ctak

https://cyclingtips.com/2020/08/bike...ish-road-bike/

Bah Humbug

"Opponents of the design, however, criticize it for unsafely linking the braking surface to tire retention. As well, the oversized rotors are more susceptible to dirt, water, and oil from the riding surface causing contamination, early wear, and reduced braking performance."

Bah Humbug

They literally might as well have taken that from a three-year-old thread on Slowtwitch.

WhyFi

Yawn. Let the bike speak for itself without having to resort to rabble-rousing for attention.

tyrion

The extreme amount of leverage that system provides seems dangerous. I'll wait for more real world testing.

rafazx10

EBR motorcycles actually had perimeter disc brakes

Bah Humbug

And I mean, I’m not really pro-disc as a general thing (universally, anyway) but this is the opposite of a fresh hot take on the topic. And super lame as a publicity stunt. Before I read it I thought it was a slow news day and someone at CyclingTips wrote a lame column; now I’m losing respect for Rob English.

shelbyfv

Not actually part of the bike but the way those ergo bars are jacked down and the placement of the levers looks like something out of the 80s. Goofy.... I assume it's custom so maybe the customer specified that and can't blame the builder. Even so, he should have corrected it for the glamour shots.

RedBullFiXX

As it has rim brakes, this is clearly a vintage setup

WhyFi

I only skimmed the article, but I think that that was the maker's personal build.

Dean V

Actually I would say the bars and levers are set correctly.

shelbyfv

^^ If it was C&V stuff you'd be correct. Current bars are designed for the flats to extend horizontally and current brifters are designed for the hoods to initiate and continue from that plane, not be placed half way down the curve. You can look at any manufacturer's website and see examples. Of course people can put stuff anywhere they like but it may compromise the ergonomics the mfg worked so hard to achieve.

AdkMtnMonster

Valve stems at appropriate place, cranks set correctly, gold chain, (cha-Ching!) but it’s not in Biggy Smalls. Sad!

Iride01 

I can't afford a custom built bike. I'll ride what I can buy from the store. If it's this new version indicated by the OP or old style hydraulic disc brakes, that is of little importance.

As long as it's stopping performance meets the CPSC requirements for sale and my states legal requirements to be on public roads, I'll be interested more in things that make it go.

rubiksoval

Ohhh, he's someone that runs his rear skewer facing backwards. Ughhhh. Ruins an otherwise exquisite ride.

burnthesheep

You realize that the first TT/tri disc brake bikes tested slower in the tunnel? That was a big initial gripe on Slowtwitch. I would like discs, but not if it makes me slower.

Bah Humbug

I am acutely aware, yes. My tri bike will be the last converted to disc brake, if ever. I'm not sure what that has to do with any of my posts here, though. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, and the spoof/ hot take/ whatever in the article is several years old and was questionable at that point.

My next bike will almost certainly be disc brake, but I will also likely always have a rim brake bike to soak up a lot of the morning training miles in dry, flat Texas.

ctak

Rob wrote the article. Great guy with a sense of humor, unlike Grumps here

Bah Humbug

You might want to check the personal stuff, thanks.

sced

What are the differences between disc and rim brake performance?

Rides4Beer

It's hideous. There's no puke emoji, or I'd use that. lol

abshipp 

Eh, I read it as more tongue-in-cheek than trying to make a statement so controversial, yet so brave. Lots of us have done parts bin builds before for the hell of it, Rob's parts bin just happens to include a pile of tubing as well. Maybe world-class framebuilders get bored, too.

If he really wanted to maximize the "rotor" size, he would have gone with 630mm wheels, anyways

I've never understood that either, but it doesn't offend me nearly as much as that crank

mattscq

I don't entirely understand rim brake diehards. Aside from a few grams and negligible aero gains, I don't understand why anyone would prefer a rim brake given the choice. I suppose the wheels are more compact and thru-axles are a but more fidgety? Seems like a low cost to pay for not tearing up the brake track on your $3000 carbon rims.

Maybe I just don't understand. Would anyone care to convince me otherwise?

Bah Humbug

Convince? You won’t be convinced, and I don’t care to try, but I can explain. Some of us tend to ride in dry flat environments, and good calipers are plenty for us. That means I can do things like flip the bike while swapping tires without making the brakes squishy, I can put the wheels in my car without worrying about the rotor getting damaged, and generally they’re just a lot more convenient. Oh and cheaper - much is made of the lack of much price difference between, say, an R5 disc and rim, but there’s no R2 disc (or at least wasn’t when I got it). Many of us also already had a bunch of nice rim brake wheels we aren’t eager to replace.

They have advantages, but those of us in the above situations are not thrilled about the “get on board, chump” attitude expressed by many.

mattscq

I think that's a pretty convincing argument for me at least. I got into cycling not too long ago when discs were already the trend so at the time and now, it made no sense and makes no sense for me to ever get a rim bike. It totally makes sense if you've already got a bunch of rim brake wheels and I can see the sort of elitism/snobbery in telling somebody they should just get over it and spend thousands on a new system.