If you are looking into getting a mountain bike, then whether or not you want your brakes to be hydraulic or mechanical is one of the many decisions that you likely have to be making. Or, maybe you are looking into upgrading your bike and think that maybe you should upgrade the brake system the next time you get some extra money.
If you are a downhill mountain biker, then hydraulic disk brakes are probably the better option for you. On the other hand, if you are more of a casual mountain biker then mechanical disk brakes might be the better choice for your mountain bike.
Simply put, mechanical disk brakes work by pulling a wire that works the brakes and stops the wheel by using the lever on the handlebar. Hydraulic disk brakes, on the other hand, work by the use of brake fluid which causes pressure behind the brakes and which in turn stops the wheel when you pull the lever on the handlebar. But there is a lot more to both of these than this, and it can be very important to know what these differences are before you make your final decision.
What They Both Have In Common
A brake of any kind uses brake pads which are placed somewhere on the wheel. These pads are forced closer to the wheel, and thereby are pressed firmly up against the wheel, by the pulling of the brake lever up at the handlebars. This causes friction between the brake pads and the wheel and it brings the wheel to a stop if you hold it firmly enough for a long enough amount of time.
In the case of disk brakes, these brake pads are not placed on the rims of the wheel – which is what V brakes do. V brakes are still available and they do work well, but they are easy to be jostled out of place or to get clogged up by dirt getting in between them and the wheel. Disk brakes, on the other hand, work by squeezing brake pads up against the brake rotors which are near the center of the wheel.
Instead of both of the brake pads being on the front wheel, in the case of disk brakes one pad is on the brake rotor of the front wheel while the second brake pad is on the brake rotor of the back wheel. The fact that there is braking action going on at the same time on both of the wheels can be a good feature to have for a number of different reasons.
The main benefit of this is that it helps to keep your bike balanced instead of throwing the weight of your bike forward due to the fact that it is only your front wheel that is stopping in a V brake setup. On the other hand, disk brakes are not quite as simple as V brakes are, and they can tend to weigh a little bit more since they are going to two tires instead of just to one meaning that there are more connections too.
But they also allow you to stop easier and with less pressure due to the fact that they are closer to the center of the wheel instead of further out towards the rim. This also means that if the tire goes through mud that it is possible that the brake rotor and therefore the brakes will not get nearly as dirty as the wheel closer to the rim.
When it comes to the exact process of how the brake lever causes the brake pads to press up against the rotor of the wheel, this is called how the brakes are actuated and is where the different methods come into play. This means that mechanical brakes are referred to as being cable actuated and that hydraulic brakes are actuated by the brake fluid.
In spite of all the differences of how they work, however, both hydraulic and mechanical disk brakes both are working to accomplish the exact same thing with the hydraulic brakes being a somewhat newer innovation that has come to be even more popular in many circles than mechanical disk brakes.
Hydraulic Disk Brakes How They Work And What You Need To Know
Hydraulic brakes on a mountain bike wheel work on the same basic concept as do the brakes on most vehicles. These work by forcing the brake fluid out of the master cylinder which is by the brake lever on the handlebars. From there this fluid goes through a hose to the caliper. Once it is there it is pushed up against the back of the caliper’s piston causing it to move which in turn forces the brake pads up against the brake rotor of the wheel to make your wheel slow down and eventually come to a complete stop.
There are two different kinds of hydraulic disk brake systems, with one kind being referred to as a closed system while the new, more common kind is called an open system. With an open system there is an extra reservoir that the brake fluid can expand into when it gets too hot due to either use or because the temperature outside is hot.
The older, closed systems did not have this reservoir, and when the brake fluid expanded due to heat it would use that pressure to clamp the brakes on even if you hadn’t touched the brake lever on the handlebars. This could be downright dangerous for obvious reasons and it is also why hydraulic brakes are not really made with closed systems any longer.
However, sometimes you may still find this kind of setup available, so when you are looking at getting a hydraulic brake system you should definitely look and see if it uses a closed or an open system. You should also be aware of the fact that even an open system can only take up so much of the extra pressure. So, if the brake fluid inside expands beyond that point for whatever reason, then even an open system hydraulic brake is fully capable of causing your brakes to clamp down on the brake rotors of your bike wheel without you touching the brake lever.
One of the main reasons that people go with hydraulic systems is that this can allow the brakes on your mountain bike to apply more pressure to the wheel of your bike without you having to squeeze as hard on the brake lever to accomplish it. This gives your brakes more power if you need to be able to stop quickly for whatever reason, especially if you happen to be going downhill at a high rate of speed.
On the other hand, there is far less modulation to the amount of pressure that this kind of brake offers. In other words, whether you pull on the brake lever just a little or you pull it all the way back, your brakes are going to engage pretty much the same amount either way. This can make it almost impossible to brake just a little by lightly pulling on the lever since it is more of an all or nothing result. This makes hydraulic braking more of an on/off kind of thing, with very little in between.
While hydraulic systems may be able to get a little dirt on them just like mechanical systems, this dirt is far less likely to clog anything important up and is therefore far less likely to affect your brakes if you are riding in muddy conditions. This is partially because the whole system is contained and there are no loose wires or anything. Since this is the type of situation when you really need your brakes to work, this is the other main reason why mountain bikers often prefer to go with hydraulic systems.
However, hydraulic disk brakes are also more expensive most of the time. Not only are they more expensive to buy, but they are also more expensive to maintain in terms of both time as well as money. This is because you will have to buy brake fluid which will need to be switched out on occasion – which can be really time consuming and difficult to do yourself – or you will have to pay to have it done at a bike shop which will cost you more money but will save some of your time.
This is because, just like with a car’s brakes, these brakes will need to be completely bled out on occasion and then have the brake fluid that is in them replaced with new brake fluid. This also means that on rare occasions that it is entirely possible to get a leak somewhere in your brake line.
Once you end up with a leak of any kind, depending on where it is and how bad of a leak it is, you are pretty much out of commission until it is fixed. Sometimes there is no option but to simply go and replace the hose or some other part, and at the very least you will undoubtedly also have to replace the brake fluid that leaked out.
Braking fluid for hydraulic systems is usually some form of either mineral oil or a specialized hydraulic fluid. When it is being replaced after being bled out or after a leak has been fixed, it is very important that there be no air in the hose or this can cause a few problems all on its own which is why it requires a lot of care if you are trying to do this yourself.
Not only does this kind of brake have the disadvantage of being more expensive, but it is also slightly heavier. This is due to the fact that the weight of the pieces, in addition to weight of the brake fluid itself, all adds up. Therefore, if you are trying to cut every ounce of weight possible then you should probably not go with this braking option, though sometimes there are lighter hydraulic disk brakes that are simply more expensive.
Mechanical Disk Brakes How They Work And What You Need To Know
Mechanical disk brakes are sometimes referred to as cable operated disk brakes and as their name implies they use the old-fashioned method of using a cable. This cable is connected to the brake lever on your handlebar at one end, and at the other end it is connected to another lever that is in your brakes.
This lever on the brakes in turn presses the brake pads that are on each wheel up against the rotors of the wheel. One disadvantage to this system is that there can often be a small cable that the lever uses to press the pads which is exposed and can therefore be clogged with mud or messed up in some other way.
This kind of brake works perfectly for those situations when you might want to brake just a little as you approach a tight turn. The more you pull on the brake lever, the more firmly your brake pads will press up against the rotors that are in each wheel. This feature gives you a lot of control on how much or how little braking that you want to do.
As a general rule, even really good mechanical brakes will be cheaper than hydraulic brakes. This is not only in regards to the purchasing price, but is also true in terms of maintenance due to the brake fluid that you will not have to buy for mechanical brakes.
This kind of brake is also easier to maintain yourself due to the fact that you won’t have to deal with brake fluid. Its few and simple parts are not only easier to care for, making them a lot less fuss to deal with, but they are also lighter in weight compared to the other kind. If you are trying to cut back on every little bit of weight on your bike or you are looking for something that is easy and inexpensive to maintain, then you should at least consider getting a mechanical disk brake.
On the downside of this kind of brake system, it can get clogged up with mud sometimes which can affect its braking. The cable can also get stretched out sometimes or even jostled so that the lever does not quite have the right effect that it is supposed to have on the brake pads, though this is a pretty easy fix. Since the brake is relying on the cable, anything that happens to it will affect the brakes, unlike a hydraulic brake system which can handle its hose being moved around a little.
The Conclusion
Even though hydraulics disk brakes are usually more powerful than their mechanical disk brake counterparts, this is not always necessarily the case. Some of this depends on how well the particular brake system in question was designed and built. That being said, a really good mechanical brake can still be better even in terms of braking power than a poorly designed hydraulic brake.
All in all, hydraulic disk brakes have the benefits of offering more power when you are braking, of still being able to brake well without getting clogged up even in muddy conditions, and they are often used most commonly by downhill riders for these reasons and because these systems are usually sealed off very well from the elements. On the other hand these are more expensive to buy, more expensive to maintain, and can malfunction if they get too hot.
Mechanical disc brakes are cheaper to buy, easier to care for, have a great amount of modulation, and they are just fine no matter what the temperature is. However, they do not have quite the same braking abilities, and can clog up a bit in muddy weather. For the average person mechanical disk brakes work just fine and they are also better in the field.
Picture to yourself that you are halfway through a really long and lonely mountain biking trail and that you are miles away from anyone and anything, and now toss in some brake problems. When hydraulic brakes have problems they are pretty much out of commission unless you make a habit of carrying everything that you will need to bleed the hose, repair it, and put more brake fluid back in it – which will take a long time to do.
When mechanical brakes encounter a problem, however, they are not usually so dire and are much easier to fix with a few tools and allow you to be back on your way much more quickly. For that matter, if you are looking to install your brakes yourself, mechanical brakes will not be quite so complicated to install compared to hydraulic disk brakes and if you know what you are doing they will be much easier to maintain yourself instead of having to take your bike to the shop every time something is wrong.