Take the 2-minute tour ×  So I am installing a brand new
cartridge brake pad assembly on my mountain bike. I noticed that
the brakes have a left and right written on them so i install
them properly. What seems fishy to me is that the cartridge
slides in from the back of the bike.  This means that if i were
to lose the pin holding the cartridge in place, next time i were
to apply the brakes the cartridge would probably be pulled out
of the holder because of friction.  This is the part that seems
very counter intuitive to me. If that hole was in the front of
the brakes, this scenario would never occur. This also leads me
to believe that maybe the LEFT and RIGHT markers are suppose to
be flipped.  share|improve this question While walking the bike
forward, gently squeeze the brake lever and observe which way
the wheel "wants" to push the brake pad. –  Daniel R Hicks Dec
22 '12 at 23:47 It's all a big conspiracy designed to foil those
of us that want to ride our bikes in reverse. It started with
that "freewheel"