This kind of terrain calls for big disc rotors. The rotor may be connected to the wheel hub with either six bolts or using Shimano’s Centerlock system, where a lockring screws onto threads in the hub. The disc brake rotor is usually made of steel and sized between 140mm and 203mm in diameter, with larger rotors used where stronger braking is needed, such as on downhill mountain bikes. Matthew Loveridge / Immediate Mediaįlat-mount is an evolution of this and sees the caliper bolted to a designated flat surface on the frame (the default system now used on road bikes, gravel bikes and some cross-country mountain bikes).ĭisc brake pads are typically made from an organic, sintered or semi-metallic compound, each with its own advantages and disadvantages depending on the type of riding you're doing.ĭisc brake rotors Rotors are attached to the hub in the centre of the wheel. Shimano and other brands now offer flat-mount MTB brakes at multiple levels. This standard is referred to as post-mount. The brake caliper is either mounted on posts protruding from the bike’s frame (usually found on mountain bikes). They house brake pads that act on a rotor attached to the wheel’s hub, pressing against this to slow the bike. The front brake caliper is attached to the left fork blade and the rear brake usually to the left chainstay, but occasionally to the left seatstay or between the two. In a disc brake, the brake pads are housed in a caliper bolted to the frame. The caliper above shows the flat-mount standard. How do disc brakes work? Whether on a road or gravel bike, disc brake calipers are found in the same place. We’ll explain the differences between how rim and disc brakes work in detail below, but in both cases, applying the brakes pushes pads against a braking surface to generate friction and heat to slow or stop the bike. In either case, there’s a physical line to the brake caliper from the lever. When you operate the brake lever, either it pulls a cable or pushes hydraulic fluid through a hose. Singlespeed bikes have levers that just operate the brakes, as there are no gears to operate. Single-chainring groupsets (known as 1x, or 'one-by') will have one brake lever with a gear shifter built-in, while the other lever will only work as a brake. Road bikes normally have the brake lever and shifter built into one unit. On bikes with a flat handlebar, including mountain bikes, there’s usually a brake lever separate from the bike’s gear shift levers.ĭrop-bar road bikes and gravel bikes usually combine the brake lever and gear shifter into one unit (with separate units for the front and rear brakes), although older bikes had separate shifters on the down tube, and you can sometimes see shifters at the ends of the bars. Andy Lloyd / Immediate MediaĪlmost all bike brakes are operated using a lever mounted on the handlebars. Still, we'll give you a full rundown at the end of this article.Īnatomy of a bike brake The brake levers and shifters are usually separate on a flat-bar bike. There are other brake designs out there, but they’re a rarity on mainstream bikes. V-brakes (also known as direct-pull cantilever brakes) are operated via a cable that runs from one side of the brake and across the top, pulling the two halves together. These also work on the rim and are attached to frame bosses on either side of the wheel. On that note, and as we mentioned at the top, mountain bike disc brakes have been commonplace at all levels for years, providing powerful stopping power uninfluenced by trail conditions.ĭisc brakes and caliper rim brakes take the lion’s share of braking duties across most bikes, but you’ll also find V-brakes on some cheaper urban or commuting bikes. There are good reasons for that, mainly related to more efficient and consistent stopping, whatever the weather. Over the past five years, road disc brakes have rapidly taken over from rim brakes, which push brake pads against the wheel’s rim. We’ll go into different types of disc brake below. The majority of new bikes, whether that's road bikes, mountain bikes or hybrid bikes, now use disc brakes that operate by pushing pads housed in a caliper against a brake rotor attached to the wheels’ hubs. There are three main types of brakes on modern bikes: disc brakes, rim brakes and V-brakes. V-brakes do still feature on commuter and town bikes.
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