The EZ Tadpole was originally offered with a rear disk also. If you look you will see a disk tab for it. However, It was concluded that it was unnecessary and could be problematic under certain conditions. The front disk or drum brakes are standard fare on Tadpoles. They will stop you just fine and as a previous poster indicated you develop braking technique. The EZ Tadpole comes with entry level mechanical disks that despite their crude look, set up quite easily and require little maintenance. Keep in mind that in the world of trikes this is a entry level product. The SX weighs in at a hefty 49# and the CX 47#. Properly set up they perform well, the components work and it is very adjustable in that both the seat and boom are moveable and the steering is three axis adjustable. Attention by the assembeler is required to get the chain tubes in the correct position to decrease tube noise. Also make sure the kingpin/disk mount assy. is black. There has been a recall and the replacements are black in both models. The tires on the SX are Kenda Kwests 60psi. I replace them with the 100psi ones that come on the CX. It makes a worls of difference in the performance. I currently have a SX set up wit 100psi Primo Comets and it is even more of an improvement over the 100psi Kwests. Overall if it were not for the weight this is a nice trike. If your toying with a trike for yourself it might be worth a try. If your going to do a lot of hills you might look at somthing else like a CatTrike keeping in mind the price will be consideably higher.

Jude