Brakes - Off Road

Get a feeling of power by choosing the right type of brakes for your bike.

Do you want Rim or Disc Brakes?

Here the biggest choice you need to make is the decision to go with rim brakes or disc brakes. Both have advantages and disadvantages; rim brakes are cheaper, lighter and easier to setup, disc brakes have more feel, power and work better in mud.

Rim brakes

V-brakes have been around for a while now and haven't changed a lot since their release. The recent trend has been to go for disc brakes, however a well setup V- brake can provide you with more than enough braking power. A high end V-brake is likely to be more effective, cheaper and lighter than a low end disc brake, which is why many cross country racers still choose V-brakes.

To fit V-brakes to your bike you will need the right brake bosses on your frame and forks, which until recently have been on almost every mountain bike, however with the recent popularity of disc brakes some frames and forks now only come with disc mounts. You will also need a wheel rim with a brake surface on it as many rims are now disc specific.

The other type of rim brake commonly found on trials bikes is a Magura hydraulic brake these fit to the same bosses as V-brakes and provide fantastic stopping power. The reason for their use in trials is that a disc brake is more vulnerable to taking an impact due to its position on the bike.

Disc Brakes

Probably the biggest change that the cycle industry has seen over the last few years is the massive increase and improvement in disc brakes. Even lower end cycles are now coming with disc brakes. However there are some differences that you need to look out for when choosing your disc brakes.

First off you need to set how much you want to spend, baring in mind that you may have to make adjustments to your bike to fit them. A budget set of discs are likely to be cable (mechanical) disc brakes and run off a normal V-brake lever. These are easier to maintain, as they don't require bleeding however they can lack the power and control that can be achieved from a hydraulic setup. A hydraulic brake in most people's opinion provides the best braking around and the more you spend the lighter and more responsive they get.

If you are converting your bike to disc brakes or you are upgrading your old ones then you need to check the setup of your bike...

Hubs

You need a disc specific wheel hub to attach the rotor too; this depends on the brake you are intending to run. The standard fitting is a 6-bolt design, which was used by almost everything until Shimano released their centre lock design at the top end and is now filtering it down through their range. This requires a different style of hub, which is now becoming much more widely available. There are a few exceptions such as Cannondale had a 4-bolt rotor design which if you have one will require a special order.

Shifters

If your fitting hydraulic discs when you replace your V-brake levers you may also need new gear shifters. Some levers and shifters are one unit and you will require separate shifters in order to fit the new brake levers, this is not a problem if you decide to go with Shimano's dual control as these do both shifting and braking in one unit and therefore replace both anyway.

Mountings

If your frame doesn't have disc brake mountings then you can get adapters for fitting disc brakes although you may be better off just sticking with V-brakes. Most frames use a standard fitting however some older frames use an IS mount which will require adapters for most modern brakes. The same goes for the front if you are running a Manitou fork then you will need a brake with a Manitou mount or an adapter, however not all brakes can be adapted in this way so check before you buy.

Hoses

If your bike came with V-brakes then you will probably find that the cable guides on the frame are to narrow or the wrong shape for the hose to go through. You can just use zip ties however if you want a professional job then get a hose guide set.