One Man’s View Of Disc Brakes
#76
Senior Member
They are constantly either rubbing or squeaking or both. I've done the whole sand the pads and rotors, replace the pads and rotors. I've tried everything. Nothing I can do despite endless fiddling can stop them from rubbing and/or squeaking for more than a few hundred miles. I keep my bikes clean so rim vs. disk is the same effort in that regard.
#77
Jedi Master
Sounds like you need to true your rotors. New rotors are not necessarily true and the hub mount may also not be perfectly flat. If your rotors are straight you shouldn't need to do all that regularly. In fact sanding the pads and rotors constantly is making the problem worse because you need to re-bed them each time. Either that or something is crooked like the mounts or the hub has play
#78
Senior Member
I'm not some incompetent home-mechanic who can't figure out if a rotor is true or not, over-sands rotors, and doesn't know how to bed in brakes. In my experience of riding a lot of miles in all weather with BB7s, they just squeak and rub. I can fix it, but it always comes back. Always.
#79
Jedi Master
You're right about the rubbing. That usually comes back when I remove a wheel then have to re-adjust the calipers and pads because I can't seem to get the wheel back in precisely the same orientation, alignment, and QR pressure it was in when I adjusted the calipers and pads the last time. Front is way worse that the rear in that regard. It especially sucks when I get a flat then have to back the pads way out to keep it from rubbing for the rest of the ride. They also pretty much always rub when I get out of the saddle to climb unless I'm willing to tolerate a pretty big gap between the pads and the rotor, which I prefer not to have. The squeaking just comes out of nowhere, especially after riding in the rain for a while.
#80
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Less maintenance than what - rim brakes? I would say that they are. The pads changes are certainly not harder (3 minutes with a screwdriver and tire lever, no alignment/toe-in concerns) and the period between flushing/bleeding is quite long.
#81
FLIR Kitten to 0.05C
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And...you don't have to pull the shoes out to dig out aluminum slivers from the rim to prevent gauging.
#82
Jedi Master
Yes. Than rim brakes. I won't argue with your claim since I have no personal experience with hydraulic road disks, but I haven't heard that before from the guys I ride with who have them.
#83
Senior Member
Thread Starter
What are you doing that is taking so much time to maintain BB7's? If its dry every couple hundred miles you have to turn 2 knobs 1 click. About the same frequency as you have to turn the tension knob on a caliper brake. If its wet a bit more often on the BB7s but for rim brakes you have to constantly wipe down the rims and pads and pick out metal shards if you want the rim to last a long time.
#84
Don't Bug Me
I don’t race ever and I ride my bike every mile as spirited as my (sometimes feel like a noodle) legs will allow.
I look at the introduction of disc brakes to cycling almost in the same way I look at the introduction of indexed shifting. Once I rode a bike with indexed shifting (it was even downtube mounted) I never ever wanted to go back to non-indexed. It started a sea change to cycling sophistication, and try to find a new bike now with the old friction shift system.
For me me it was the same thing when tried hydraulic discs, I loved them instantly and I was amazed the technology had been developed for bikes. It doesn’t matter to me that I’m not descending a mountain at 60 mph, it’s just a much more sophisticated and effective way to stop a bike, which if you think about it a second, is pretty darn important no matter what kind of riding you do. Everyone should do as they want, but my money is going to be spent on bikes with discs.
I look at the introduction of disc brakes to cycling almost in the same way I look at the introduction of indexed shifting. Once I rode a bike with indexed shifting (it was even downtube mounted) I never ever wanted to go back to non-indexed. It started a sea change to cycling sophistication, and try to find a new bike now with the old friction shift system.
For me me it was the same thing when tried hydraulic discs, I loved them instantly and I was amazed the technology had been developed for bikes. It doesn’t matter to me that I’m not descending a mountain at 60 mph, it’s just a much more sophisticated and effective way to stop a bike, which if you think about it a second, is pretty darn important no matter what kind of riding you do. Everyone should do as they want, but my money is going to be spent on bikes with discs.
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#85
Senior Member
Until they start squealing and you have to start messing around sanding pads and calipers. And the pistons can get gummed up so they no longer retract properly. Then when you try to replace the not very old ultegra caliper (br-r785) with a slightly newer model the hydraulic hose fittings are different so you need to buy a new hose and fittings. I’ve had quite a few campy calipers that I’ve never done anything to other than change pads. I think the hydraulic discs will take a little more maintenance but I won’t have to replace rims.
#86
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Until they start squealing and you have to start messing around sanding pads and calipers. And the pistons can get gummed up so they no longer retract properly. Then when you try to replace the not very old ultegra caliper (br-r785) with a slightly newer model the hydraulic hose fittings are different so you need to buy a new hose and fittings. I’ve had quite a few campy calipers that I’ve never done anything to other than change pads. I think the hydraulic discs will take a little more maintenance but I won’t have to replace rims.
Why not replace the caliper with the same model - not available?
#87
Member
I don’t race ever and I ride my bike every mile as spirited as my (sometimes feel like a noodle) legs will allow.
I look at the introduction of disc brakes to cycling almost in the same way I look at the introduction of indexed shifting. Once I rode a bike with indexed shifting (it was even downtube mounted) I never ever wanted to go back to non-indexed. It started a sea change to cycling sophistication, and try to find a new bike now with the old friction shift system.
For me me it was the same thing when tried hydraulic discs, I loved them instantly and I was amazed the technology had been developed for bikes. It doesn’t matter to me that I’m not descending a mountain at 60 mph, it’s just a much more sophisticated and effective way to stop a bike, which if you think about it a second, is pretty darn important no matter what kind of riding you do. Everyone should do as they want, but my money is going to be spent on bikes with discs.
I look at the introduction of disc brakes to cycling almost in the same way I look at the introduction of indexed shifting. Once I rode a bike with indexed shifting (it was even downtube mounted) I never ever wanted to go back to non-indexed. It started a sea change to cycling sophistication, and try to find a new bike now with the old friction shift system.
For me me it was the same thing when tried hydraulic discs, I loved them instantly and I was amazed the technology had been developed for bikes. It doesn’t matter to me that I’m not descending a mountain at 60 mph, it’s just a much more sophisticated and effective way to stop a bike, which if you think about it a second, is pretty darn important no matter what kind of riding you do. Everyone should do as they want, but my money is going to be spent on bikes with discs.
I like discs from the little time I've spent on trying bikes with them. However, would I pay a premium for them? Probably not. Not for the riding I do. For me, direct-mounted rim brakes work awesome, especially since you're likely saving in the neighborhood of $400. That's a decent chunk of change.
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#88
Senior Member
I look at it this way: nobody knows the future. I feel like I don't really need a seatbelt for the kind of driving I do, I'm not a maniac. But if my seatbelt got cut somehow, I would spend $400 to replace it.
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#89
Member
This is a terrible comparison that's not even remotely the same.
#90
Senior Member
You're telling me I'm not allowed to feel like a safety device is worth 400 of my dollars?
Of course it's not the same, you could have figured that out when I mentioned my car. If it was the same none of us would have bikes. That's kind of how life works.
Of course it's not the same, you could have figured that out when I mentioned my car. If it was the same none of us would have bikes. That's kind of how life works.
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#91
Member
Just pointing out that if you want to make a legitimate argument for something, you may want to not use a flawed example scenario.
#92
Senior Member
Have you ever heard of an analogy?
Wait, is that a "legitimate" question?
Wait, is that a "legitimate" question?
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#93
Member
#94
Senior Member
Ok, the seatbelt was only cut halfway, it might still work like your brakes in the rain.
#95
Senior Member
By the way, if you get this worked up every time somebody has an opinion you don't like, life must be really hard for you.
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#96
#97
Member
#98
Senior Member
Hey I think *this* is the thread that will definitively resolve this debate!
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#99
Member
#100
Senior Member
I can't speak for anyone but myself, here's how I see it. I love old steel road bikes from the 80's to 90's. I love how they look, how they feel and the great memories in life they remind me of. That said, all my vintage steel bikes have modern wheels, tires, gearing, pedals, bars and stems because I ride them and think there are some things from the modern/current age that are better then the old stuff. Sacrilege? Blasphemy? Maybe to some, but for me, getting down the road on one of those bikes as fast as I can make it go is the real payoff, not looking at a "period correct" version that my six decade old body won't tolerate, too many crit crashes for that.
I have but two modern bikes; a mountain bike with hydraulic discs and an "all road" drop bar bike with cable discs. Both are far and away better than any rim brake bike I have in my stable. They don't beat up the rim in wet/poor weather, modulate better and I can brake deeper into fast corners/descents than I ever could with rim brakes. Rims are no longer wear items due to braking surface and they can be lighter than rim brake models for the same reason. Reducing rotating weight on the outside circumference is a big deal when it comes to climbing and acceleration. One day, before I lose all my ability, I'll probably buy a high zoot road bike with hydraulic disc brakes, heck maybe even some electric shifting. Mind you, I'm the guy that went ballistic when the first guy on our race team showed up with Shimano SIS downtube shifters; according to me it was a crutch for someone who didn't possess the ability to play a fret-less instrument. Boy was I wrong.
All that said, disc brakes are here and like it or not, they're here to stay.
I have but two modern bikes; a mountain bike with hydraulic discs and an "all road" drop bar bike with cable discs. Both are far and away better than any rim brake bike I have in my stable. They don't beat up the rim in wet/poor weather, modulate better and I can brake deeper into fast corners/descents than I ever could with rim brakes. Rims are no longer wear items due to braking surface and they can be lighter than rim brake models for the same reason. Reducing rotating weight on the outside circumference is a big deal when it comes to climbing and acceleration. One day, before I lose all my ability, I'll probably buy a high zoot road bike with hydraulic disc brakes, heck maybe even some electric shifting. Mind you, I'm the guy that went ballistic when the first guy on our race team showed up with Shimano SIS downtube shifters; according to me it was a crutch for someone who didn't possess the ability to play a fret-less instrument. Boy was I wrong.
All that said, disc brakes are here and like it or not, they're here to stay.
Last edited by nomadmax; 08-21-19 at 11:50 AM.