Originally Posted by carlos danger

Seeing as most makers now make road bikes with discs I wonder if most people will transition to discs or simply continue to run rim brakes until the end of time.

Personally I've been on discs since 2008. And I kinda like them. I only have one bike with rim brakes and I pretty much only use it when its dry and sunny outside so I have no problems with them. They work just as good as discs in those conditions.

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

I'm sure it's been said in 10 pages of replies by someone else. I went disc and now the question in my mind is why would you NOT run discs? SO much better in the wet and on descents. I realize there's some top tier competitive rules that prevent it, that's one thing, but for most of us? Man I love them.

Originally Posted by caloso

Heavier, less aero, requires a heavier fork, more expensive, and uglier. But other than that, sure great.

Originally Posted by OBoile

One of my two cars is manual. That's the Canadian quota covered.
And, going forward, it will all be automatics.

Originally Posted by Notso_fastLane

When I get my velo in a few weeks, it will have drum brakes on the front.

Originally Posted by kingston

Drum brakes work well enough in all weather and require a tiny fraction of the maintenance of disks.

Originally Posted by WhyFi

What kind of maintenance have your disc set-ups needed? A tiny fraction of my disc maintenance is, well, so tiny that it might as well be zero, which just isn't feasible in the real world.

Originally Posted by kingston

We have had very different experiences. I have BB7's on the bike I have used for randonneuring for that last 7 seasons so it has a lot of miles on it in all kinds of weather. The front brake always seems to be getting out of alignment and rubs, so I have to loosen all the bolts and re-align it to stop it from rubbing. I frequently have to fiddle around with the clicker adjustments to balance rubbing and freeplay at the lever which I can never seem to get just right, always either too much freeplay or too much rub. The pads get contaminated or whatever and start squealing, which drives me nuts so I have spent a bunch of time and effort trying to figure out how to get that to stop stop to no avail. Eventually, I give up and replace the pads so they'll stop squealing for a while, which works for a few hundred miles or so depending on the conditions. I've been riding different bikes on brevets this year primarily because I'm so sick of those BB7's.

Originally Posted by mstateglfr

Disc brakes are, to me, an additional tool for cyclists. They are beneficial in situations.

I also think that like a lot of technology, disc brakes have been added to things outside of the beneficial situation because they are a way to differentiate and justify sales thru 'innovation'.
Its totally understandable- this happens in industries all the time. Marketing and advertising exist to drive interest in products we didnt know we needed(and often times dont need, but just want).


I have hydraulic brakes on my MTB. I ride that thing probably a dozen times a year and always in dry conditions...its incredibly unnecessary to have hydraulic disc brakes based on how I ride, but its also my 1st new bike in 25 years, so it came with disc since thats what is on a bike with an air fork, 1x11 drivetrain, etc. Discs dont help me around here...at all. Even the most technical singletrack in the region can be ridden perfectly fine with V brakes since its only ridden in dry enough conditions to not ruin the trail.

I will build a gravel frame this fall to replace my current gravel bike and itll have disc brakes. Right now i plan on QR discs because I dont think I need a massively stiff 44mm head tube to handle a TA tapered fork. I want disc brakes because I am curious if its any 'better' than my canti brakes that have kept me safe all these years. I doubt itll be better, but I still want to see because I have an itch to build a frame.

I just built a road frame last year and it has calipers since I dont choose to ride in rain storms and dont have descents that make caliper brakes feel dangerous. All the rest of my road frames are from 1990 or earlier so no discs there. Perhaps I will move to disc brakes on my road bikes, but i cant imagine itll be soon.
With no interest or need to buy a new bike from a shop, change will come slowly.

Originally Posted by kingston

For a commuter, where weight isn't really that important, I'd go drums over disks every time. Drum brakes work well enough in all weather and require a tiny fraction of the maintenance of disks.

Originally Posted by beermode

Both your replies are incredibly specific and anecdotal. I haven't even ridden the MTB in the rain, and I know V brakes won't cut it after the first few minutes. I'm not even a downhiller either. Modulation is super easy on disc, its not just the speed and angle of descent, it's the terrain.
Also it doesn't take rain to make discs better, morning dew will make the first few moments of a decent hairy enough to warrant discs. Good brakes are there for a reason, you may not see the value in not having to wait around for your rims to dry on the first few rotations, but let that sink in as you repeat that statement a few times.

Originally Posted by KraneXL

You forgot to include the joking emoji. But I figured out you couldn't be serious nonetheless.

Originally Posted by mstateglfr

I probably dont ride fast or aggressive enough for there to be an issue if a couple wheel rotations happen before the good braking starts.
Let's go with that.

Originally Posted by rubiksoval

I feel I ride fast enough and aggressive enough for there to be an issue, but I still haven't ever have one. Tire contact, though, I've had lots of issues with that in the wet (and dry).

Originally Posted by kingston

We have had very different experiences. I have BB7's on the bike I have used for randonneuring for that last 7 seasons so it has a lot of miles on it in all kinds of weather. The front brake always seems to be getting out of alignment and rubs, so I have to loosen all the bolts and re-align it to stop it from rubbing. I frequently have to fiddle around with the clicker adjustments to balance rubbing and freeplay at the lever which I can never seem to get just right, always either too much freeplay or too much rub. The pads get contaminated or whatever and start squealing, which drives me nuts so I have spent a bunch of time and effort trying to figure out how to get that to stop stop to no avail. Eventually, I give up and replace the pads so they'll stop squealing for a while, which works for a few hundred miles or so depending on the conditions. I've been riding different bikes on brevets this year primarily because I'm so sick of those BB7's.

Originally Posted by Psimet2001

A non-starter for a true roadie.

Originally Posted by on the path

This is really the issue. Tire adhesion will always be the limiting factor when it comes to braking. In terms of significance, the ability of the tire to grip the given riding surface, at the tire patch, far outweighs clamping power and (oh brother) modulation.

Originally Posted by ooga-booga

i hear it's a b*tch to change flats with disc brakes. true?

Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest

Everybody who's used disc brakes and instantly realized they were better - look at all the "I won't go back" reported in here - is just hallucinating? No, that's not it. In theory is worth a lot less than in practice.

Originally Posted by on the path

When it comes to science and reasoning vs opinions of invisible people, I'll take science every time.