A bicycle brake is used to slow down or stop a bicycle. There have been various types of brake used throughout history, and several are still in use today. The three main types are: rim brakes, disc brakes, and drum brakes.
Most bicycle brake systems consist of three main components: a mechanism for the rider to apply the brakes, such as brake levers or pedals; a mechanism for transmitting that signal, such as Bowden cables, hydraulic hoses, rods, or the bicycle chain; and the brake mechanism itself, a calliper or drum, to press two or more surfaces together in order to convert, via friction, kinetic energy of the bike and rider into thermal energy to be dissipated.
Read more about Bicycle Brake: History, Actuation Mechanisms, Braking Technique, Bicycles Without Brakes
Famous quotes containing the word bicycle:
“Consider a man riding a bicycle. Whoever he is, we can say three things about him. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. Most important of all, we know that if at any point between the beginning and the end of his journey he stops moving and does not get off the bicycle he will fall off it. That is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing, and I think of any society of living things.”
—William Golding (b. 1911)