Bicycle brake

alling. During its development from 1870 to 1878, there

were various designs for brakes, most of them operating
on the rear wheel. However, as the rear wheel became
smaller and smaller, with more of the riders weight over
the front wheel, braking on the rear wheel became less
eective. The front brake, introduced by John Kean in
1873, had been generally adopted by 1880 because of its
greater stopping power.[3]
Some penny-farthing riders used only back pedalling and
got o and walked down steep hills, but most also used
a brake.[2] Having a brake meant that riders could coast
down hill by taking their feet o the pedals and placing
the legs over the handlebars, although most riders pre-
ferred to dismount and walk down steep hills.[3] Putting
the legs under the handlebars with the feet o the ped-
als placed on foot-rests on the forks had resulted in se-
rious accidents caused by the feet getting caught in the
spokes.[2]
Animation of a single pivot side-pull caliper brake for the rear
An alternative to the spoon brake for penny-farthings was
wheel of a steel framed road bike.
the caliper brake patented by Browett and Harrison in
1887.[4] This early version of caliper braking used a rub-
A bicycle brake reduces the speed of a bicycle or pre- ber block to contact the outside of the penny-farthings
vents it from moving. The three main types are: rim small rear tyre.
brakes, disc brakes, and drum brakes. There have been
The 1870s and 1880s saw the development of the safety
various types of brakes used throughout history, and sev-
bicycle which roughly resembles bicycles today, with two
eral are still in use today.
wheels of equal size, initially with solid rubber tyres.
Most bicycle brake systems consist of three main com- These were typically equipped with a front spoon brake
ponents: a mechanism for the rider to apply the brakes, and no rear brake mechanism, but like penny-farthings
such as brake levers or pedals; a mechanism for transmit- they used xed gears, allowing rear wheel braking by re-
ting that signal, such as Bowden cables, hydraulic hoses, sisting the motion of the pedals. The relative fragility of
rods, or the bicycle chain; and the brake mechanism itself, the wooden rims used on most bicycles still precluded the
a caliper or drum, to press two or more surfaces together use of rim brakes. In the late 1890s came the introduction
in order to convert, via friction, kinetic energy of the bike of rim brakes and the freewheel.[2]
and rider into thermal energy to be dissipated.
With the introduction of mass-produced pneumatic tyres
by the Dunlop Tyre Company, the use of spoon brakes
began to decline, as they tended to quickly wear through
1 History the thin casing of the new tyres. This problem led to de-
mands for alternative braking systems. On November 23,
1897, Abram W. Duck of Ducks Cyclery in Oakland,
Karl Drais included a pivoting brake shoe that could
California was granted a patent for his Duck Roller Brake
be pressed against the rear iron tyre of his 1817
(U.S. Patent 594,234).[5] The duck brake used a rod oper-
Laufmaschine.[1] This was continued on the earliest bi-
ated by a lever on the handlebar to pull twin rubber rollers
cycles with pedals, such as the boneshaker, which were
against the front tyre, braking the front wheel.[6]
tted with a spoon brake to press onto the rear wheel.[2]
The brake was operated by a lever or by a cord connect- In 1898, after the advent of freewheel coasting mecha-
ing to the handlebars. The rider could also slow down by nisms, the rst internal coaster brakes were introduced
resisting the pedals of the xed wheel drive. for the rear wheel. The coaster brake was contained in
the rear wheel hub, and was engaged and controlled by
The next development of the bicycle, the penny-farthings,
backpedaling, thus eliminating the issue of tyre wear. In
were similarly braked with a spoon brake or by back ped-

1
2 2 BRAKE TYPES

the United States, the coaster brake was the most com- cles until the 1930s, and on childrens bicycles until the
monly tted brake throughout the rst half of the 20th 1950s. In the developing world, they were manufactured
century, often comprising the only braking system on the until much more recently.
bicycle.

2 Brake types

2.1 Spoon brakes

Spoon brake on front wheel of 1886

Swift Safety Bicycle at Coventry Transport Museum

Spoon brake variation at the

Batavus Museum in Heerenveen, Netherlands

Bicycle spoon brake on

1898 Columbia Model 51 Ladies Chainless

Spoon brake on antique Peugeot 'open diamond' frame 'Le Lion

model B' at the Batavus Museum in Heerenveen, Netherlands

The spoon brake, or plunger brake was probably the

Spoon brake on front wheel
rst type of bicycle brake and precedes the pneumatic
tyre.[7] Spoon brakes were used on penny farthings with
solid rubber tyres in the 1800s and continued to be used
after the introduction of the pneumatic-tyred safety bi-
cycle. The spoon brake consists of a pad (often leather)
or metal shoe (possibly rubber faced), which is pressed
onto the top of the front tyre. These were almost always
rod-operated by a right-hand lever. In developing coun-
tries, a foot-operated form of the spoon brake sometimes
is retrotted to old rod brake roadsters. It consists of a Improvised spoon brake on a
spring-loaded ap attached to the back of the fork crown. Chinese cargo tricycle
This is depressed against the front tyre by the riders foot.
Perhaps more so than any other form of bicycle brake, the
spoon brake is sensitive to road conditions and increases
2.2 Duck brake
tyre wear dramatically.
Though made obsolete by the introduction of the duck Invented in 1897, the duck brake or duck roller brake
brake, coaster brake, and rod brake, spoon brakes contin- used a rod operated by a lever on the handlebar to pull
ued to be used in the West supplementally on adult bicy- twin friction rollers (usually made of wood or rubber)
2.3 Rim brakes 3

against the front tyre.[6] Mounted on axles secured by rim brakes are more prone to clogging with mud or snow
friction washers and set at an angle to conform to the than disc brakes (where both braking surfaces are high
shape of the tyre, the rollers were forced against their o the ground), particularly when riding on unpaved sur-
friction washers upon contacting the tyre, thus braking faces. The low price and ease of maintenance of rim
the front wheel.[6] A tension spring held the rollers away brakes makes them popular in low- to mid-price com-
from the tyre except when braking.[6] Braking power was muter bikes, where the disadvantages are greatly allevi-
enhanced by an extra-long brake lever mounted in paral- ated by the unchallenging conditions. The light weight
lel with and behind the handlebar, which provided addi- of rim brakes also makes them desirable in road racing
tional leverage when braking (two hands could be used bicycles.
to pull the lever if necessary).[6] Used in combination Rim brakes require regular maintenance. Brake pads
with a rear coaster brake, a cyclist of the day could stop
wear down and have to be replaced. And before they
much more quickly and with better modulation of brak- wear out completely, their position may need to be ad-
ing eort than was possible using only a spoon brake or
justed as they wear: Because the motion of most brakes
rear coaster brake.[8][9] Known colloquially as the duck is not perfectly horizontal, the pads may lose their center-
brake, the design was used by many notable riders of the ing on the rim as they wearin the case of caliper brakes,
day, and was widely exported to England, Australia, and the pads may begin to rub on the tyre which can cause a
other countries.[10] In 1902, Louis H. Bill was granted blowout. Over longer time and use, rims become worn.
a patent for an improved version of the Duck Roller Rims should be checked for wear periodically as they can
Brake (Patent 708,114) for use on motorized bicycles fail catastrophically if the braking surface becomes too
(motorcycles).[11][12] worn. Wear is accelerated by wet and muddy conditions.
Some types of rim brake, e.g. dual pivot, require that
2.3 Rim brakes the rim be relatively straight; if the rim has a pronounced
wobble, then either the brake pads rub against it when the
Rim brakes are so called because braking force is ap- brakes are released, or apply insucient or uneven pres-
plied by friction pads to the rim of the rotating wheel, sure to the rim.
thus slowing it and the bicycle. Brake pads can be made Rim brakes also heat the rim because the brake functions
of leather, rubber or cork and are often mounted in metal by converting kinetic energy into thermal energy. In nor-
"shoes". Rim brakes are typically actuated by the rider mal use this is not a problem, as the brakes are applied
squeezing a lever mounted on the handlebar. with limited force and for a short time, so the heat quickly
dissipates to the surrounding air. However, on a heavily-
laden bike on a long descent, heat energy is added more
2.3.1 Advantages and disadvantages
quickly than it can dissipate and temperature at the rim
and its enclosed tube can increase tyre pressure so much
that the tyre blows o the rim. If this happens on the front
wheel, a serious accident is likely. In the case of rims
with a carbon bre brake track, the rim can be heated
beyond the glass transition temperature of the polymer
matrix surrounding the carbon bers, causing the rim to
delaminate and fail. The risk can be reduced by using
both brakes,[13] by stopping periodically to allow the rim
to cool, or by tting a drag brake.
Although rim brakes are being superseded by disc brakes
on o-road machines, rims with a hard, rough ceramic
coating on the braking surface are available. This coat-
ing signicantly reduces rim wear and can also improve
Aluminium rim worn-out by V-brakes. Outer wall worn through both wet and dry braking provided appropriate pads are
and the wheel dangerously weakened. A disadvantage of rim used. It also reduces heat transfer to the air in the tyre
brakes. because the ceramic coating, although thin, is a thermal
insulator.[14]
See also: Actuation mechanisms

Rim brakes are inexpensive, light, mechanically simple,
easy to maintain, and powerful. However, they perform
relatively poorly when the rims are wet. This problem is
less serious with rims made of aluminium than on those
with carbon bre, steel or chromed rims. Because the
rims can carry debris from the ground to the brake pads,
2.3.2 Brake pads
There are many designs of brake pads (brake blocks).
Most consist of a replaceable rubber pad held in a metal
channel (brake shoe), with a post or bolt protruding from
the back to allow attachment to the brake. Some are
4 2 BRAKE TYPES

made as one piece with the attachment directly molded

in the pad for lower production costs; brake pads of the
cartridge type are held in place by a metal split pin or
threaded grub screw and can be replaced without moving
the brake shoe from its alignment to the rim. The rubber
can be softer for more braking force with less lever ef-
fort, or harder for longer life. The rubber can also contain
abrasives for better braking, at the expense of rim wear.
Compounds vie for better wet braking eciency. Typi-
cally pads are relatively short, but longer varieties are also
manufactured to provide more surface area for braking;
these often must be curved to match the rim. A larger
pad does not give more friction but wears more slowly,
so a new pad can be made thinner. In general, a brake
can be tted with any of these many varieties of pads, as
long as the pad mounting method is compatible. Carbon-
bre rims, as on some disc wheels, generally have to use
non-abrasive cork pads.
Ceramic-coated rims should be used with special pads be-
cause of heat build-up at the pad-rim interface; standard
pads can leave a glaze on the ceramic braking surface,
reducing its inherent roughness and leading to a severe
drop in wet-weather braking performance. Kool-Stop,
Mavic and Swisstop make ceramic pads, which contain
substances such as chromium to improve heat tolerance. Rod brake system. Lateral play in the pivot for the rear brake rod
allows for rotation of the handlebar

2.4.2 The caliper brake design

2.4 Types of rim brakes
The caliper brake is a class of cable-actuated brake in
which the brake mounts to a single point above the wheel,
The following are among the many sub-types of rim
theoretically allowing the arms to auto-centre on the rim.
brakes:[15]
Arms extend around the tyre and end in brake shoes that
press against the rim. While some designs incorporate
dual pivot points the arms pivot on a sub-frame the
entire assembly still mounts to a single point.
2.4.1 Rod-actuated brakes
Caliper brakes tend to become less eective as tyres get
wider, and so deeper, reducing the brakes mechanical ad-
The rod-actuated brake, or simply rod brake, (roller vantage. Thus caliper brakes are rarely found on modern
lever brake in Raleigh terminology) uses a series of rods mountain bikes. But they are almost ubiquitous on road
and pivots, rather than Bowden cables, to transmit force bikes, particularly the dual-pivot side-pull caliper brake.
applied to a hand lever to pull friction pads upwards
against the inner surface, which faces the hub, of the
wheel rim. They were often called stirrup brakes due 2.4.3 Side-pull caliper brakes
to their shape. Rod brakes are used with a rim prole
known as the Westwood rim, which has a slightly con- Single-pivot side-pull caliper brakes consist of two
cave area on the braking surface and lacks the at outer curved arms that cross at a pivot above the wheel and
surface required by brakes that apply the pads on opposite hold the brake pads on opposite sides of the rim. These
sides of the rim. arms have extensions on one side, one attached to the ca-
The rear linkage mechanism is complicated by the need to ble, the other to the cable housing. When the brake lever
allow rotation where the fork and handlebars attach to the is squeezed, the arms move together and the brake pads
frame. A common setup was to combine a front rod brake squeeze the rim.
with a rear coaster brake. Although heavy and complex, These brakes are simple and eective for relatively nar-
the linkages are reliable and durable and can be repaired row tyres but have signicant ex and resulting poor per-
or adjusted with simple hand tools. The design is still in formance if the arms are made long enough to t wide
use, typically on African and Asian roadsters such as the tyres. If not adjusted properly, low-quality varieties tend
Sohrab and Flying Pigeon. to rotate to one side during actuation and tend to stay
2.4 Types of rim brakes 5

modern racing bicycles. One arm pivots at the centre, like

a side-pull; and the other pivots at the side, like a centre-
pull. The cable housing attaches like that of a side-pull
brake.
The centering of side-pull brakes was improved with the
mass-market adoption of dual-pivot side-pulls (an old de-
sign re-discovered by Shimano in the early 1990s). These
brakes oer a higher mechanical advantage, and result
in better braking. Dual-pivot brakes are slightly heavier
than conventional side-pull calipers and cannot accurately
track an out-of-true rim, or a wheel that exes from side
to side in the frame during hard climbing. It is common
to see professional racers climbing mountains with the
quick-release undone on the rear brake, to eliminate drag
from this source.

2.4.4 Centre-pull caliper brakes

Single pivot side-pull caliper brake.

there, making it dicult to evenly space brake shoes away

from the rim. These brakes are now used on inexpensive
bikes; before the introduction of dual-pivot caliper brakes
they were used on all types of road bikes.

Centre-pull caliper brake.

Centre-pull caliper brakes have symmetrical arms and

as such centre more eectively. The cable housing at-
taches to a xed cable stop attached to the frame, and
the inner cable bolts to a sliding piece (called a brak-
ing delta, braking triangle, or "yoke") or a small pul-
ley, over which runs a straddle cable connecting the two
brake arms. Tension on the cable is evenly distributed to
the two arms, preventing the brake from taking a set to
one side or the other.
Dual-pivot caliper brake. These brakes were reasonably priced, and in the past lled
the price niche between the cheaper and the more expen-
Dual-pivot side-pull caliper brakes are used on most sive models of side-pull brakes.
6 2 BRAKE TYPES

2.4.5 U-brakes Cantilever brakes are preferred for bicycles that use wide
tyres, such as those on mountain bikes. (Standard caliper
brakes are problematic in these applications since the long
distance from the pivot to the pad reduces mechanical
advantage and allows the arms to ex, reducing braking
eectiveness.) Because the arms move only in their de-
signed arcs, the brake shoe must be adjustable in several
planes. Thus cantilever brake shoes are notoriously di-
cult to adjust. As the brake shoes of a second-class can-
tilever brake wears, they ride lower on the rim. Eventu-
ally, one may go underneath the rim, so that the brake
does not function.
There are several brake types based on the cantilever
brake design: cantilever brakes and direct-pull brakes -
U-brake on a freestyle BMX bike both second class lever designs - and roller cam brakes
and U-brakes - both rst class lever designs.
U-brakes (also known by the trademarked term 990-
style) are essentially the same design as the centre-pull
caliper brake. The dierence is that the two arm piv-
ots attach directly to the frame or fork while those of 2.4.7 Traditional cantilever brakes
the centre-pull caliper brake attach to an integral bridge
frame that mounts to the frame or fork by a single bolt.
Like roller cam brakes, this is a caliper design with pivots
located above the rim. Thus U-brakes are often inter-
changeable with, and have the same maintenance issues
as, roller cam brakes.
U-brakes were used on mountain bikes through the early
1990s, particularly under the chainstays, a rear brake
mounting location that was then popular.[16] This loca-
tion usually benets from higher frame stiness, an im-
portant consideration with a powerful brake since ex in
the stays will increase lever travel and reduce eective
braking force. Unfortunately it is also very prone to clog-
ging by mud, which meant that U-brakes quickly fell out
of favour on cross-country bikes.
U-brakes are the current standard on Freestyle BMX
frames and forks. The U-brakes main advantage over
cantilever and linear-pull brakes in this application is that
sideways protrusion of the brake and cable system is mini-
mal, and the exposed parts are smooth. This is especially
valuable on freestyle BMX bikes where any protruding
parts are susceptible to damage and may interfere with
Low prole 'traditional' cantilever brake.
the riders body.

The traditional cantilever brake, or commonly can-

2.4.6 The cantilever brake design
The cantilever brake is a class of brake in which each arm
is attached to a separate pivot point on one side of the seat
stay or fork. Thus all cantilever brakes are dual-pivot.
Both rst- and second-class lever designs exist; second-
class is by far the most common. In the second-class lever
design, the arm pivots below the rim. The brake shoe is
mounted above the pivot and is pressed against the rim as
the two arms are drawn together. In the rst-class lever
design, the arm pivots above the rim. The brake shoe is
mounted below the pivot and is pressed against the rim as
the two arms are forced apart.
tilever brake, pre-dates the direct-pull brake. It is a
centre-pull cantilever design with an outwardly-angled
arm protruding on each side, a cable stop on the frame
or fork to terminate the cable housing, and a straddle ca-
ble between the arms similar to centre-pull caliper brakes.
The cable from the brake lever pulls upwards on the strad-
dle cable, causing the brake arms to rotate up and inward
thus squeezing the rim between the brake pads.
Traditional cantilever brakes are dicult to adapt to bicy-
cle suspensions and protrude somewhat from the frame.
Accordingly, they are usually found only on bicycles with-
out suspension.
2.4 Types of rim brakes 7

2.4.8 V-brakes linear-pull. The term V-brake is trademarked by

Shimano and represents the most popular implementa-
tion of this design.
V-brakes function well with the suspension systems found
on many mountain bikes because they do not require a
separate cable stop on the frame or fork. Because of
the higher mechanical advantage of V-brakes, they re-
quire brake levers with longer cable travel than levers in-
tended for older types of brakes. Mechanical (i.e. cable-
actuated) disc brakes use the same amount of cable travel
as V-brakes, except for those that are described as be-
ing road specic. (See Actuation mechanisms below.)
As a general rule, mechanical disc brakes for so-called
at bar bicycles (chiey mountain and hybrid bicycles)
are compatible with V-brake levers, whereas mechanical
disc brakes intended for drop-bar bicycles are compat-
ible with the cable pull of older brake designs (cantilever,
caliper, and U-brake).
Cheap or poorly-specied V-brakes can suer from a
sudden failure when the noodle end pulls through the
metal stirrup, leaving that wheel with no braking power
whatsoever. Although the noodle can be regarded as a
service item and changed regularly, the hole in the stir-
Linear-pull brake on rear wheel of a mountain bike
rup may enlarge through wear. The stirrup cannot nor-
mally be replaced, so good quality V-brakes use a hard
Linear-pull brakes or direct-pull brakes, commonly and tough steel for the stirrup.[18]
referred to by Shimanos trademark V-brakes, are a side-
pull version of cantilever brakes and mount on the same
frame bosses. However, the arms are longer, with the 2.4.9 Mini V-brakes
cable housing attached to one arm and the cable to the
other. As the cable pulls against the housing the arms are The mini V-brakes (also referred to as mini Vs) are
drawn together. Because the housing enters from verti- V-brakes with shorter arms, typically between 8 and 9
cally above one arm yet force must be transmitted later- centimeters. This reduces the required cable pull, making
ally between arms, the exible housing is extended by a them compatible with brake levers intended for cantilever
rigid tube with a 90 bend known as the noodle. The brakes.
noodle seats in a stirrup attached to the arm. A exible
bellows often covers the exposed cable.[17] Mini V-brakes retain advantages specic to V-brakes
such as not requiring extra cable stops.
On the downside, their shorter arms provide very small
tyre and wheel clearance and generally make for a less
forgiving setup: they can only accommodate smaller tyre
sizes compared to cantilever brakes, may pose problems
for mounting fenders, can be clogged more easily by mud,
and they can make it harder to change wheels out.

2.4.10 Roller cam brakes

Roller cam brakes are centre-pull cantilever brakes ac-

A noodle; the bellows is directly above the tyre.
Since there is no intervening mechanism between the ca-
ble and the arms, the design is called direct-pull. And
since the arms move the same distance that the cable
moves with regard to its housing, the design is also called
tuated by the cable pulling a single two-sided sliding cam.
(First and second-class lever designs exist; rst-class is
most common and is described here.) Each arm has a
cam follower. As the cam presses against the follower
it forces the arms apart. As the top of each arm moves
outward, the brake shoe below the pivot is forced in-
ward against the rim.[19][20] There is much in favor of the
roller cam brake design. Since the cam controls the rate
of closure, the clamping force can be made non-linear
8 2 BRAKE TYPES

the housing must terminate at the brake frame, the side-

pull sabre cam brake was developed.[25] In the sabre cam
design, the cable end is xed and the housing moves the
single-sided cam.

2.4.11 Delta brakes

A pair of Campagnolo delta brakes

The delta brake is a road bicycle brake named due to its

triangular shape. The cable enters at the centre, pulls a
corner of a parallelogram linkage housed inside the brake
Roller cam front brake. across two opposite corners, pushing out at the other two
corners on to the brake arms above the pivots, so that the
arms below the pivots push pads in against the rim. A fea-
with the pull. And since the design can provide posi- ture of the design is that the mechanical advantage varies
tive mechanical advantage, maximum clamping force can as a tangent function across its range, where that of most
be higher than that of other types of brakes. They are other designs remains xed.[26]
known for being strong and controllable. On the down- Many consider the brake attractive, and it has a lower
side, they require some skill to set up and can complicate wind prole than some other common brakes. How-
wheel changes. And they require maintenance: like U- ever, Bicycle Quarterly criticized the delta brake for be-
brakes, as the pad wears it strikes the rim higher; unless ing heavy, giving mediocre stopping power, and suer-
re-adjusted it can eventually contact the tyres sidewall. ing disadvantageous variable mechanical advantage.[27]
The roller cam design was rst developed by Charlie In particular, with a small parallelogram, pad wear causes
Cunningham[19] of WTB around 1982 and licensed mechanical advantage to rise dramatically. However,
to Suntour.[21] Roller cam brakes were used on early with high leverage, the stroke of the lever is not enough
mountain bikes in the 1980s and into the 1990s, mounted to fully apply the brake, so the rider can have brakes that
to the head tube and seat stays in the standard locations, feel normal in light braking but which cannot be applied
and below the chain stays for improved stiness as they harder for hard braking.
do not protrude to interfere with the crank. It is not un- The basic design dates from at least the 1930s. They
usual for a bicycle to have a single roller cam brake (or were made most prominently by Campagnolo in 1985,
U-brake) combined with another type. They are still used but brakes based on the same mechanism were also manu-
on some BMX and recumbent bicycles.[22] Note that the factured by Modolo (Kronos), Weinmann, and others.[28]
common rst-class lever roller cam brake is generally not [29]
They are no longer made and are now uncommon.
convertible to second-class lever cantilever brake types as
the pivots are in dierent locations.
There are two rare variants that use the roller cam prin- 2.4.12 Hydraulic rim brakes
ciple. For locations where centre-pull is inappropriate,
the side-pull toggle cam brake was developed.[23] Also Main article: Hydraulic brake
a rst-class cantilever, it uses a single-sided sliding cam
(the toggle)[24] against one arm that is attached by a link Hydraulic rim brakes are one of the least common
to the other arm. As the cam presses against the (single) types. These brakes are mounted either on the same
follower, the force is also transmitted to the other arm pivot points used for cantilever and linear-pull brakes or
via the link. And specically for suspension forks where they can be mounted on four-bolt brake mounts found
2.5 Disc brakes
Magura hydraulic rim brake
on many trials frames. They were available on some
high-end mountain bikes in the US in the early 1990s,
but declined in popularity with the rise of disc brakes.
The moderate performance advantage (greater power and
control) they oer over cable actuated rim brakes is oset
by their greater weight and complexity. The only signi-
cant current use of these brakes in the US is on bicycles
used for trials riding, but in Europe the Magura hydraulic
rim brakes are still in use.
2.4.13 Rim brakes with self-assisting characteris-
tics
If the front brake is mounted behind the fork the so-
called self-assisting eect occurs: The friction force be-
tween brake shoe and rim creates a bending moment on
the brake. This bending moment presses the shoe even
stronger on the rim thus leading to an amplied brake
force. Self-assist reduces the input force needed to ap-
ply the brake.[30] A disadvantage might be brake fade -
a non-linear relation between actuation force and brake
force.
2.5 Disc brakes
A disc brake consists of a metal disc attached to the
wheel hub that rotates with the wheel. Calipers are at-
tached to the frame or fork along with pads that squeeze
together on the disc. As the pads drag against the disc, the
wheel - and thus the bicycle - is slowed as kinetic energy
(motion) is transformed into thermal energy (heat). (In Other reasons include:
basic operation, disc brakes are identical to rim brakes.)
A bicycle disc brake may be mechanically actuated, as
with a Bowden cable, or hydraulically actuated, or a com-
bination of the two.
Disc brakes are used mainly on mountain bikes ridden
o-road, but sometimes on hybrid bicycles and touring
bicycles. A disc brake is sometimes employed as a drag
brake.
9
A hydraulic front disc brake
2.5.1 Advantages
See also: Actuation mechanisms
Disc brakes tend to perform equally well in all conditions
including water, mud, and snow due to several factors:
The braking surface is farther from the ground and
possible contaminants like mud which can coat or
freeze on the rim and pads. With rim brakes, the
rst point that mud builds up on a mountain bike rid-
den in thick mud is usually the brakes. A mountain
bicycle with disc brakes is less susceptible to mud
buildup provided the rear frame and front fork yoke
have sucient clearance from the wheels.
Disc brakes may be made of materials that dissipate
heat better than the wheel rim, but undersized sport
sized discs will be too small to take advantage of the
fact
There are holes in the rotor, providing a path for wa-
ter and debris to get out from under the pads.
Wheel rims tend to be made of lightweight metal.
Brake discs and pads are harder and can accept
higher maximum loads.
It is possible to ride a bicycle with a buckled wheel
if it has disk brakes, where it would not be possible
with a rim brake because the buckled wheel would
bind on the brake pads.
While all types of brakes will eventually wear out the
braking surface, a brake disc is easier and cheaper to
replace than a wheel rim or drum.
The use of very wide tyres favors disc brakes, as rim
brakes require ever-longer arms to clear the wider
tyre. Longer arms tend to ex more, degrading
braking. Disc brakes are unaected by tyre width.
10 2 BRAKE TYPES

Unlike some rarer rim brake designs, disc brakes are Since about 2003, riders have reported a danger-
compatible with front and rear suspension. ous problem using disc brakes: under hard braking,
the front wheel comes out from the dropouts. The
problem occurs where the brake pads and dropouts
2.5.2 Disadvantages are aligned so the brake reaction force tends to
eject the wheel from the dropout. Under repeated
Disc brake assemblies are heavier than rim brakes, hard braking, the axle moves in the dropout in a
and may be more expensive. The reality is that the way that unscrews the quick release. Riders should
price depends on how mass-produced and tested the make sure the skewers are properly tightened before
solution is. riding.[33][34] Forks that use dierent brake/dropout
Disc brakes require a hub built to accept the disc, orientations or through-axles are not subject to this
and a fork (for front brakes) or frame (for rear problem.
brakes) built to accept the caliper. Front hubs de-
signed for discs often move the left hubs ange in- 2.5.3 Hydraulic vs. mechanical
ward to make room for the disc, which causes the
wheel to be dished. A dished wheel is laterally There are two main types of disc brake: mechanical
weaker when forced to the non-disc side. Other (cable-actuated) and hydraulic. For more details on this
hubs use conventional ange spacing and provide a topic, see Actuation mechanisms.
wheel without dish, but require a less common wide-
spaced fork. The advantages of cable-actuated disc brakes are in their
lower cost, lower maintenance, and lighter system weight.
A rim brake works directly on the rim and the at- Cable-actuated disc brakes also have another potential
tached tyre; a disc brake applies a potentially large advantage: they are traditionally the only type of disc
torque moment at the hub. The latter has two main brake that can be used with the brake levers found on
disadvantages: drop handlebars[35] however drop bar hydraulic conver-
sion components have been developed.[36][37]
1. The torque moment must be transmitted to the tyre
through the wheel components: anges, spokes, nip- 2.5.4 Mineral oil vs. DOT 4/5.1 uid
ples, and rim spoke bed. An engineered disc brake
would reduce weight by not having most of the metal Hydraulic disc brakes make use of two common forms
rim components of uid. Automotive grade DOT 4 or DOT 5.1 which
2. A front disc brake places a bending moment on the are hygroscopic and has a boiling point of 230 C, and
fork between the caliper anchor points and the tip mineral oil which is not hygroscopic and has varying boil-
[38]
of the dropout. In order to counter this moment ing points depending on the type of mineral oil. O-
and to support the anchor points and weight of the rings and seals inside the brake are specically designed
caliper, the fork must be of a certain size(most likely to work with one or the other uid. Using the incor-
heavier).[31] rect uid type will cause the seals to fail resulting in a
squishy feeling in the lever, and the caliper pistons are
unable to retract, so a scraping disc is common. To en-
The heavier fork and wheels compound the sure the correct uid is used the manufacturer will usually
weight disadvantage of the brake assembly it- stamp or laser mark the lever reservoir cap/body with the
self. compatible uid type.

Heat build-up can lead to failure with disc brakes.

Disc brakes heat discs in the same way as rim brakes 2.5.5 Single vs. dual actuation
heat rims, but discs provide an inherently smaller
surface to dissipate heat. Excessive heat leads to Many disc brakes have their pads actuated from both sides
of the caliper, while some have only one pad that moves.
boiling hydraulic uid, resulting in brake fade or to-
tal failure. Overheating is more common in road Dual actuation can move both pads relative to the caliper,
cycling assuming the brakes are undersized to re- or can move one pad relative to the caliper, then move the
duce weight.[32] Recorded cases of disc brake fail- caliper and other pad relative to the rotor, called a oat-
ures usually involves several kilometers of downhill,ing caliper design. Single-actuation brakes use either a
combined with small underweight discs. multi-part rotor that oats axially on the hub, or bend the
rotor sideways as needed. Bending the rotor is theoreti-
The design and positioning of disc brakes can inter- cally inferior, but in practice gives good service, even un-
fere with pannier racks not designed for them. For der high-force braking with a hot disc, and can also yield
this reason, many manufacturers produce disc and more progressiveness (which is generally sought after for
non-disc versions. the rear brake).
2.5 Disc brakes
2.5.6 Self-adjusting
Many hydraulic disc brakes have a self-adjusting mecha-
nism so as the brake pad wears, the pistons keep the dis-
tance from the pad to the disc consistent to maintain the
same brake lever throw. Some hydraulic brakes, espe-
cially older ones, and most mechanical discs have manual
controls to adjust the pad-to-rotor gap. Typically, several
pad adjustments are needed during the life of the pads.
2.5.7 Multi-part construction
Hydraulic calipers are typically made in one piece to re-
duce weight, increase stiness and reduce leaks. The
two-piece design reduces heat build-up more eectively.
Many older brakes and high-performance models use a
two-piece caliper, where the two parts are bolted to-
gether. Many mechanical disc brake calipers are two-
piece, for example, Avid BB-5 and BB-7 brakes.
2.5.8 Multiple pistons
Many high-performance calipers use two or three pistons
per side; lower-cost and lower-performance calipers of-
ten have only one per side. Using more pistons allows a
larger piston area and thus increased leverage with a given
master cylinder. Also, pistons may be of several sizes so
pad force can be controlled across the face of the pad, es-
pecially when the pad is long and narrow. A long narrow
pad may be desired to increase pad area and thus reduce
the frequency of pad changes. In contrast, using a sin-
gle large piston may be heavier to accomplish the same
results.
2.5.9 Caliper mounting standards
There are many standards for mounting disc brake Standards
calipers. I.S. (International Standard) is dierent for
160mm and 203mm rotor and diers between forks with
a QR and 20 mm through axle. The post-mount standard
also diers by disc size and axle type. Many incompati-
ble variants were produced over the years, mostly by fork
manufacturers. The mount used on the Rockshox Boxxer
is the most typical of these specialty mounts, but most
fork manufactures now use either the IS or post-mount
standard for their current forks. As a point of reference,
Hayes currently sells no fewer than 13 dierent adapters
to t their brakes to various mounting patterns.[39]
2.5.10 Advantages and disadvantages of various
types of mounts
A disadvantage of post mounts is that the bolt is threaded
directly into the fork lowers. If the threading is stripped
or if the bolt is stuck, then the threads will need to be re-
paired, or the seized bolt drilled out. Frame manufactur-
11
ers have standardized the IS mount for the rear disc brake
mount. In recent years post mount has gained ground and
is becoming the most common. This is mostly due to de-
creased manufacturing and part cost for the brake calipers
when using post mount. A limitation of the mount is that
the location of the rotor disc is more tightly constrained: it
is possible to encounter incompatible hub/fork combina-
tions, where the rotor is out of range. With an IS mount,
the caliper can be moved closer to or further from the
mount point using spacers; this can permit a wider range.
2.5.11 Disc mounting standards
There are many options for disc rotor mounting - Inter-
national Standard (IS), centerlock, Cannondales 4-bolt
pattern, Hopes 5-bolt pattern and Rohlos 4-bolt pat-
tern, to name a few. IS is a six-bolt mount and is the
industry standard. Centerlock is patented by Shimano
and uses a splined interface along with a lockring to se-
cure the disc. The advantages of centerlock are that the
splined interface is theoretically stier, and removing the
disc is quicker because it only requires one lockring to be
removed. Some of the disadvantages are that the design
is patented requiring a licensing fee from Shimano. A
Shimano cassette lockring tool (or an external BB tool in
case of through-axle hub) is needed to remove the rotor
and is more expensive and less common than a Torx key.
Advantages of IS six-bolt are that there are more choices
when it comes to hubs and rotors. IS rotors use button
head socket cap screws (typically M5x0.8x10mm with
locking patch) with either a hex socket or Torx socket
to secure them to the hub. This can make IS rotors more
time consuming to install and remove. Torx screws are
preferred for the superior torque: it is easy to strip the
socket of a hex bolt by overtightening it, leaving a rotor
that is hard to remove.
Centerlock (Shimano proprietary)
International Standard (IS) (in widespread use)
44mm BCD
AMP 6-bolt (AMP proprietary, obsolete)
Cannondale's 4-bolt pattern (obsolete)
Freewheel thread (used by Mountain Cycles and
others; obsolete)
Hope Technology's 5-bolt pattern (Hope propri-
etary, obsolete)
Hope Technology's 3-bolt pattern (Hope propri-
etary)
Rohlo's 4-bolt pattern (proprietary, 65mm, same
as some chainrings)
Rock Shox 3-bolt pattern (proprietary, obsolete)
12 2 BRAKE TYPES

2.5.12 Disc sizes front and rear hubs. Unlike a traditional drum brake, the
Roller Brake can be easily removed from the hub. Some
Disc brake rotors come in many dierent sizes, typically models contain a torque-limiting device called a power
160 millimeter, 185 mm, or 203 mm in diameter. How- modulator designed to make it dicult to skid the wheel.
ever, many other sizes are available as brake manufactur- In practice this can reduce its eectiveness on bicycles
ers make discs specic to their calipers the dimensions with adult-sized wheels.
often vary by a few millimeters. Drum brakes are most common on utility bicycles in some
Larger rotors provide greater braking force for a given countries, especially the Netherlands, and are also often
pad pressure, by virtue of a longer moment arm for the found on freight bicycles and velomobiles.
caliper to act on. Smaller rotors provide less stopping
power but also less weight and better protection from
knocks. Larger rotors dissipate heat more quickly and 2.6.1 Advantages and disadvantages
have a larger amount of mass to absorb heat, reduc-
ing brake fade or failure. Downhill racers typically run
larger brakes to handle the greater braking loads and ex-
tended braking duration. Cross country racers typically
run smaller rotors which can handle smaller braking loads
yet oer a considerable weight savings of as much as 100g
per rotor.[40] It is also common to use a larger diameter
rotor on the front wheel and a smaller rotor on the rear
wheel since the front wheel does the most braking (up to
90% of the total).[41]
With large rotors to dissipate heat, disc brakes are be-
coming more popular as drag brakes.

2.6 Drum brakes Shimano Roller Brake unit on an internally geared hub

Main article: Drum brake Drum brakes provide consistent braking in wet or dirty
Bicycle drum brakes operate like those of a car, al- conditions since the mechanism is fully enclosed.
Drum brakes are heavier, more complicated, and often
weaker than rim brakes, but they require less mainte-
nance. Drum brakes do not adapt well to quick release
axle fastening, and removing a drum brake wheel requires
the operator to disconnect the brake cable as well as the
axle.
Drum brakes have torque arms which must be anchored
to the frame or fork of the bicycle, and not all bicycles are
constructed to accommodate such fastenings or tolerate
their applied forces.
Drum brakes often have a long break-in period during
which their braking power increases gradually over the
course of hundreds of miles of riding.

Sturmey-Archer front drum brake

2.7 Coaster brakes
though the bicycle variety use cable rather than hydraulic
actuation. Two pads are pressed outward against the First invented in 1898 by Willard M. Farrow, the coaster
braking surface on the inside of the hub shell. Shell inside
brake, also known as a back pedal brake or foot brake
diameters on a bicycle drum brake are typically 70120(torpedo or contra in some countries, in Italy contrope-
mm (2.7564.724 in). Drum brakes have been used on dale), is a type of drum brake integrated into the back
front hubs and hubs with both internal and external free-
hub with an internal freewheel. Freewheeling functions
wheels. Both cable- and rod-operated drum brake sys- as with other systems, but when back pedaled, the brake
tems have been widely produced. engages after a fraction of a revolution. The coaster brake
A Roller Brake is a modular cable-operated drum brake can be found in both single-speed and internally geared
manufactured by Shimano for use on specially splined hubs.
2.8 Drag brakes
Single-speed coaster brake
When such a hub is pedaled forwards, the sprocket drives
a screw which forces a clutch to move along the axle, driv-
ing the hub shell or gear assembly. When pedaling is re-
versed, the screw drives the clutch in the opposite direc-
tion, forcing it either between two brake shoes and press-
ing them against the brake mantle (which is a steel liner
within the hub shell), or into a split collar and expanding
it against the mantle. The braking surface is often steel,
and the braking element brass or phosphor-bronze, as in
the Birmingham-made Perry Coaster Hub. Crude coaster
brakes also exist, usually on childrens bicycles, where a
serrated steel brake cone grips the inside of the hub shell
directly, with no separate brake pads or mantle. These
oer a less progressive action and are more likely to lock
the rear wheel unintentionally.
Unlike most drum brakes (but like a Shimano roller
brake) a coaster brake is designed to run with all its inter-
nal parts coated in grease for quiet operation and smooth
engagement. Most grey molybdenum disulphide greases
work well in a coaster brake, with its metal-to-metal fric-
tion surfaces.
Coaster-brake bicycles are generally equipped with a sin-
gle cog and chain wheel and often use in (3.2 mm)
wide chain. However, there have been several models of
coaster brake hubs with drailleurs, such as the Sachs 2x3.
These use special extra-short drailleurs which can stand
up to the forces of being straightened out frequently and
do not require an excessive amount of reverse pedal rota-
tion before the brake engages. Coaster brakes have also
been incorporated into hub gear designs - for example the
AWC and SRC3 from Sturmey-Archer, and the Shimano
Nexus 3-speed. They can have up to eight gears, like the
Nexus inter-8.[42]
2.7.1 Advantages and disadvantages
Coaster brakes have the advantage of being protected
from the elements and thus perform well in rain or snow.
Though coaster brakes generally go years without needing
maintenance, they are more complicated than rim brakes
to repair if it becomes necessary, especially the more so-
13
Cutaway view of a Husqvarna Novo coaster brake hub
phisticated type with expanding brake shoes. Coaster
brakes also do not have sucient heat dissipation for use
on long descents, a characteristic made legendary through
events such as the 'Repack Downhill' race, where riders
almost certainly would need to repack their coaster brakes
after the grease melted or smoked due to the heat from
lengthy downhill runs.[43] A coaster brake can only be ap-
plied when the cranks are reasonably level, limiting how
quickly it can be applied. As coaster brakes are only made
for rear wheels, they have the disadvantage common to all
rear brakes of skidding the wheel easily. This disadvan-
tage may, however, be alleviated if the bicycle also has
a hand-lever-operated front brake and the cyclist uses it.
Another disadvantage is that the coaster brake is com-
pletely dependent on the chain being fully intact and en-
gaged. If the chain breaks or disengages from the chain-
wheel and/or rear sprocket, the coaster brake provides no
braking power whatsoever. Like all hub brakes except
disc brakes, a coaster brake requires a reaction arm to be
connected to the frame. This may require unbolting when
the wheel is removed or moved in its fork ends to adjust
chain tension.
2.8 Drag brakes
A drag brake is a type of brake dened by its use rather
than by its mechanical design.
A drag brake is intended to provide a constant decelerat-
ing force to slow a bicycle on a long downhill rather than
to stop it a separate braking system is used to stop
the bicycle. A drag brake is often employed on a heavy
bicycle such as a tandem in mountainous areas where ex-
tended use of rim brakes could cause a rim to become
hot enough to blow out.[44] [45] The typical drag brake
has long been a drum brake. The largest manufacturer
of this type of brake is Arai, whose brakes are screwed
onto hubs with conventional freewheel threading on the
left side of the rear hub and operated via Bowden cables.
As of 2011, the Arai drum brake has been out of pro-
duction for several years, with remaining stocks nearing
14 3 ACTUATION MECHANISMS

depletion and used units commanding premium prices on 3.1 Mechanical

internet auction sites.
More recently, large-rotor disc brakes are being used as The primary modern mechanical actuation mechanism
drag brakes.[46] DT-Swiss make an adapter to mate disc uses brake levers coupled to Bowden cables to move
rotors with hubs threaded for the Arai drum brake, but brake arms, thus forcing pads against a braking sur-
this still leaves the problem of tting the caliper. face. Other mechanical actuation mechanisms exist: see
Coaster brakes for back-pedal actuation mechanisms,
and Rod-actuated brakes for a mechanism incorporating
metal rods.
2.9 Band brake
The rst Spoon brakes were actuated by a cable that was
pulled by twisting the end of a handlebar.[52]

3.2 Hydraulic

Main article: Hydraulic brake

Hydraulic brakes also use brake levers to push uid

Band brake for rear wheel of a bicycle.
Main article: Band brake
through a hose to move pistons in a caliper, thus forc-
ing pads against a braking surface. While hydraulic rim
brakes exist, today the hydraulic actuation mechanism is
identied mostly with Disc brakes.
Two types of brake uid are used today: mineral oil and
DOT uid. Mineral oil is generally inert, while DOT is
corrosive to frame paint but has a higher boiling point.
Using the wrong uid can cause seals to swell or become
corroded.

A band brake consists of a band, strap, or cable that 3.3 Hybrid

wraps around a drum that rotates with a wheel and is
pulled tight to generate braking friction. Band brakes
appeared as early as 1884 on tricycles.[47] Star Cycles
introduced a band brake in 1902 on its bicycles with
freewheels.[48] Band brakes are still manufactured for bi-
cycles today.[49]
A rim band brake, as implemented on the Yankee bicy-
cle by Royce Husted in the 1990s, consists of a stainless-
steel cable, wrapped in a kevlar sheath, that rides in a u-
shaped channel on the side of the wheel rim. Squeezing
the brake lever tightens the cable against the channel to
produce braking friction.[50] A return spring slackens the
cable when the brake lever is released, no adjustment is
required, and the brake becomes more forceful when wet.
Husted said his inspiration was the band brake used on in-
dustrial machinery.[51] The Yankee bicycle only included
a rear brake, but that met U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission standards.
3 Actuation mechanisms
The actuation mechanism is that part of the brake sys-
tem that transmits force from the rider to that part of the Brake levers are usually mounted on the handlebars
system that does the actual braking. Brake system actua- within easy reach of the riders hands. They may be
tion mechanisms are either mechanical or hydraulic.
Some older designs, like the AMP and Mountain Cycles
brakes, use a cable from lever to caliper, then use a master
cylinder integrated into the piston. Some Santana tan-
dem bicycles used a cable from lever to a master cylin-
der mounted near the head tube, with a hydraulic line to
the rear wheel caliper. Such hybrid designs allow the
leverage of a hydraulic system while allowing use of ca-
ble brake levers, but may be heavier and can suer from
grit intrusion in the standard cable.
An older Sachs drum brake kit (Hydro Pull) allows to
rebuild a regular Sachs bicycle drum brake to hydraulic
lever and action. A piston is added outside the drum in-
stead of the bowden clamp. This solution is often seen on
modied Long John cargo bikes, allowing a low friction
lever pull front wheel brake action. After Sachs ceased
production of this kit a similar solution is sometimes done
by welding on a Magura piston to the drum cylinder lever.
Welding was necessary because the Magura action is re-
verse to that of the Sachs kit.
3.4 Brake levers
distinct from or integrated into the shifting mechanism.
3.5 Advantages and disadvantages 15

made to work with either type of brake. Others vary their

mechanical advantage as the lever moves to move the pad
quickly at rst, then provide more leverage once it contact
the brake surface.[58]
Hydraulic brake levers move a piston in a uid reservoir.
The mechanical advantage of the lever depends on the
brake system design.

3.5 Advantages and disadvantages

The cable mechanism is cheaper, but Bowden cables have
issues (see here) that are applicable to any braking system
incorporating them.
A hydraulic mechanism is closed and so less likely than
Brake levers on the drop handlebars of a road bike with inte- a cable mechanism to suer from contamination. Hy-
grated shifters draulic brakes rarely fail, but failure tends to be complete.
Hydraulic systems require specialized equipment to re-
pair. Hydraulic uid may boil from excessive heat build
The brake lever transmits the force applied by the rider up, causing complete brake failure.[59]
through either a mechanical or hydraulic mechanism.
Bicycles with drop handlebars may have more than one
brake lever for each brake to facilitate braking from mul- 4 Braking technique
tiple hand positions. Levers that allow the rider to work
the brakes from the tops of the bars, introduced in the
There are several techniques for ecient braking on a
'70s, are called extension levers, safety levers [53] or, for
standard, two-brake bicycle. The one most commonly
their reputation for being unable to actuate the full range
taught is the 25-75 technique. This method entails sup-
of travel of the main brake lever, suicide levers. Modern
plying 75% of the stopping power to the front brake, and
top-mounted brake levers, called interrupt brake levers,
about 25% of the power to the rear. Since the bicycles
use an entirely dierent method of actuation and are con-
deceleration causes a transfer of weight to the front wheel,
sidered safer.[54]
there is much more traction on the front wheel. There-
The mechanical advantage of the brake lever must be fore, the rear brake can exert less braking force than on
matched to the brake it is connected to in order for the the front before the rear wheel starts skidding. For a
rider to have sucient leverage and travel to actuate the more-detailed analysis, see bicycle and motorcycle dy-
brake. Using mismatched brakes and levers could result namics.
in too much mechanical advantage and hence not enough
If too much power is applied to the front brake, then the
travel to properly actuate the brake (v-brakes with con-
momentum of the rider propels him/her over the handle-
ventional levers) or too little mechanical advantage, re-
bars, thereby ipping the bicycle. The skidding of the
quiring a very strong pull to apply the brakes hard (v-
rear wheel can serve as a signal to reduce force on the
brake levers with other types of brake).
front brake; a skillful cyclist in eect becomes a human
Mechanical (cable) brake levers come in two varieties anti-lock braking machine, thus they must use both front
based on the length of brake cable pulled for a given and back brakes [60]
amount of lever movement:[55]
Some front brakes have a spring that limits the applied
force; this is easier to use but limits the braking force
Standard pull levers work with most brake de- and cannot compensate for changes in brake eectiveness
signs, including caliper brakes, traditional cantilever due, for example, to a wet rim or overheated brake disc.
brakes, and mechanically actuated disc brakes On tandem bicycles and other long-wheel-base bicycles
branded for Road. (including recumbents and other specialized bicycles), the
Long pull levers work with direct-pull cantilever lower relative centre of mass makes it virtually impossible
brakes, such as Shimano "V-Brakes",[56] and me- for heavy front braking [61]
to ip the bicycle; the front wheel
chanically actuated disc brakes branded for Moun- would skid rst.
tain. A skillful bicyclist often will use the front brake alone for
moderate braking when riding on a good, paved surface.
Adapters are available to allow the use of one type of lever As the front wheel does not skid in those conditions, the
with an otherwise incompatible type of rim brake.[57] front brake poses less risk of loss of control, and does not
Some brake levers have adjustable leverage that can be cause rapid tyre wear.
16 7 REFERENCES

In some situations, it is advisable to slow down and to use 5 Bicycles without brakes
the rear brake more and the front brake less:
Track bicycles are built without brakes so as to avoid
When unfamiliar with the braking characteristics of sudden changes in speed when racing on a velodrome.
a bicycle. It is important to test the brakes and learn Since track bikes have a xed gear, braking can be ac-
how much hand force is needed when rst riding it. complished by reversing the force on the pedals to slow
down, or by locking the pedals and inducing a skid.
When leaning in a turn (or preferably, brake before Fixed gear road bikes (xies) may also lack brakes. Slow-
turning). ing and stopping is accomplished as with a track bike.
Many xed gear bikes are, however, tted with a front
Slippery surfaces, such as wet pavement, mud, snow, brake for safety reasons, or because it is a legal require-
ice, or loose stones/gravel. It is dicult to recover ment.
from a front-wheel skid on a slippery surface, espe- Some BMX bicycles do not have brakes. The usual
cially when leaned over. method of stopping is for the rider to put one or both feet
on the ground, or to wedge a foot between the seat and
Bumpy surfaces: If the front wheel comes o the rear tyre, eectively acting as a spoon brake.
the ground during braking, it will stop completely.
Cycle Speedway is a type of close track racing in the UK,
Landing on a stopped front wheel with the brakes
Poland, Australia, and France. The special built bike has
still applied is likely to cause the front wheel to skid
a single freewheel and no brakes. Slowing is done during
and may ip the rider over the handlebar.
cornering by dragging the inside foot. These bikes are
not intended for road use and are keep at cycle speedway
Very loose surfaces (such as gravel and loose dirt): tracks. [64]
In some loose-surface situations, it may be bene-
cial to completely lock up the rear wheel in order to In Belgium, Australia, Germany, the UK, France, Poland,
slow down or maintain control. On very steep slopes Denmark and Finland, it is illegal to ride a bicycle without
[65][66][67][68][69][70][71]
with loose surfaces where any braking will cause the brakes on a public road.
wheel to skid, it can be better to maintain control of
the bicycle by the rear-brake more than one would
normally. However neither wheel should stop rotat- 6 See also
ing completely, as this will result in very little con-
trol. Bicycle and motorcycle dynamics
Detangler
Steep descents : the slope angle makes the front
ip more easily reached, and moreover a front-wheel
skid would be very dicult to recover (crash highly
probable), whereas a rear skid does still drag the bike 7 References
without losing too much control.
[1] Tony Hadland and Hans-Erhard Lessing (2016). Bicycle
Wet weather conditions, when the road surfaces are Design, An Illustrated History. MIT Press. p. 259. ISBN
978-0-262-02675-8.
generally more slippery.
[2] Nick Clayton (1986). Early Bicycles. Shire publications,
Long descents: alternating the front and back brake Princes Risborough UK. pp. 815. ISBN 0-85263-803-5.
can help prevent hand fatigue and overheating of the
[3] Serena Beeley (1992). A History of Bicycles. Studio Edi-
wheel rims which can cause a disastrous tyre blow- tions, London. p. 32. ISBN 1-85170-753-0.
out, or boiling of the hydraulic uid in case of hy-
draulic disc brakes. [4] Hudson, William (2008). Myths and Milestones in Bicy-
cle Evolution. Jim Langley. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
Flat front tyre: braking a tyre that has little air can [5] Duck, Abram W., United States Patent Oce, Letters
cause the tyre to come o the rim, which is likely to Patent No. 594,234, November 23, 1897
cause a crash.[62]
[6] Duck, Abram W., Patent No. 594,234

It is customary to place the front brake lever on the left
in right-side-driving countries, and vice versa,[63] because
the hand on the side nearer the centre of the road is more
commonly used for hand signals, and the rear brake can
not pitch the bicyclist forward.
[7] Bicycling Science (2nd ed.), pp.153154
[8] Whitt, Frank R. and Wilson, David G., Bicycling Science
(2nd ed.), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (1982),
ISBN 0-262-23111-5, pp. 198-233: The spoon brake was
fairly ineective, while the coaster brake did not operate

on the front tyre, the most eective position on a two-
wheel vehicle during a hard stop.
[9] Parliamentary Debates: Senate and House of Representa-
tives, Tari Preferences, Volume 34 (19 September 1906),
p. 4951
[10] Parliamentary Debates, p. 4951
[11] Bill, Louis H., United States Patent Oce, Letters Patent
No. 708,114, September 2, 1902
[12] Duck Brake Company, Testimonial of Geo. A. Wyman
(1903): George A. Wyman, who crossed the United States
aboard a motorized bicycle with a Duck roller brake
praised its eciency, stating that I controlled my mo-
tor[bike] with it on the steepest grades of the Rocky
Mountains.
[13] Forester, John. ""safe brakes that burn up. Retrieved
2010-06-05.
[14] Jenkins, Mike (23 July 2003). Materials in Sports Equip-
ment, Volume 1. Elsevier. p. 170.
[15] Rim brakes have been the subject of countless engineer-
ing innovations. Some of the more unusual results can be
seen here .
[16] Brown, p. Adjusting Cantilever Brakes
[17] Brown, p. Direct-Pull Cantilever Brakes
[18] Chris Juden (November 2006). Check your V brakes.
CTC - the UKs national cyclists organisation. Retrieved
2010-02-06.
[19] US patent 4765443, Cunningham, Charles B., Caliper
brake for mountain bicycles having wide tires, issued
1988-08-23
[20] Pictures of a rear and a front roller cam brake.
[21] Private communication by Je Archer of the Museum of
Mountain Bike Art & Technology
[22] Brown 2007, p. Roller-cam Brake
[23] Retrobike Gallery and Archive. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
Drawings and technical description.
[24] An example of the toggle integral to the toggle cam brake
appears here . The cam surface is the upper edge of the
'tail' on the large central piece. The cable attaches to one
of the three holes. Note that the cam must are at twice
the rate of the two-sided roller cam design in order to
move the arms the same amount.
[25] A picture of the rare sabre cam brake may be found at
MOMBAT - click on the 2nd thumb from the left.
[26] Brandt 2005, p. Delta
[27] Heine 2008, p. 36
[28] Sutherland, Howard; et al. (1995). Sutherlands Handbook
for Bicycle Mechanics (6th Edition). Berkeley, CA, USA:
Sutherland Publications. pp. 13.27 to 13.28. ISBN 0-
914578-09-X.
17
[29] Metz, Joel. so, you like odd brakes, eh?". Archived from
the original on 14 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
[30] Why is a brake behind the fork more ecient? Self-
applying characteristics explained on YouTube
[31] Brandt 2005, p. Disc Brakes
[32] Tyler (February 2012). Road Bike Disc Brakes Are
Coming, But Will They Work?". Retrieved 2012-12-23.
[33] Sheldon Brown. Bicycle Glossary: Disc Brake. Re-
trieved 2011-11-22. There have been concerns about the
safety of front disc brakes, in conjunction with lightweight
quick-release skewers.
[34] Annan, James (January 2006). Disk brakes and quick
releases - what you need to know. Archived from the
original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
[35] Sheldon Brown, quoted at Brandt 2005, p. Disc Brakes
[36] CXM Tech Exclusive: Drop Bar Hydraulic Disc Brake
Adapter Tested at Nationals | Cyclocross Magazine
Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos. Cx-
magazine.com. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
[37] Shimano introduces road hydro disc brakes for mechan-
ical shifting. road.cc. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
[38] Murdick, Nick. Break Fluid Breakdown and Implica-
tions for Road disc. bikerumor.com.
[39] Mount Bracket Chart 2005 (PDF). Retrieved 2010-06-
15.
[40] Disc Brake weight listing. Archived from the original
on 9 November 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
[41] Bicycling Science (3rd ed.), p. 245: The front brake
therefore has to provide 90 percent of the total retarding
force at a deceleration of 0.5 G ...
[42]
[43] Charlie Kellys Repack Page (Repack Downhill bike race)
[44] Brown 2007, p. Drag Brake
[45] Brown, p. Brakes for Tandem Bicycles
[46] Some tandem riders with Avid BB-7 mechanical disc
brakes and 203mm rotors report fewer heat problems un-
der heavy braking than when using the previous standard
of comparison, an Arai drum used as a drag brake.
[47] TRICYCLES v BICYCLES predated CARS v MOTOR-
CYCLES. www.triporteurs.co.uk. Archived from the
original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
[48] Star Bicycles. Wolverhampton Museum of Industry.
Retrieved 2010-04-02.
[49] Band Brake detailed product information. Cixi Dafeng
Bicycle Co., Ltd. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
[50] Yankee Bicycle. US Times. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
[51] Stuart F. Brown (August 1991). The Anybody Bike.
Popular Science: 5859, 89.
18
[52] Herlihy, David V. (2004). Bicycle, The History. Yale Uni-
versity Press. p. 76. ISBN 0-300-10418-9.
[53] Brown 2007, p. Extension levers
[54] Brown 2007, p. Interrupter Brake Levers
[55] Brown 2007, p. Brake Lever Types
[56] Ibid. Direct pull cantilevers have twice as much mechan-
ical advantage as traditional brakes, so they require a lever
with half as much mechanical advantage. Long pull levers
pull the cable twice as far, but only half as hard.
[57] To solve the problem of using V-brakes with road levers,
devices that use an eccentric pulley to increase the amount
of cable pull of road levers, such as the QBP Travel
Agent, may be used.
[58] Sheldon Brown. The Geometry of Cantilever Brakes.
Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Re-
trieved 2010-12-15.
[59] Hydraulic systems transmit force through incompressible
uids. Boiling hydraulic uid cannot transmit sucient
force since some of that uid has become a compressible
gas.
[60] Allen, John S. Using your Brakes. John S. Allen.
Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Re-
trieved 2010-12-25.
[61] Bill McCready, President Santana Cycles. How To:
Emergency Stops. Retrieved 2012-07-12. A tandem
with an adult stoker will skid instead of ip.
[62] Brown, p. Braking and Turning
[63] Brown, p. Right Front or Left Front?
[64] http://3318news.co.uk/about/about/
[65] Plichten van etsers. Retrieved 2015-04-10. Uw ets
moet aan verschillende technische eisen voldoen. Als u de
weg op wil, dan moet uw ets uitgerust zijn met: goede
remmen vooraan en achteraan; bij kinderetsjes volstaat
n rem (Translated: Your bike must meet several techni-
cal requirements. If you want to hit the road, then your bi-
cycle must be equipped with: good brakes front and rear;
for childrens bikes one brake is sucient)
[66] Western Australian Consolidated Regulations, Road
Trac Code 2000 - Reg 224. Archived from the origi-
nal on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-02. A person shall
not ride a bicycle that does not have at least one eective
brake.
[67] German road trac licensing regulations
(Straenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung StVZO)".
German Department of Justice. Retrieved 2012-07-
27. Fahrrder mssen zwei voneinander unabhngige
Bremsen haben.
[68] Matthew Sparkes (25 August 2010). Cycling without
brakes? You're breaking the law. Guardian News and
Media Limited. Retrieved 2011-07-20. Brakeless riders
are strictly breaking the law in the UK.
7 REFERENCES
[69] Cykelbekendtgrelsen - Bekendtgrelse om cyklers in-
dretning og udstyr m.v.. Retrieved 2012-10-28. En cykel
skal vre forsynet med mindst to uafhngige bremsesys-
temer, der virker p henholdsvis for- og baghjul.
[70] Code de la route. Legifrance. 29 November 2011. Re-
trieved 2014-03-29. Tout cycle doit tre muni de deux
dispositifs de freinage ecaces.
[71] Liikenne- ja viestintministerin asetus kaksi- ja
kolmipyristen ajoneuvojen sek nelipyrien raken-
teesta ja varusteista, Luku 5, 17 Jarrut 2002-12-19
Polkupyrss tulee olla ainakin yksi tehokas jarrulaite.
Tavaran tai useamman kuin yhden henkiln kuljetukseen
tarkoitetussa polkupyrss, pervaunulla varustetussa
polkupyrss ja polkupyrss, jossa on enemmn
kuin kaksi vaihdetta, tulee kuitenkin olla kaksi erillist
tehokasta jarrulaitetta. (Finnish)
7.1 Sources
Brandt, Jobst (October 2005). Brakes from Skid
Pads to V-brakes. Jobst Brandt: Frequently Asked
Questions about Bicycles and Bicycling. Harris Cy-
clery. Archived from the original on 3 February
2009. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
Brown, Sheldon; et al. Articles by Sheldon Brown
and Others. Harris Cyclery Articles. Harris Cy-
clery. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
Brown, Sheldon (2007). Bicycle Glossary. Shel-
don Browns Bicycle Glossary. Harris Cyclery. Re-
trieved 2010-06-21.
Heine, Jan (2008). Slow Down, The Story of Bi-
cycle Brakes. Bicycle Quarterly. Vintage Bicycle
Press LLC (Winter 2008): 36. ISSN 1941-8809.
Whitt, Frank Rowland; Wilson, David Gordon
(1982). Bicycling Science (2nd (hardcover) ed.).
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-
23111-4. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
Wilson, David Gordon (April 2004). Bicycling Sci-
ence (3rd (paperback) ed.). Cambridge, MA: The
MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-73154-6. Retrieved
2010-04-15.
Ekstrm, Gert; Husberg, Ola (2001). lskade cykel
(in Swedish) (1st ed.). Bokfrlaget Prisma. ISBN
91-518-3906-7.
 19

8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Bicycle brake Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_brake?oldid=761045411 Contributors: Derek Ross, Tarquin, Mag-
nus~enwiki, Rmhermen, Heron, Infrogmation, Aezram, Menchi, Alo, Egil, G-Man, Snoyes, Salsa Shark, Redjar, RedWolf, Michael
Snow, Matt Gies, Ds13, Leonard G., Christopherlin, Wmahan, Kirtai, Chowbok, Pgan002, Ebear422, Gzuckier, Rogerzilla, Defenestrate,
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Show!, SmackBot, Keanu, Goof777, Skizzik, Chris the speller, Thumperward, Stevage, Ctbolt, NYKevin, Emiliobole, Ww2censor, Hartley-
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Mitch Ames, Anticipation of a New Lovers Arrival, The, Jsallen1, Addbot, Barsoomian, CL, DougsTech, Ronhjones, Polancox, Nor-
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8.2 Images
File:Antique_1_(Brake_detail).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Antique_1_%28Brake_detail%29.
jpg License: CC BY 2.0 Contributors: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wheany/2689729281/ Original artist: http://www.flickr.com/photos/
wheany/
File:Band-brake_(for_bicycle_rear_wheel)b.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Band-brake_
%28for_bicycle_rear_wheel%29b.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: imoni
File:Bicycle_Noodle.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Bicycle_Noodle.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
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File:Bicycle_brakes_-_animated.gif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Bicycle_brakes_-_animated.gif
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20 8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

File:BrakeDiskVR.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/BrakeDiskVR.JPG License: CC BY 3.0 Con-

tributors: Own work Original artist: StromBer
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License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia by SreeBot Original artist: AndrewDressel at en.wikipedia
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The people from the Tango! project. And according to the meta-data in the le, specically: Andreas Nilsson, and Jakub Steiner (although
minimally).
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File:Magura_hydraulic_rim_brake.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Magura_hydraulic_rim_
brake.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work (Original text: I (AndrewDressel (talk)) created this work entirely by myself.)
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tors: Own work Original artist: user:Adamrush
File:Pashley_Poppy_Drum_Brakes_01.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Pashley_Poppy_Drum_
Brakes_01.jpg License: CC BY 2.0 Contributors: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ubrayj02/5757436001/ Original artist: http://www.flickr.
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