Originally Posted by
voyager1
I guess I probably should have narrowed down more costly. I have been reading up on the discs, and the whole idea of the fluid having to be purged from the hyrdraulic just gave me a lot of pause. So I was guess that mechanical ones were maybe a little less costly to maintain.
I am not the best at descending and so I was looking at discs, but the whole cost question was kinda putting a stop to it.
Sorry wasn’t trying to start a forum war.
No you are totally cool and a fair newbie question. Disc versus rim is a pretty divisive subject on bike forums as camps are divided. But will give you my pretty succinct take.
I just bought a new Di2 race bike with rim brakes. I very deliberately chose rim brakes. I don't like disc brakes and have owned them on different bikes.
I am not adverse to tech, hence Di2 and the latest bike tech but where I draw the line at brakes is...
-If I live in the mountains or pronounced hills with high speed descents, I want disc brakes.
-If I live more normal terrain with rollers, bridges, some climbing but not predominant climbing, I want rim brakes....like where I live now.
So to me, this should be the discriminator. Why not discs for every situation? They cost more, are slightly heavier...not much...but moveover, they require more specific maintenance. Get ready for the onslaught that says disc brakes are easy to maintain. Tell that to those that can't get them to stop howling or rubbing.
Now...as to mechanical versus hydraulic? To me there is NO comparison. In spite of what may seem like more complexity with hydraulic fluid which is true, get hydraulic discs EVERY time. There is no comparison. Modulation and even adjustment is easier with hydraulic. Hydraullic is the only way to fly.
Every serious road cyclist has an opinion on this subject. I love rim brakes. The new dual pivot Shimano rim brakes are simply outstanding. Others only want disc brakes on their new road bikes. Camps are divided. You probably have to own one or two bikes with disc brakes to decide if you prefer them.
Good luck