Originally Posted by
base2
Between worthless single piston mechanicals & rim brakes...Rim brakes for the win. Why pay the "disc brake premium" in the sticker price for something that works worse, & requires constant maintenance or adjustment?
Single piston mechanicals have never been something that need constant maintenance nor constant adjustment. Nor have I found them to be worthless. I’m not saying that they are vastly better than rim but they aren’t any worse.
That equation changes for dual-piston mechanicals or hydraulics, of course. But unless someone has plans to install a parts bin upgrade, from parts already in hand the better deal is often the bike with the good brakes or the cheaper rim brake option.
I’ve not been impressed with hydraulics…I find them far too touchy and the very opposite of “well modulated”…and dual piston mechanicals don’t perform any better than any other mechanical. I’ve had both dual piston and single piston. Neither is notably different from the other. They both stop well…but then so do most any brake.
Single piston mechanicals is what got that little girl killed on the Rad bike from a few days ago. Single piston OEM mechanicals is what nearly got me killed in 2016 trying (& failing) to stop for a traffic signal on a simple speed limit descent.
Are you talking about
this case? That was a year ago. The parents
claim the brakes were defective but the claim isn’t that they didn’t work but that they induced a wobble to the wheel when applied. Strangely, they said nothing about letting a 12 year old ride a bike that specifically says not to be used by anyone under the age of 18. These are extremely heavy bikes and a 12 year old may not have the strength nor motor control to keep one upright at speed with
any kind of brake.
As to your experience, it’s not one that I’ve shared. I’m not a small guy and I carry relatively heavy loads on a mountain bike on steep rugged downhills in the Colorado mountains where I can reach speeds of 30 to 40 mph. I’ve never had any kind of mechanical brake that failed to stop the bike. That includes both dual and single piston mechanicals. For that matter, I’ve never had a instance with
any kind of brake where I thought the brakes would fail me. I’m not shy about letting gravity have its way with me.
Single piston mechanicals are garbage & should be banned by the CPSC.
Single piston mechanicals are safe, effective, and simple if properly adjusted and properly used. Most all issues I’ve run across (other people’s bikes, not mine) have been issues with improper adjustment…even on low end mechanicals. Properly tuned, even cheap mechanical discs are effective.