If your brakes are squeaking or feel soft, don't head to your local bike shop, you can fix this. Brakes can be one of the simplest bike repairs for home mechanics. That is, if you have caliper brakes ...

Did you know that mountain bike brakes are hydraulic? I know, they don't look it when they're sitting on the shelf at your local bike store, but they're not the cable-operated rim brakes of your youth ...