Bike Brakes

Bike Brakes Buying Guide

Executive summary abaut bike brakes by John Charter Davis

Bike Brakes Buying Guide. Your bicycle's brakes are its main safety feature. There are many types of bike brakes for different applications.

 Brake

Brakes are the component of the braking system that actuate the brake pads and directly apply stopping power to either the rim or the hub of a bicycle wheel.

Brake pads

Brake pads are pressed to the rim or disc to apply stopping power. Each style of bike brake has a specific style of pad that will work properly with that brake.

Brake levers

Brake levers actuate the caliper and are normally located on the handlebars. With dual control levers you have to determine the proper brake interface and shift interface.

Drop bar levers

Drop levers are typically designed to work with center-pull or side-pull brakes. If you are using linear pull brakes with drop levers, you must use a lever that is designed to function with the increased mechanical advantage that linear pull brakes afford.

Flat bar levers

Center pull and side pull use one type of lever, while linear pull brakes need a special lever.

Aero levers

Rim brakes Rim brakes apply stopping power (friction) to your wheel's rim. Rim brakes are generally actuated with a cable which is pulled with a lever mounted on the bike's handlebars.

Linear pull

Linear pull brakes use a cable stop to act as one anchor point, stopping the cable housing and anchoring the cable's end on the other brake arm.

 Side pull

Side pull brakes have a single cable running down the side of the caliper and work similarly to linear pull in that the housing and cable work together to actuate the brake arms.

Single pivot:

In single pivot caliper brakes, both brake arms pivot around a single, central point that also anchors the caliper to the bicycle.

Hub Brakes Hub bike apply stopping power to your wheel's hub. Sometimes they are internal (drum and coaster brakes), and sometimes they are external (disc brakes). External hub brakes are generally actuated with a lever attached to the handlebars

Drum brakes

Drum brakes are actuated by a brake lever, generally mounted on the handlebars. The brake actuation presses brake pads against the inner wall of the hub shell.

 Coaster brakes

Coaster brakes work in a similar fashion to drum brakes. The large difference is actuation; while drum brakes are actuated via a brake lever, coasters function with a reverse pedaling motion. 

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