Safest way to slow down a bike quickly if both sets of brakes fail This may sound like a crazy question, however today in the wet my rear brakes decided to stop working effectively. It has been pouring rain here which makes the problem more apparent.

I managed to get to work unscathed, but was wondering what is the best technique if I were to get in a situation where I had no brakes (front or back) and was heading downhill.

Try and zig-zag; throw the bike and just take the worst of it early on; immediately turn sideways in one direction or roll into the gutter.

What is the most effective, least damaging and most safe effective way of doing this?
BMXers in some places put the shoe between rear tire and frame, just where the rear brake normally is attached to the bike. I've never done that, because I used to run knobby tires (ouch!), and nowadays I care a lot about brakes.

You really should avoid this situation, because many times there would not be much to do.

I would guess, a good alternative would be to turn sharply while leaning the bike, and then skidding the rear tire sideways. That is already difficult to do in a planned way, what to say when you are frightened...

A good thing to do is follow the advice "brake early, brake often", so you don't have to find out your brakes are not working only when is already too late.