sincos

Having cable rim brakes and hydraulic disc brakes, and having used the Magura hydraulic rims (but not cable discs) I found a significant difference between hydraulic actuation and cable actuation. Rim vs disk? Not so much. Theoretically the rim should be better, unless you need to keep the braking surface away from the ground. IMO rim vs disc is mostly full of sound and fury signifying not a whole hell of a lot.

GhostRider62

I did Transam bike race on carbon rims as a clydsdale.

latex tubes,

No boom

You read too much

You have no idea what you are talking about

I regularly descend 15% hills

The key is the epoxy and the pads

You are spewing 2009 ignorant fear

GhostRider62

That wasn't the Giro

I could post plenty to the contrary

See no reason to scrap or bin a perfectly good frame just to get discs. Too many Eco poseurs too easily dispose of what is more than sufficient just to be cool. Save your response.

tomato coupe

I was wrong, this thread is no different than the others. Same old, same old.

shelbyfv

I've seen the term "poseur" used in a cycling context but what is a cycling Eco poseur?

terrymorse 

Of course I am, because the laws of thermodynamics have changed dramatically since 2009, and resin no longer softens when it gets hot.

<insert eye roll here>

I lost a lot of money renting carbon wheels to clueless riders who didn’t know how to descend. Years after 2009. Including some rather dramatic failures of my wheels at the Levi's Gran Fondo.



As do I, on carbon rims with rim brakes. It's not a problem if you are a skilled descender using good braking technique.

Quote:

The key is the epoxy and the pads

No, that is not the "key" to preventing rim failure or tire blowoff from braking heat. Resin with a higher softening temperature can help a little, but pads do almost nothing to help dissipate heat from the rim (even if manufacturers tell you otherwise).

The key is using good braking technique.



You presume too much about me, relatively new account guy.

Suggest you ask around about me, and what I may or may not know. It could be enlightening.

terrymorse 

Even a featherweight rider can blow a tire on a descent, if they don't know how to brake properly.

But a Clydesdale with the same crummy braking technique will blow a tire sooner.

It's a fairly simple energy equation, converting kinetic energy into heat. Clydesdales have more kinetic energy, so they generate more heat with the same braking.

Badger6

Dude.

They are on the TT bikes of many pros riding in Grand Tours, not all, but enough that it’s fair to say they aren’t a novelty.

If buying a new bike isn’t for you, fine.

The negatives of disc brakes, in my experience, stem from people riding bikes and having not a clue about how to actually ride it, maintain it, or otherwise keep it functional. The problem they solve is predictable (much more easily modulated) and vastly improved stopping power, especially when they weather is crappy. But, a lot of folks don’t ride very aggressively, even when they think they do, or avoid riding a bike when it’s raining, so it’s understandable that they think discs are either no improvement or unnecessary. Probably the only place, in my experience, that rim brakes are equally sufficient to discs is riding on flat, dry pavement in sunny weather.

Regardless, rim brakes have functioned adequately for many years, and with the advent of a superior braking system in the form of hydraulic disc brakes on TA equipped bikes, that hasn’t changed.

mtb_addict

read report disc can cause the front wheel axle to come loose.

i will never buy disc brake for safety reason.

besides, discs look ugly.

sad part is that the selection of rim brake is getting smaller and smaller every day.

wolfchild

This only happens to people who fail to make sure that their axle is tightened properly...also forks have a thing called lawyer tabs which prevents a wheel axle from coming out.

Mosman12

I tried both in the past and definitely disc brake. No more rim brake bike for me

mtb_addict

no, problem is real. Just google it, there is so many stories.
The manufacturer try to put the blame on the victims. but i believe its more than just user error.

Some mfr is redesigning the fork to prevent this problem. But there is alot of dangerous disk brake forks still out there.

MattTheHat 

I know it’s a small data point but I’ve ridden about 25,000 miles on several disk brake bikes over the past three years. Both through axle and QR. I’ve never found the axle had loosened. For crying out loud, through axles are simply bolts! There are lots more demanding applications for a bolt than a bicycle axle and they work fine there too.

I like disk brakes because they work extremely well, and need almost no maintenance. Some rim brakes work well and some of them don’t. I’ve never met a rim brake I liked. If others prefer rim brakes, that’s perfectly fine with me. But this paranoia about safety is laughable.

DangerousDanR

Rick:
I just took the fat bike out to see. I am running 180 front and 160 rear Formula rotors with Hope V4 brakes. The pads and rotors are fairly new and in very good condition. The tires on there now are Jumbo Jim 26x4.8, set to 10 psi with an accurate digital tire filling gauge so they do have good traction.

ON both pavement and gravel I can easily lock up the rear if I just grab a big handful of brakes. I can lock the front if I try, but I can also hold them just shy of lockup.

Our tandem is a breakaway but I take the calipers off if we are flying with it.

Hope does publish the max rotor thickness for the V4, but I can't tell you what it is off the top of my head.

drlogik 

Rim-Brakers are paranoid when it rains. Disk-Brakers are paranoid about cutting their leg off with the rotor.

Just kidding of course. Ya'll remember that broohaha years ago? Silly.

It boils down to personal preference as has been stated.

I own both and still prefer rim brakes although my Shimano XTR's on my Kona MTN bike are pretty F'n good. I have Shimano Dura Ace on one of my Wabi fixed gear bikes and man, they are sweet too.

sneakerfreaka

I've only started using Disc brakes for the first time late last year. I hated them at first, the squealing, the rubbing and the ease of which they can be contaminated. Rim brakes were set and forgot for the most part, not much checking or adjusting. I persisted though, and despite not being able to solve the issues I mentioned, I started actually liking them! Although they still had two big downsides for me personally. I live in a very hilly area, as soon as I ride out of my road, I descend a tight, twisting road for a few kilometres where the gradient is easily over 20% at times. I thought Disc brakes would have an advantage here but I found them to be too good. If the road is wet or damp, my rear wheel locks up and slides if I press the rear brakes too hard. And I find it a lot harder to 'feather' the disc brakes compared to rim. Maybe more practice is needed on my part. So I'm not in either camp right now, I love the feedback and control of rim and the stopping power of disc (except of really steep hills). I'm sure eventually the annoying maintenance and noise issues of disc will be solved, once that happens I don't think too many people will opt for rim brakes any more.

Chuck M 

The only time my discs have made noise is when they were wet. I've had my rim brakes not make a sound when wet. The difference I experienced is my discs still stopped the bike well. I don't understand the constant debate over which is better, but I also don't think I would ever buy a new bike again without discs.

y2zipper

My experience with disc vs. rim is that discs tend to he way easier on my hands and easier to modulate. Basically, I get more stopping power for less force on the brake and my hands appreciate that. That said, brake choice wasn't a factor when I shopped.

veganbikes

No you will never buy a disc brake because you just want to talk about all the random bikes and say you want to buy and then give up a few days into it and say your heavy 40lb bike is better. Nothing at all do with safety. My touring bike has quick releases and discs and I have had zero problems with it and no looseness and I am a bigger rider and am sometimes carrying a decent amount of extra weight on it and have gone down some big hills.

I guess with cheaper quick releases especially the modern open cam design and people not tightening them properly and checking their bikes once and a while you can loosen it but I imagine it has to be a lot to make that happen as I haven't seen it personally and haven't had any issues with customers and I have sold a lot of disc brake bikes with QRs over the years and now more thru-axle stuff and also work on other bikes not sold through us. I am sure people love to post horror stories but the JRA stuff is usually quite a load of hooey. People not knowing how to use a QR is usually the big culprit not Big Fork or Big Disc. I have seen more than my fair share of poorly done up quick releases over the years.

Cheap crap looks ugly, disc brakes and rim brakes of quality can look quite decent.

fooferdoggie 

each brand will feel different. Like magura mt4's were nice but they took 3 fingers for full power. I wanted to use one finger in the winter with gloves on so got some Shimano it's 4 piston and man 1 finger full power. but they take a delicate touch a lot more sensitive. but thats just a learning curve. our tandem has a v b rake on the back alone with a disc. man after trying that and how much work it is no wonder someone can over use a disc till they get the hang of it.

DMC707

opinions vary

DMC707

They are used , but they are also not as wind tunnel friendly as the post mount and built in setups

tomato coupe

Yep, my disc brakes are absolute rubbish when I don't install the thru axles.

fooferdoggie 

I bet did you keep going while your wheels stayed put or was it the opposite?

Rick

DangerousDanR: Thanks for the reply. I have done a little research on the Hope V4. I already have the ceramic Kool Stop ebike pads and a Magura ebike 180mm rotor on the way. I will have some money in a couple of months and have an overseas bicycle shop I deal with that has the Hope V4 brakes available. I run 2" wide tires on my Co-Motion Pangea Rohloff. The frame is coupled and has QR style dropouts. I always file off lawyer lips on my bicycles.