ChloeSnow

So currently the bike I have is my commuting bike. An older 80s model craigslist special Giant in all it's clashing paintjob 80s glory. Right now I have cantis (stock) with the single compound koolstop all weather brake pads on the back. (strangely the generic pads on the front feel much better, that could have something to do with leverage though, my cable is pretty loose in the back) So I'm thinking of doing magura HS 33s - they mount on canti bosses and I've heard they can be as good as any disc brakes, and if nothing else, the next best thing. Were i live it rains, and snows a lot. There are plenty of hills. I cant drive due to a medical condition so this IS my transportation. My local co-op guy keeps discouraging me from getting maguras because they are hydraulic and he seems to think that's complicated but the videos look pretty easy. Experiences? Thoughts? Other recommendations?

gregf83 

I'm sure those brakes will work fine. The problem is if you ride in wet and cold conditions in the winter your rims will wear quickly. With rim brakes I go through a rim every year or two. I've switched to hydraulic disc brakes for my winter bike. The discs are more expensive but brake more consistently vs rim brakes. Once you've tried discs it's not worth going back to rim brakes for winter riding. I still use rim brakes and have no plans to change for summer riding.

Kedosto

Darth Lefty 

hermanchauw

Hoopdriver

You didn't ask about drum brakes. Nevertheless, I'll through in a pitch for them since I have them on my all-weather commuting bike. I found them to be perfect in all conditions, easy to maintain, and incredibly long wearing. Best is that you don't have all that wet black muck to clean up like you have with rim brakes

cyccommute 

I would go further and say that properly adjusted cantilever brakes are perfectly adequate even in extreme conditions. I've used them for mountain biking in the early days...it's all we had...and I never reached a point where I thought I didn't have enough brake. I've used them on 45mph rain soaked descents on a loaded touring bike and never thorough I needed more brake. I used them on winter bikes for many years to good effect as well because, again, it was all we had. People make too much of an issue about the braking mechanism on bicycles but they don't make enough of an issue about how they use the brakes. How you use them is far more important than the mechanism you have to squeeze the brake surface.

BobbyG

Two years ago I replaced the original cantilever brakes on my MTB-based commuter with V-Brakes and it was an unqualified success!

V-Brake Update
Original Post: What a difference a Brake Makes

Rain, snow, mud, muck, If I wanted to, I could lock up the wheels of my extremely heavy bike at any speed in any conditions, and these are the same 20-year old rims. The total rolling package with bike, fenders, reack, etc, commuting backpack with clothes and supplies and me is something like 265 lbs.

fietsbob

Bought a bike with Magura HS33 on them in 2008, once you get them set up ,
because they are a closed system*, unlike discs , an open system,

All I've had to do is pop in fresh brake pads in 10 years ..

* No heat transfer to the fluid , like you have thru backing plates on disc pads.

BobbyG

That sounds like a good system. I only offered V-brakes as more inexpensive alternative. I will remember the HS33's for future builds.

ChloeSnow

already have 4 finger levers and koolstop all weather pads. I had kool stops before when my rear cable was tighter.(before changing brake wires) Changing to kool stops actually seemed to give me worse stopping/slowing power. I do all my own work on my bike and so far...the only thing that makes sense is a different mechanism or potentially a different compound on the pads. Dunno, maybe just needs more adjusting, but I don't think so. That day in the rain terrified me. My front wheel had almost zero stopping power (but could still slow me a bit) and that can usually come close to "over the handlebars" and the back wheel brakes were virtually non existent. Keep in mind i weigh 230 or 240, and usually carry a backpack too. I have the feeling people are making recommendations with the presumption I'm a tiny cyclist like most. I can't install disc brakes, bikes with canti bosses don't have bosses for disc brakes (I've heard of a few exceptions)

hermanchauw

fietsbob

V brake , power is directly a result of how long it is ..

and the longer it is, the greater the cable pull demand is, from the hand lever..

Bike Gremlin

As for the pads - Kool Stop Salmon is the model that works very well.

My 2c on cantilever brake adjustment. If adjusted properly they are as good as any other rim brake.

Hydraulic rim brakes? Makes some sense if your hands are quite weak and you can't squeeze levers properly. Otherwise - useless expense IMO.

Disc brakes? Rode all my life, all year long, on flats and hills without them, no problems. With some common sense and understanding of their limits (deep, soft mud, icy conditions with ice and snow packing on the rims and heavy rain on downhills).

acidfast7

Hydraulic rim brakes are what you really want.

https://www.magura.com/en/components/bike/rim-brakes/

Most bikes in Germany without Disc mounts run them and they're significantly better than non-hydraulic rim brakes. The offer several advantages over cable brakes for bikes subjected to the elements (no cable stretch, no cable rust, no ice inhibiting their usage when used in the winter) ... they're an excellent all around solution for bikes used all year and for those left exposed to the elements.

Never really caught on outside of Europe because people like drops for some absurd reason in the North American market.

pdlamb

I understand OP was scared when her brakes didn't work in heavy rain, and wants to change something.

I don't understand how going to hydraulic brakes is supposed to fix the problem of brake pads rubbing against wet rims.

Any rim brake that's properly set up will start grabbing after one wheel revolution, as the pads wipe the water off the braking surface. (The same is likely true of disk brakes, BTW, if it's raining hard enough to get the disks wet.)

cyccommute 

I think there's a lot of magical thinking about hydraulic brakes in general. I've used them as well as mechanical disc and just about every type of rim brake made. With the exception of some really bad center pull brakes from the 80s and/or steel rims, bicycle brakes are all up to the job at hand.


I certainly agree. My experience this morning is illustrative of this issue. Hub mounted discs are usually up out of the soup. But this morning I was riding through grass with heavy dew. The rotors got wet and the brakes reacted just the same as wet rims. In other words, there was a lag in the brakes because they were wet.

I've experienced this before in frizzle conditions (freezing drizzle) on both rim and hub mounted disc. The brakes lag because they are wet. You just have to adjust your riding style accordingly. But you have to do that for any kind of riding on slick pavement because the issue isn't how the brakes work but how the tire interacts with the pavement.

fietsbob

and USA Gets it's bikes from Pac Rim Factories..
because they make many brands , for many importers,
at good prices, equipped with Components made not far
from the assembly factories..

fietsbob

Perhaps the OP is just not as good a skilled mechanic ,

as someone doing it for several years , in a bike shop.

and so may want to ask for a tune up/safety check.. , double checking (her?) work..

It is a Service Business..

thedriveside

My commuting set up, amazing braking power. Just need to keep the v brakes adjusted for pad wear and messing with some spring tension to keep them real snappy

MMACH 5

I'm going to land in the "adjust the brakes you have" camp. The bike in my stable with the most year-round, all weather miles has cantilever brakes. They have been great for over 10 years.

Viich

I've never had any trouble getting cantis adjusted, never seem to be able to keep v brakes working properly. Even for the brief period that they stop me, they aren't any stronger than cantis, just need more mechanical advantage at the lever (same levers as road calipers) .

dabac

Another way to go - although a bit expensive - is ceramic coated rims. They "never" wear out unless you ding them hard enough to flake the coating off. The coarser surface improves wet braking no end.
Can be some difficulty in getting pads though.

Abe_Froman

Disc brakes are just flat out better, performance wise. By a lot. There's no question about it. The debate really is whether the performance increase is really necessary. And THAT is really dependent on how you ride your bike. If you ride in wet weather, or especially wet hills, discs are probably the answer you're looking for.

And..it seems like hydraulic rim brakes would be an expensive option. I would probably rather just buy a cheap disc fork/wheel for your existing bike and run a disc up front. Or a new bike....often just getting a new bike makes more sense than upgrading, even if you just want different brakes.

AlmostGreenGuy

I think that cantilever brakes work perfectly well, when properly set up. But I can also see canti's as being an unnecessary pain to setup, for people who don't love wrenching on bikes. Their quite finicky.

V-brakes are cheap, easy to setup, and work more reliably. I'd go with v-brakes, if I were the OP. I really don't see the need for hydraulics.