Myers, Karel Abraham, etc. I can't speak for the school as to how/why/when the curriculum was modified, but I would hazard that the original drills of no-brakes, etc (which are still used and led to the oft repeated belief that CSS doesn't believe in trail braking), are used to try and help the common denominator student make improvements on gauging entry speed.

 

Why do 'they' call it 'Trailbraking' anyway?

That's probably the biggest (or only) mystery....

 

They did not believe in carrying the brakes into the corner. (You can trail off the brakes while still up&down)
"You wanna go faster? Brake deeper and flick/toss the bike harder"
That's what they've been teaching.

 

This has been my experience as well

 

Yes. As a CSS instructor here in aus, they have recently introduced a trail braking drill into level 2. They have combined 2 other drills (chamge lines and reference points) to free up the time. This was done because soooo much customer feedback was filled with the request to add braking techniques.

Must add whilst I am a CSS instructor, I am also an instructor for a couple other riding schools as well. I certainly dont profess that CSS is the be all and end all, and i I absolutely 100% agree that their methods are not the best for fastest lap times...but.... It is a great platform to work from and gives great insight into machine design and working with the machine to extract maximum performance. However It is only foundational imo. Once you clear all three levels and maybe a lvl 4 you'll want to move on to something else and really expand your riding.

Ive been following @khill podcasts and he has some awesome things that really expand upon any CSS work and goes even further to blow it up and really help you along.

So like I say to all my students, take snippets of sound info, theory and techniques from all credible sources and roll them into balls of skills and form your own story.

 

First let me say I'm not impartial, I'm a big fan of CSS, my very first day on the racetrack was with the Superbike School, and I wouldn't be here and wouldn't be racing without the school. I regularly go back for Level 4 as a student and I make substantial improvements, every time, and I have not found anything lacking in the instruction at an expert racer level, including excellent instruction on the fine points of braking, including extensive data acquisition.

There is a specific braking drill in Level 2. It used to be covered in Level 3, and of course Level 4 is a whole other world where there are more than a dozen braking drills available. It was always taught that brakes should be released as the cornering forces take over, to keep the forks from having to extend as the brakes are released and compress again as the bike is turned, and that the brakes should be released gradually. Most riders come to CSS braking too hard and slowing too much for turns, the causes of this are handled first (throttle control, steering, lines, etc.), in Level 1.

It makes sense that the braking exercise has been moved up to being handled earlier in the program; for one thing, trail braking is much more accessible to riders now than it used to be, with the incredible improvements in tires and suspension and brakes; braking while leaned over is not nearly as dicey as it used to be, and is more and more applicable as the bikes become more and more powerful; for sure I approach braking a lot differently on my S1000rr than I do on my low HP ultra lightweight bike.

I admire that CSS continues to evolve after all these years; there is a big focus on data acquisition from pro racers and from students and the ongoing research and data is used to change and improve the program all the time. I suspect some of the people that talk about what CSS does or does not do are basing it on their experience (or what they heard from someone else) 20 or even 30 years ago.

 

Is that dude a Millionare yet?

 

Trail braking is as much about setting / maintaining the bikes geometry and suspension, as it is about slowing the bike.

The no brake drill is a silly exercise.

 

Yeah, that's what my last sentence was trying to address.

In levels 1-3 in the past, I agree that their focus was on getting braking done before tip-in. I think that was done to try to lessen the number of operations by a new rider while learning to gauge corner speed. Anecdotally, a higher number of less-experienced riders is more likely to take a single day weekend CSS class than a two day weekday YCRS camp or other. So the classes are structured to help everyone at a simplified level. As the competitor schools have taught more and more "advanced" techniques in two day courses, CSS has modified their courses to keep with the times. But for those who have done level 4, which is personalized drills, and seen the fast kids on-track, trail braking through turn-in is used.

Are levels 1-3 of CSS going to make a rider a world class rider? Unlikely. But will it get the wide range of riders through the class day and gaining some improvements? I think so. At the end of the day, a significant number of CSS clients are not running paces where they need more braking. They're probably making bigger gains by focusing on gauging corner entry speed and line selection. Personally, getting riders to trail into the corner until they're comfortable with their entry speed is probably a better solution than forcing no-brakes, fingers away from the lever. But that's also my personal datapoint, and I don't run a successful school.

 

There really are no secrets. They are basic / simple concepts but they are difficult and challenging to consistently implement. Some can do it easier than others.

 

the best (or even the only ) modulation tool for entry speed or line is brakes.

 

the so called "keep the trail-braking"

 

If you do a search you might find it. there was a trail-brake/code thread here back in maybe 02/03/04? Code registered on the beeb and fought it out, he was not the normal laid back Code, he was furious in his posts (justifiably, because it was a code bash fest before he registered/posted). His contention in that thread was zero-TB'ing to go fast. People change/evolve.
Never forget he gave us TOTW-1......dianetics for racers. That was instrumental. Didnt tell you how to ride, instead told you to 'think'. Most important book ever, imho. I am a fan of code, just not what he teaches/preaches.

 

A friend took css this past summer and was told by code that TB time has come and gone. My friend really likes css, has been before and plans to go again in 19 so I have no reason to think he was mistaken.

 

When I did YCRS, that was a classroom discussion topic. Made absolute sense.

 

I believe that's the thread ,in case anybody's intrested