(323) 383-8998 Monday-Friday: PST 8:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.
support@himiwaybike.com We Respond To Every Email Within 24 hrs.
Himiway USA Shop 19449 E Walnut Dr S, City of Industry, CA 91748 Submit a ticket
Local Shops
2-Year Warranty
15-Day Return
Free Shipping
Wishlist
United States
Deutschland
Canada
United Kingdom
Himiway Electric Bike
Cart 0
  • Ebikes
    • Mountain eBike
      • D3(Cruiser) / Long Range Fat Tire Electric Bike D3
      • Himiway D3 ST (Cruiser ST) | All Terrain Step Thru Electric Bike -Himiway eBike D3 ST
      • Himiway D5 (Zebra) | Premium All-terrain Electric Fat Bike -Himiway eBike D5
      • Himiway D5 Pro terrain electric bike crushing rocky mountain trail D5 Pro
      • Himiway D5 ST (Zebra ST) | Premium All-terrain Electric Fat Bike -Himiway eBike D5 ST
      • Himiway D5 Pro ST | Premium All-terrain Electric Fat Bike -Himiway eBike D5 Pro ST
      • Himiway D7 Pro (Cobra Pro) | Softail Electric Mountain Bike -Himiway eBike D7 Pro
      • Himiway D7 (Cobra) | Full Suspension Electric Bike -Himiway eBike D7
      • Himiway D5 Plus (Rhino) | Dual Battery Off-road Electric Bike -Himiway eBike D5 Plus
    • Kids eBike
      • Himiway C1 | Kids Electric Bike -Himiway eBike
        Free Gift
        C1
    • City eBike
      • A7 Pro / Urban Electric Commuter Bike A7 Pro
      • Himiway C5 | Electric Motorbike -Himiway eBike
        Free Gift
        C5
      • Himiway B3 | Foldable Electric Commuter Bike -Himiway eBike B3
      • Himiway A3 | Urban Electric Commuter Bike -Himiway eBike A3
      • Himiway Escape Pro | Long Range Moped-Style Electric Bike -Himiway eBike Escape Pro
      • Himiway Rambler | Electric City Commuter Bike -Himiway eBike Rambler
    • Folding eBike
      • Himiway B3 | Foldable Electric Commuter Bike -Himiway eBike B3
    • Cargo eBike
      • Himiway C3 | Cargo Ebike -Himiway eBike C3
      • Himiway Big Dog | Electric Cargo Bike -Himiway eBike Big Dog
    • All Electric Bike
    • Sale
    • Himiway Labs
    • Safety Certified
  • Accessories
    • All Accessories
    • Storage
      • Bags
      • Baskets
      • Car Racks
      • Racks
      • Trailers
      • Phone mounts
      • Cages
    • Safety
      • Mirrors
      • Protective Gears
      • Helmets
      • Locks
      • Lights
    • Upgrade
      • Saddles
      • Stems
      • Handlebars&Grips
      • Forks
    • Components
      • Batteries & Chargers
      • Motors
      • Displays
      • Controllers
      • Lights
      • Brakes
      • Fenders
      • Wheels, Tires & Tubes
    • Tools
    • Apparels
    • Kit bundles
    • Others
  • Support
    • Payment
    • Finance
    • Warranty
    • Shipping Policy
    • Track your order
    • Refund
    • Help Center
    • Owner's Manual
    • Contact Us
    • Refer to Earn
    • Himi Points
  • Himiway USA Shop
  • Dealer
  • Reviews
  • CLEARANCE
My Account
Log in Register
United States
Deutschland
Canada
United Kingdom
Local Shops
2-Year Warranty
15-Day Return
Free Shipping
Safety Certified
160K+ Riders
Himiway Electric Bike
  • Ebikes
    Shop By Category
    On Sale
    Mountain eBike -Himiway eBike
    Electric Mountain Bike
    Kids eBike -Himiway eBike
    Electric Bike for Kids
    City eBike -Himiway eBike
    Electric Commuter Bike
    Cargo eBike -Himiway eBike
    Cargo eBike
    Folding eBike -Himiway eBike
    Folding eBike
    Step-Thru eBike -Himiway eBike
    Step Through Electric Bike
    Full Suspension eBike -Himiway eBike
    Full Suspension Electric Bike
    Electric Motorbike -Himiway eBike
    Electric Motorbike
    Himiway C1 | Kids Electric Bike -Himiway eBike
    Free Gift
    C1
    Himiway A3 | Urban Electric Commuter Bike -Himiway eBike
    $500 Off
    A3
    Himiway B3 | Foldable Electric Commuter Bike -Himiway eBike
    $500 Off
    B3
    Himiway C5 | Electric Motorbike -Himiway eBike
    Free Gift
    C5
    Himiway A7 | Full Suspension Commuter eBike -Himiway eBike
    $200 Off
    A7
    Himiway D5 (Zebra) | Premium All-terrain Electric Fat Bike -Himiway eBike
    $700 Off
    D5
    Himiway D5 ST (Zebra ST) | Premium All-terrain Electric Fat Bike -Himiway eBike
    $600 Off
    D5 ST
    All Electric Bikes
    • All Electric Bikes
    • Himiway Labs
    • Safety Certified
  • Accessories
    • Storage
      • Bags
      • Baskets
      • Car Racks
      • Racks
      • Trailers
      • Phone Mounts
      • Cages
    • Safety
      • Mirrors
      • Protective Gears
      • Helmets
      • Locks
      • Lights
    • Upgrade
      • Saddles
      • Stems
      • Handlebars&Grips
      • Forks
      • Shock Absorber
    • Components
      • Batteries&Chargers
      • Controllers
      • Motors
      • Lights
      • Brakes
      • Fenders
      • Wheels, Tires & Tubes
    • All Accessories
    • Tools
    • Apparels
    • Kit bundles
    • Others
  • Support
    • Pre-sale
      • Payment
      • Finance
      • Warranty
      • Shipping
    • After sale
      • Track your order
      • Cancellation, Refund & Replacement Policy
      • Refer to Earn
      • Himi Points
    • Help
      • Help Center
      • Owner's Manual
      • FAQs
      • Contact Us
    (323) 383-8998 Monday-Friday: PST 8:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.
    support@himiwaybike.com We Respond To Every Email Within 24 hrs.
    Himiway USA Shop 19449 E Walnut Dr S, City of Industry, CA 91748 Submit a ticket
  • Local Shop
  • Dealer
  • Reviews
  • CLEARANCE
Account Cart 0
Search our store
Himiway Electric Bike
Account Cart 0
Popular Searches:
ebike dual battery sales
Home News
Ebike Hydraulic Brakes vs Mechanical Disc Brakes -Himiway eBike
News

Ebike Hydraulic Brakes vs Mechanical Disc Brakes

Jan 14, 2021

In recent years, electric bicycles have been favored by more and more people due to their pollution-free and convenient advantages. There must be friends around you who own an ebike, so what about you? Well, we've talked about how to choose ebike motors, ebike wheels, and ebike batteries. This time we would like to share something about electric bicycle brakes. We have to say that the brake system is closely related to the safety performance and riding experience of ebike. Excellent brakes can make you feel comfortable when riding and ensure your riding safety to the maximum. There are two main brake systems in the current ebike market, they are hydraulic brakes and mechanical disc brakes. These two kinds of brakes have different advantages and disadvantages, and their prices are correspondingly different. We suggest that you make a comparison between them when buying an electric bicycle and choose the brake system that suits you most. Now, are you ready to learn something new with us? Here we go!

  Hydraulic brakes on himiway escape

Hydraulic Brakes

It is easy to find that the hydraulic disc brake ebike has a small hydraulic oil tank on the brake lever to store mineral oil. When you squeeze the brake lever, the force generated by your hand acts on the piston inside to compress the fluid (ie mineral oil). The fluid is squeezed and flows through the tubing to the brake caliper, and then pushes the piston in the brake caliper to drive the brake pads to clamp the disc, and finally produce a braking effect to stop the machine from moving. This is how hydraulic disc brakes work.

 

After this, you must be wondering about the pros and cons of hydraulic disc brakes. Let us start with the positive sides, a qualified hydraulic disc brake typically has the following three advantages:

 

  1. The brake lever is super smooth. When it is filled with mineral oil, there is almostno friction between the oil tube and the bicycle shell. When you squeeze the brake, you can clearly feel the smoothness of the hydraulic disc brake, bringing you a wonderful riding experience.

 

  1. Able toproduce a considerable braking effect with less force. Since the friction between the tube and the shell is almost negligible, so the energy loss is minimized, this makes the hydraulic brake can react sensitively with just a slight squeeze without expending great effort. In this regard, hydraulic brakes will be very suitable for people who do not have a lot of strength or small palms, such as some slim women or the elderly for they are easier to control than those mechanical disc brakes.

 

  1. Lighter weight and fewer adjustments. Mechanical disc brakes have brake cables and brake cable base. In the same position, hydraulic disc brakes are replaced by oil tubes, which makes the weight of hydraulic brakes slightly lighter than mechanical brakes. But just leave this behind because it does not make much difference. Our focus is that the structure of the hydraulic brake is more refined, so it requires less adjustment. The hydraulic brake has two brake pads that move toward the rotor, which are located on both sides of the rotor, and apply the pressure evenly on the rotor. However, there is only one pad on a mechanical brake, and the movement direction of the mechanical brake is always the same. This means that after multiple uses, mechanical brakes need to be adjusted regularly to maintain the sensitivity of the brakes, and the rotor needs to be replaced more often, while hydraulic brakes reduce this process. As long as the brake pads are not severely worn and need to be replaced, hydraulic disc brakes rarely need to get repaired or adjusted by the user themselves in daily use, which is more suitable for novices.

 

However, as the saying goes, every coin has two sides. Hydraulic disc brake also has its shortcomings:

 

  1. Maintenance is more complicated. Although hydraulic disc brakes rarely require maintenance, nothing is perfect in the world. Once there is something wrong, the maintenance of hydraulic disc brakes will be a tricky thing. You are required to ensure the sealing and integrity of the mineral oil of the hydraulic brake. This operation is relatively complicated and cumbersome, it is difficult for customers to repair by themselves. And once there is an oil spill, things will get worse. In this regard, if you encounter hydraulic disc brake damage, for veterans of cycling, we recommend that you get some professional repair tools prepared such as Himiway 16 in 1 Multi-Function Bicycle Repair Tool, and it is best to know some common sense of repair. As for newcomers to the bicycle world, just go find nearby ebike shops and ask them for help, because we believe they are more professional to solve your problem.

 

  1. Due to the more complex structure of hydraulic brakes, their prices are generally higher compared to ebike equipped with a mechanical disc brake. Therefore, please make your purchase according to your budget.

 

  1. In places with high altitudes and low air pressure, or in conditions where the temperature is quite low, the performance of hydraulic disc brakes will be slightly affected by these factors, because the fluid may expand or be frozen. However, these effects are almost negligible.

 

Mechanical Disc Brakes

A mechanical disc brake means to use the pulling force generated by pinching the brake lever to tighten the wire connecting the brake lever and the brake caliper and act on the brake caliper. In this way, the brake pads will clamp the disc, and finally resulting in braking force. Although its working process is relatively simple, it can achieve a considerable braking effect as well.

 

Here comes the advantages of mechanical disc brakes:

 

  1. Easier adjustment and maintenance. Compared with hydraulic disc brakes, although you may need to maintainor repair more frequently, the repair process of the mechanical one will be much easier because of the simpler mechanical structure. In most cases, customers can use some conventional repair tools to repair it on their own, without investing in a specialized bicycle shop. And if you maintain your ebike well enough, we believe that the failure rate will be greatly reduced.

 

  1. More affordable price.The price of a mechanical disc brake ebike is acceptable to most people. For those who want to be cost-effective or have a limited budget, the mechanical disc brake ebike will be a good choice to complete your cycling trip.

 

  1. Whether you choose to buy an ebike with a hydraulic disc brake system or a mechanical one, the wear of brake cables and pads is inevitable. At that time, the simpler structure of mechanical disc brakes will definitely reduce your workloadbecause both the brake cables and pads of a mechanical disc brake can be easily replaced.

 

How to Choose?

Well, we know that most of your concerns are braking distance and performance. But what we want to say is that these two brake systems have their own merits. As a matter of fact, the effect of hydraulic disc brakes is slightly better, but both can lock your ebike wheels very well to produce a powerful braking effect to ensure the safety of the rider.  We recommend that you choose which brake system to buy according to your own needs and budget.

  squeezing the hydraulic brakes on himiway escape

All right, that's all about the two kinds of disc brake systems. Do you have a clearer understanding of them now? Hydraulic disc brakes with better performance but troublesome maintenance, or mechanical disc brakes that require regular care but are more cost-effective, which one do you prefer Come to see more specs of these ebikes and pick the one that makes your heartbeat!

 

Previous
Top 5 Bicycle Website You Should Know
Next
3 Different Bike Child Seats You Should Know

Related Articles

The Complete Guide to Electric Bike Battery Optimization and Maintenance (2025)

The Complete Guide to Electric Bike Battery Optimization and Maintenance (2025)

Read more
Father's Day E-Bikes: The Gift That Actually Gets Used

Father's Day E-Bikes: The Gift That Actually Gets Used

Read more
Best Electric Bikes for 10-Year-Olds: Safe, Fun & Growing Up

Best Electric Bikes for 10-Year-Olds: Safe, Fun & Growing Up

Read more
Best Children’s Day Gift for Active Kids-Why Electric Bikes Are #1

Best Children’s Day Gift for Active Kids-Why Electric Bikes Are #1

Read more

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Join our community. Get the latest news & offers!

Follow Us
Product
  • All E-Bikes
  • Fat Tire E-Bikes
  • City E-Bikes
  • Kids E-Bikes
  • Folding E-Bikes
  • Cargo E-Bikes
  • Step-Thru E-Bikes
Explore
  • Reviews
  • Refer to Earn
  • Himi Points
  • Service-oriented Groups Benefit
  • Press
Support
  • Help Center
  • Warranty
  • Payment
  • Finance
  • Order
  • Shipping
  • Return Policy
  • Responsibility
Company
  • Local Shop
  • About Us
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
Dealer
  • Find Himiway Dealer
  • Become Our Dealer
United States
Deutschland
Canada
United Kingdom
© 2025 Himiway Electric Bike All Rights Reserved.
Payment options:
  • Mastercard
  • Visa
  • American Express
  • PayPal
  • Maestro
  • Google Pay
  • Apple Pay
  • Discover
  • Meta Pay
  • Diners Club
  • Klarna
  • JCB
  • Affirm
Shopping Cart
Your cart is currently empty.
Add note for seller
Estimate shipping rates
Add a discount code
Subtotal $0.00
View Cart
Add up to 23 models
A7 / Full Suspension Commuter eBike A7
D5(Zebra) / Premium All-terrain Electric Fat Bike D5
D5 ST(Zebra ST) / Premium All-terrain Electric Fat Bike D5 ST
D7 / Full Suspension Electric Hunting Bike D7 (Cobra)
D7 Pro / Softail Electric Mountain Bike D7 Pro(Cobra Pro)
D3(Cruiser) / Long Range Fat Tire Electric Bike D3 (Cruiser)
D3 ST(Cruiser ST) / All Terrain Step Thru Electric Bike D3 ST (Cruiser ST)
C1 / Kids Electric Bike – Perfect eBike for Kids! C1
C5 / Electric Motorbike C5
D5 Pro / Premium All-terrain Electric Fat Bike D5 Pro ST
D5 Pro ST / Premium All-terrain Electric Fat Bike D5 Pro ST
A7 Pro / Urban Electric Commuter Bike A7 Pro
A3 / Urban Electric Commuter Bike A3
B3 / Foldable Electric Commuter Bike B3
Escape Pro / Long Range Moped-Style Electric Bike Escape Pro
Big Dog / Electric Cargo Bike Big Dog
C3 / Cargo Ebike C3
Rambler / Electric City Commuter Bike A5(Rambler)
selected