Difference between front and rear calipers
 

Is there one? I tried search. Broken.


I need a front brake caliper, but don't know if I need to buy a front caliper. Is there a different bolt, or are they interchangeable? Seems they're uniquely advertised, but I don't see a difference.

Disc brakes are typically the same front and rear, with a different adaptor. V-brakes usually just have the pads mounted the opposite direction, but otherwise are the same. Road brakes typically have different length mounting bolts, with the front being longer to go through the fork, and the rear being shorter. Usually, if you are desperate, you can cut down a front bolt to make it work on the rear, but obviously not vice-versa.

Thanks. Not what I wanted to hear, but it's what I thought.

If you're talking about road calipers, your can almost always use the rear in the front by using a longer mounting nut.
I've done that a lot with my fixed gear projects where I only had rear calipers to work with...

That's what I'm talking about, and that was my plan. Any tips on locating these long mounting bolts?

Your LBS should have them and they usually come in 2 or 3 different lengths. These are common items that most bike shops stock.