Mountain Bike Disc Brake #3 Parts of Brakeset

Big manufacturer in mountain bike disc brake like Shimano or SRAM - with its Avid series - has been improved the technology in their products. Started from the beginning when the disc brake still using wire, later known as V-Brake or mechanic, until the brakeset that using oil or known as hydraulic brake. Mostly the both of brakeset is similar in many parts, but with some different parts also. To know more about the difference of these kinds of brakeset, here below is the description of each parts in each brakeset type.

1. Brake Lever: The brake lever between mechanic and hydraulic is very different. In mechanic brakeset, the brake lever is simple, but in the hydraulic brakeset, the brake lever looks more huge and it is from the box where the oil exist.

2. Caliper: In the mechanic brakeset, the caliper brand may different with the brake lever brand; it's more universal than hydraulic brakeset. The rider is free to mix the brakeset and the caliper, but not in the hydraulic brakeset. Hydraulic brakeset usually is a package, so when the brakeset installed, all parts are available. But now the hydraulic brakeset have been used the four pistons technology to give more powerful performance.

3. Adaptor: This is one thing that same in both mechanic and hydraulic. This is part that only depend on the fork design, then the caliper just adjust with it. 

4. Brake pad: One thing about this part, and this is for both mechanic and hydraulic; don't use different brand in one brakeset installation. It means don't use brake lever A with brake pad B, because they have different design and even in the same brakeset the brake pad may difference in some aspects.

Those are the parts of brakeset in mountain bike disc brake, though there still part like the wire not listed yet. The wire usually is available in one package with the brakeset, but the wire is just used in mechanic brakeset, because hydraulic brakeset is using oil for the brake systems.