Hydraulic vs. Mechanical Disk Brakes

Mountain bikes these days are getting more and more advanced to accommodate the more aggressive riding styles and trails that people are taking advantage of. These newer bikes handle much better thanks to better geometry and take the bumps better thanks to improved suspension components. And with these advancements come more speed and when you go faster you need to make sure you can stop. This is where disk brakes come into play. Disks brakes are not an entirely new feature on mountain bikes but at the same time have not been around for too long compared to how long mountain bikes themselves have been around.

Disk brakes have replaced the older style "V brakes" where the pads squeezed on to the rims to stop the bike. This worked pretty well but it was easy for these brakes to come out of adjustment and if the pads weren't sitting on the rims just right they didn't work all that good. Disk brakes have been on cars and motorcycles for many years and now that same technology has been applied to bicycles and its works pretty much the same way. Disk brakes offer much improved braking for today's more aggressive riding styles.

Disk brakes work by squeezing brake pads against a brake rotor to stop the wheel from moving. There are rotors on both the front and rear wheels and you apply brake pressure with the brake levers on the handlebars. And just like with a car or motorcycle, the harder you squeeze, the harder you stop.

So now that you know what disk brakes are and that they are far superior than the older style brakes you may have seen bikes with hydraulic disk brakes or mechanical disk brakes and are wondering what the difference is. The main difference between the two is that mechanical disk brakes use a cable similar to your derailleur cable while hydraulic disk brakes use brake fluid like your car does. Now there are pros and cons to each but overall hydraulic brakes are the way to go for maximum stopping power.

Mechanical brakes use a cable to apply the brakes and just like with derailleur cables they can get stretched out and dirty which will affect braking performance. Mechanical brakes also don't stop as good as hydraulic brakes but they can be easier to adjust since it's just a simple cable and also don't cost as much to purchase. Some people even have issues with snapping cables on mechanical brakes but I'm sure that's only in extreme cases.

Hydraulic brakes use brake fluid and when you squeeze the brake lever it compresses the fluid and makes the brakes function. This method offers stronger and more reliable braking performance but will cost you more for the brakes themselves. You also have to worry about bleeding the brake fluid if their performance begins to suffer and you also have to make sure to keep air out of the brake lines. And like with car brakes you will need to change the brake fluid every so often but for the most part this will be pretty rare. Since hydraulic brakes are a sealed system you don't have to worry about dirt and mud affecting your performance unless you get your pads dirty that is but that goes the same for mechanical brakes.

Keep in mind that how well your brakes work will also depend on the quality of the brakes so if you buy a cheap set of hydraulic brakes they most likely won't work as well as a good set of mechanical brakes. Another thing to keep in mind is rotor size and type of pads since the larger the rotor the better the stopping power and less brake fade you will get. Brake fade is when the brakes get hot and don't work as good as when they are cooler. Brake pad material varies too and can be metallic, organic or a mixture of both called sintered each offering their own set of benefits.

So when it comes to your next new bike, be sure to check out what type of brakes it comes with if it has disk brakes. Both mechanical and hydraulic brakes will work much better than V brakes and most people should be fine with either type as long as it's a decent brand and model.

Posted by Preston Mason