rydabent

Last spring I posted a thread saying the disc brakes are here to stay, and becoming more popular all the time. Where I may have gone wrong is just how soon they may take over. I predicted that in 5 years most bikes would have them.

Now-----------------I just received my latest free issue of Bicycling magazine. Thumbing thru and looking at all the articles and ad, almost ALL the bikes pictured have disc brakes. And that is both on mountain bikes and road or racing bikes. Most ads are for 2018 models.

As always I see this as a good thing.

Skipjacks

Discs seemed gimmicky to me...

...until I road a bike with them. Then I bought a new bike largely to get disc brakes. They are no joke. ESPECIALLY when they are wet. Nothing like pulling the brake handles...and confidently knowing you are going to stop

Flip Flop Rider

How do you get that mag for free if I may ask?

fietsbob

Advertising revenue driven Bicycling magazine is a very narrow keyhole to view the world through, try to get outside more ,

and read some real books...

Because of the Pressure to make rapid wheel changes and even take spares from neutral service , the Rim brake will stay the staple of the Grand tours.
one consumer buying one bike yea the market is pushing discs and through axle forks. Makes a very very slow wheel change..
but less likely they will forget to close the QR lever, and go find a lawyer..

But Cyclocross Where they just grab a whole bike from their pit crew as they lap past it, Discs seem to show up..

World championships in KY the disc brake using guy came in 10th.. they had to get a hole free disc flown in overnight ,
because the sand retained in the holes in the edge of the disc tore thru the pads in less than an hour, the length of the Sr race.






.....

rydabent

I really dont know for sure, and would really like to know.

The address label says------------10 free issues from Nuttzo. I would like to know who he is and thank him.

Barabaika

I need to check the bicycle aisle at one of the closest stores.
A $79 bicycle with disk brakes should be a bargain.

Bandera

It's Re-re-re-re-re-re-Post rotation time for the "Disc Brake Post" again, again, again, again, to re-re-sing the same song once more again.
I was hoping for "Why Go Fast? "or the "Recumbents: Anything Else is Stupid" posts to to re-re-re-re-resurrect to warble those well-flogged old tunes, but the undisputed authority of Bicycling magazine does take precedence.

Bandera

StanSeven

This is definitely a re-hash of an old issue. But maybe some members, including new ones, might enjoy it. So if you don't want to participate, don't - your choice.

GeneO 

You will be assimilated, ha ha ha

Lazyass

Eh, I got a Diverge with discs a couple of months ago. They're fine but honestly I prefer rim brakes. Unless it's wet of course.

Sangetsu

Been there and done that. I am a competent bike mechanic, and can easily enough remount a wheel quickly after having a flat. But it's never that quick when riding a bike with disk brakes. It is very seldom that the wheel goes on exactly as it came off, and some adjustment of the wheel and caliper is necessary to prevent rubbing. Caliper brakes seldom have this problem, v-brakes sometimes rub after a wheel change, but with practice, the brakes can be centered without tools (bending the return spring on one of the brake arms one way or the other with your hand slightly, to equalize tension). For casual rides, touring, or riding off road, disks are great, you can spend an extra minute or ten fiddling around with them. But for competitive road riding, they are not an option.

Rim brakes are simple, work well in most conditions, and can be maintained and adjusted by those who are not very mechanically-inclined. Even in wet conditions, applying the brake early will clear the rim of water, and even disk brakes are not immune to reducing stopping power when wet.

02Giant 

Whats this thread about?

HerrKaLeun

I have 2 disc brake bikes with QR and one with through axle and the wheel always positions back exactly as I took it out and don't need to adjust caliper. not sure if you have a problem with your axles if they don't set in the same way.
one of the bikes had cheap mechanical brakes first and the rotor never really fit (only had one-moving pad, so it bent the rotor). But after upgrading to hydraulic the problem disappeared (same rotors).

As for adjustment, that is just it, hydraulic brakes don't need any adjustment between pad changes (and not even then) provided the rotor doesn't bend. They are self-adjusting for pad wear.

I think what most problems are with disc brakes are either mechanical brakes, or some badly designed or undersized ones. If you have good shimano brakes and 180mm rotor front and 160 mm rear you never have problems. Problem I see on road bikes they use 140 mm rotors and cable brakes.... doh, sure that is not good, but more an accounting problem than an actual disc brake problem.

I only have a hybrid and a fat bike, so don't know much about road bikes. But I enjoy watching GCN show and it seems dis is overtaking the road fraction as well. I think the only thing in the way is UCI regulation and the fact roadbikers want brifters and since hydraulic lever and caliper need to be the same type, this is hard to make.

Some people have a problem with change. but the market will speak and nothing you can do besides doing some custom builds.

jefnvk

Meh, I got a bike with discs because it was a steal. They're really not the cat's meow, my V-brakes work every bit as well

tnburban

I have too much money tied up in rim brake wheel sets right now, so I can't embrace disc brakes...ask me again once I wear out these wheels.

rydabent

So ---------------- I take it you dont like disc brakes. Fine with me. I am just reporting what I observed. Again probably the main reasons are discs are somewhat new especially to road bikes. I admit that the mfg may be playing the public by suggesting your caliper brakes are old fashioned, and you should buy our new bikes with disc brakes. And the since they are getting a lot of attention they are all getting on board, and then it becomes economies of scale to produce as many of them as they can. Simply put the price goes down the more you buy.

BTW I only brought it up again since even I am amazed at how fast discs are coming on line.

u235

I am not defending any position on which brakes are better or why, I have both and have no problem with either one, wet, dry, muddy, cold, hot, modulation, stopping power etc. But... I have NEVER had that problem not even a single time where my rotor rubbed or was not aligned and I have my wheels off often and I have standard QR. I have TRP HYD/RD which are self centering and self adjusting. I still flip my bike over just because I always have and its just easier for me when removing wheels or at least when putting them on so maybe that makes them align easier with no effort.

I saw a full suspension bike at Walmart recently that had front disc, vbrake rear and both still had a conventional axle with nuts.

coominya

There really is no downside to them is there. I still have an older bike with rim brakes I ride from time to time but I never take it near hills anymore. Just the noise of RB's, as subtle as they are is an annoyance now.

coominya

There, fixed it for you

Wileyrat

Hydro discs on the mtn bike...Oh yeah. Discs on the CF roadie...No

close the thread now.

Lazyass

Funny, the silence of my rim brakes are one reason I prefer them over my discs.

Nachoman

I agree with @Sangetsu in that I find it takes more finesse to reinstall a wheel with disk brakes after repairing a flat. But obviously neither are difficult or complicated.

trainsktg

For me, being a bigger than the average cyclist, having the same size rim brakes as everyone else while in wet or steeper downhill conditions is like having Corolla sized brakes installed on an F150 Supercrew. I am much more confident on my disc brake bikes in other than optimal conditions.

Keith

_ForceD_

I'm on the side of still preferring traditional caliper brakes. I've never had an issue with not being able to lock up my wheels if needed. Nevertheless, I will agree that disc brakes have a better ability to stop the wheel from rotating. But in the end, stopping efficiency literally comes down to where the rubber meets the road. Once you've locked up the wheel the only thing that matters is the amount of traction/tire surface that is on the ground.

One thing that I've often wondered about since disc brakes on bicycles have come around...is why better braking was never developed using traditional caliper (or V type) brakes. It seems that someone would have developed a rim that has a thin (interchangeable) steel (or some other material) braking surface so that brake pads made of better braking material (i.e. ceramic) could be used...something other than rubber that works in wet conditions. Yeah, it's probably going to weigh a bit more, but disc brakes also weigh more than caliper brakes. I dunno...seems to me that disc brakes for bicycles was thinking just a little to far outside the box.

Dan

mstateglfr 

I dont use disc brakes, but you missed the 2 big benefits of disc brakes- modulation and easeier lever pull.
Yes, i too can lock up caliper, vbrake, and canti brakes...but disc brakes arent just about more power, they also allow for better feathered braking and getting close to locking up without actually locking up.
The other benefit is how easy the brake levers are to engage. People with smaller and/or weaker hands will have an easier time.