i'm curious about breaks. i am not sure which kind i own. What are the different types of bike brakes? All i can think of are 'disc brakes' and 'vee brakes'. i thought i had 'vee brakes' but when i did a search on images.google.com i find that my brakes don't look like the images that come up.

Could i get a link or have someone list the different types of bike brakes for me? i'd greatly appreciate it.

Check these two links. Several good images and drawings:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_brake_systems
https://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html

There's cantilever, center pull, side pull & Fred Flintstone.

You forgot

Linear, cable disc, hydr. disc, dual pivot side pull, hydr. side pull, drum (tandems mostly) and, finally, tree, rock, car, wall and gaggles of pedestrians

You can also brake using your foot (for example) on either tyre. Increasing your wind resistance will slow you down. Backpedalling a freewheel mechanism will slow you down, although the effect is probably too small to notice. Any uphill section will slow you down too.

Creative minds can probably come up with even more alternative braking methods!

1 more - coaster brakes. Found on kid's bikes - pedal backwards and it slows/stops the rear wheel.

I knew there was one I forgot. Spoon brakes? Lots of Flying Pigeons around.

Unfortunately, coaster brakes are found on far more bikes than kids' bikes. Over here, most bikes used by adults have them as well. Mostly the upright models, complete with handlebar basket. Even worse is that people think coaster brakes are better and/or safer than rim brakes and are afraid of using anything else. One customer (I work part time in a bike shop, selling bikes) even said that she was going to disable the front brake as soon as she got her bike home, since that brake "is dangerous", as she put it...

I've had my fun. How about telling us what kind of bike you have or taking your own picture?

This is what a disc looks like




V-brakes are the arms sticking up from the fork



And this has cantilevers



I don't have a bike with road calipers...sorry.

I can't believe no one has mentioned stick brakes!

Yes, this is a very common attitude among people used to coaster brakes. I know of people used to coaster brakes who wanted to get a mountain bike, with the derailleur and gears and all, but felt really scared to do so because it didn't have the coaster brake they're used to. With 15 minutes of proper instruction and a whole bunch of assurances the fear usually disappears in most people though.

You forgot to mention squirrel brakes! This bike has both road calipers and squirrel brakes.

What about hydro rim brakes... like the Magura hs33

Coaster brakes: the bane of my existence. 600 rental cruisers and I usually rebuild every rear hub over the winter. Anyone have some extra #9005 and #16 caged bearings laying around? Can Shimano use a higher quality grease in these things? The factory job lasts less then a season, but my rebuilds last for 2 or 3 seasons, then the bike gets committed to the recycler.

Y'all did forget another type: push rod brakes. A type of rim brake that is actuated with push rods instead of cables.

U brakes- the ones under the chainstays, remember?- and Roller Cam brakes are yet more types of brakes.

Dual pivot side pull brakes (Tektro 521AG).

ROFL. Those tektro 521ag's are very nice looking

I was thinking more along the lines of brakes you might actually find. I heard that all of the U-brakes had been recalled, melted down and used to encase the idiot who invented and designed them in a block of aluminum. It was then dropped into a submarine trench where, hopefully, it will be tractored into the mantle, melted and spewed back to the surface in a volcano. With any amount of luck, the idiot will survive until the spewing

Did I happen to say that I hate U-brakes?

That would rule,. coaster brakes would be a tonne of fun to play with again.

Coaster brakes are a whole lotta fun to use. They make me feel like a kid again. Until age 20, all of my bikes were "coaster brake" type, although one had rim brakes in addition to the coaster--I had to relearn how to use the brake levers on the handlebars when I started again on a derailleur bike.

You may hate them but you have to admit they worked.

Had rear U brake on a 92 GT Pantera and that brake was unbelievable. The bike is still in my area and still working well but it never gets near mud. Show mud to a U Brake and the bike gains 5lbs just thinking of it and 10 when it goes through it.

Ah, coaster brakes. Memories of childhood skidding mayhem