Bicycle brake systems are used to slow down or brake a bicycle. There have been various types through history, and several are still in use today. Early bicycles such as the high-wheeled penny-farthing bikes were fitted with spoon brakes. As they were fixed gear bicycles, a rider also could reduce speed by reversing the force on the pedals. Unsurprisingly there were many accidents, some fatal, which limited the appeal of cycling mostly to young and adventurous men. The 1870s saw the development of the "safety bicycle" which roughly resembles bicycles today, with two wheels of equal size, initially with solid rubber tires. These were generally equipped with a front spoon brake and no rear brake, like the penny-farthings fixed gears, allowing control of speed by control of pedalling. Spoon brakes were not very powerful and potentially dangerous in wet weather. With the invention of pneumatic tires in the 1890s came the rim brake, the type of brake most commonly used on bicycles today. However, in America throughout most of the 20th century, the most common type of brake was the coaster brake, engaged by pressing backwards on the pedals.

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