rdtompki

For those who might entertain a disc-equipped ride in the future I thought I would pass on my recent experience with the TRP HY/RD disc brakes. Safer to post such hear versus the 41 since the more mature (that would be us) among the cycling community are more objective about new gear.

I have notice that the more recent threads concerning disc brakes have been more objective. An increasing number of folks have actually tried discs and have reported back favorably. Of course if you live and ride in Florida or any number of other places you don't need discs. If your light and/or fearless you're probably doing ok without.

My BB7 experience has been very favorable including descents with switchbacks at approach speeds nearing 40 mph. I'm using Avid HSX rotors which are an improvement over the stock rotors, definitely quieter and probably more effective due to improved heat dissipation. I do all my braking from the hoods using 2-3 fingers. During the hardest high speed braking events the BB7's did experience some fade and required increasing amounts of pressure; certainly I was never concerned about stopping at the bottom of a long descent (7-10 miles) and other than some increase in applied force during the hardest braking efforts the lever force required remained relative constant and moderate.

I wanted to try the hybrid brakes to see if the rattle, ever present in the BB7's, would be mitigated. I was looking for slightly better brake feel. The TRP brakes met both of these objectives. They are very progressive, the rattle seems to have disappeared and I'm a happy, albeit a few grams heavier, camper. During the most challenging braking event on a fairly big descent additional braking force was not required; this is a real confidence builder.

This is an ear bolt-on operation. The rear brake required a new piece of cable housing since the geometry of the TRP is a bit different, but you can certainly be up and going in an hour start to finish. If a)your shopping for a new general purpose road bike, b)you're interested in discs and c)you're not a WW, then I'd give some consideration to the TRPs; the self adjusting feature is nice though I never found that to be an issue with the BB7s.