Old 06-13-19, 10:59 AM
  #16  
djb
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I dont know how serious you are about this trip, but here is my take on it.
Discs are great for a long trip cuz you wont deal with rim wear in wet dirty sandy conditions. On a heavily loaded bike, discs also brake stronger and for less finger force, which is a anice bonus in mountains.

you can buy brake cables anywhere, and my experience in good stores in mexico, guatemala, honduras, costa rica is that you will find BB7 pads, and Im sure any and all popular shiimano models , the big advantage to commonly used parts.

hydro cables will always have the small chance of damage, so if your bikes are thrown haphazardly ontop of a bus roof or whatever, this could happen.....will it, probably not, but thats the thing with mechanicals, its one less issue or possibility , and in my experiienced opinion, mech discs work great and for touring, work perfectly fine, so for me , its a no brainer, go with robust and simple.

sure you have to learn new wrenching skills, pad adjustment usually, and thats not often, and changing pads, it aint that hard, or you pay a bike store to do it once in a while.
carry spare pads,
be familiar with the brakes before hand , if you have the inclination.

make sure your bikes can fit at least up to 2in tires, 50mm. With crap roads you will appreciate it.
good luck with your research and decisions.
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