There are several types of rim brakes. In all of these designs, the braking force is applied by the rider squeezing a lever mounted on the handlebar; this causes friction pads (usually made of leather or rubber) to contact the rim of the rotating wheel, thus slowing it and the bicycle. More modern designs use similar friction pads to squeeze the sides of the wheel rims, with the force transmitted to the brake from the lever by means of a Bowden cable. Designs include the scissor-action "side pull" and "centre pull" brakes, and the lever action "cantilever" and "V" brakes.