Road bike side pull brakes

     These brakes are normally found mounted on "ten speed" style or road bikes.  They are the same in function as the side pulls found on older bikes.  These brakes being smaller in size, do a better job of applying braking power to the rims than their larger cousins.  They have less flex and look "cleaner" due to their small size but mount with a center bolt like the bigger side pulls.

     With these brakes, there are some limitations on wheel and tire options.  First, they usually come in 2 different sizes with regards to how far the brake pads can reach.  The 2 sizes are 39mm - 49mm, and 49mm - 59mm.  Get the long ones as they give more flexibility on tire/wheel choices.

     With regards to wheels, you will generally need to use a rim that is no more than 1 1/8", or ~29mm wide.  Any wider and you will need to get thinner brake pads or the rim won't fit in between them.  If you aren't sure on sizes, buy the brakes first, measure them, then get a rim that fits.

     With regards to tires, because the whole brake caliper assembly is shorter and narrower than a normal MTB or BMX installation, you need lower profile tires.  For 20" front wheels, go for tires that are 1 3/8" or narrower.  This allows adequate clearance once the tires are mounted and inflated.  You might be able to get away with 1 1/2" tires but might have clearance issues if they are inflated too much.

BMX U-brakes

     These brakes are normally used on BMX bikes.  The picture to the left shows a center pull version, but there are also versions where the cable comes in from the one side with the cable pinch bolt on the other side.  On U-brakes, usually the front brake is side pull while the rear brake is center pull, so for a trike, get the front brake, not the rear.  I've also seen them with V brake style noodles.  These brakes provide superior stopping power to the older side pull style.

     These brakes come already designed with enough room to accommodate most fat 20" wheels and tires so there is usually no problem with clearance.  Instead of a center mount bolt though, they mount on studs similar to V brakes so they aren't compatible for replacing older center mount brakes.

     This is where the U brake adapter comes in.  The small black "C" shaped piece is a U brake adapter.  The U brakes (of all styles) simply bolt onto the adapter's brake posts in the usual fashion.  The adapter has a bolt in the top center so that it can utilize the older center mount brake configuration.  This is how you convert center mounted side pulls to BMX U brakes.  The adapters are around $15 Cdn and most BMX bike part stores can get them for you.

Mountain bike V brakes

     These brakes are standard issue on most of today's mountain bikes.  The brakes themselves mount on small brake posts that are usually mounted on the seat/chain stays for the rear wheel, and on the fork legs for the front wheel.  Like U brakes though, unless you weld/braze the brake posts on yourself, you can't use V brakes to replace older style center mounted side pulls.  The V brakes, like the U style, also offer a large improvement in stopping power over the older side pulls.

     Along comes the V brake adapter.  The V brake adapter has a bolt at the top in the center like the old center pull brakes.  The adapter also has holes on each leg that you can press/screw the V brake posts into.  You mount the V brakes to the adapter, and you can now convert old center mount side pulls to V brakes.

     The ones listed also have two extra holes per leg, possibly for mounting other styles of brakes, possibly cantilever.  The V brake adapters are also around the $15 Cdn mark and brake boosters can be used with the adapters as well.  You can also buy the V-brake bosses made out of steel and weld/braze them onto your project yourself.  Any bike shop has them in their catalogues for about $1.50 Cdn.

Disk brakes

     Disk brakes are one of the newest options to hit bikes, trikes and bents.  They have superior stopping power, require little maintenance and generally have excellent braking power in almost any weather conditions.  The disk brakes are commonly found on MTB's and pretty much the only way to get a disk brake wheel other than 24" or 26", is to lace a MTB disk hub into a different size rim.  The problem with this, is there are no (or very rare) 12mm/1/2"/14mm hubs that are disk capable unless they are rather pricey custom pieces.  The disk brakes come in various rotor sizes and in hydraulic and cable actuated versions.  The cable versions can be as inexpensive as good V-brake sets at about $40 Cdn per wheel for cable, disk and caliper.

     The final option is a disc hub like the one Formula makes that comes with a 12mm axle.  To the left is a picture of the hub with the axle and end caps, and another one with the end caps and axle removed.  You simply undo the axle's jam nuts, remove the axle (usually a hollow one with a skewer) and you have a disc hub with 12mm sealed bearings and it is ready to use.  The hub pictured comes with a hollow axle tube with shoulders that can be drilled out to make a compression tube, or you can make your own compression tube.  The bottom picture has the hub, the end caps and the axle as well as an extra dust cap for the sealed bearings.  No machining, no adapters to make.  About $35 Cdn.

Trike Plans

     Here are some front and side views of the twin rail design I build.  They are very simple to build and require no machine shop access, just a simple MIG/oxy-acetylene welder or the ability to braze.  The trike looks pretty much like the 3D version below, minus the rear extensions for a trailer hitch.  It's good for about 300lbs and 6'4" to 5'6" as detailed.  For shorter riders, the center frame section can be shortened.  I'm also building the same version that has a folding boom instead of the pictured rigid one.  The real McCoy looks something like this.