The different types of brakes, how they work and their importance
There are three main types of brakes for ebikes. The old V style, Mechanical and Hydraulic. Now that you have a motor attached to your bike, brakes and their stopping power become a very important component in your ebike.
Rim/V Brakes
This is the style we have seen on bikes for many years now. The brake lever attaches to the brake via a wire in a plastic sleeve and when depressed, it tightens the rubber pads on each side of the wheel, slowing and stopping the bike.
This type of brake will work for ebikes but it is not recommended as with ebikes, you are now using a motor to power your bike and going at faster speeds, which will take longer and more work to stop.
Mechanical Brakes
In a cable-operated disc brake (usually referred to as a mechanical disc brake), the physical connection between the lever and the brake caliper is made with a wire cable. The cable pulls a lever on the caliper, which usually pushes a pad on each side of the dis brake, slowing and stopping it via the pads against the large disc, instead of the tires like the Rim/V Brake.
This is a much more effective and quicker way to bring your bike to a stop, than the Rim/V Brake. They also provide more stable braking, especially in harsher conditions, than the Rim/V Brake. These tend to be easy to replace, are more affordable and easy to maintain.
Hydraulic Brakes
Hydraulic brakes are very similar to mechanical brakes, except instead of a wire like the mechanical brakes use, a fluid is compressed and runs to the disc brake.
These type of brakes tend to give the most stopping power, requires less maintenance and are more likely to last longer. These tend to be more expensive.
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