gregf83 

Best to stay inside. You'll be safe there.

American Euchre

How many of you go on group rides with riders who have disc brakes? Has this become an issue in club riding?

79pmooney

You may not have noticed, but hockey players wear a a little more protective gear than cyclists. It is also recognized as a far more dangerous sport by everybody. In cycling all are going roughly the same speed in the same direction most of the time. In hockey, head-on collisions at 25 mph each are entirely possible and do happen. Pucks can go 120 mph. But every player, even before the helmets and face guards wore full armor on the front to their legs and around their hips plus gladiator style gloves. Not to mention far more clothing than any lycra clad cyclist.

Ben

bruce19

I did too until I bought a Colnago CX w/discs. The braking is so much more progressive and predictable IMO. I saw no use for discs until I had a bike w/discs. My next road bike will have discs.

Campag4life

Yeah, look how many times Sagan has now died descending mountains at 60 mph while riding the top tube.
Guys...what is it? Is Sagan on his 5th or 6th death now? Last time I looked he rides carbon wheels.

The UCI are morons for allowing discs in the first place. Insiders knew the risks. Road racing at the pro level is a blood sport. Lots of crashes at high speed in the peloton. No reason to add 2 scalpels per bicycle to the equation....where fractionally improved braking can also spell further disaster when riding 2 feet apart at 30 mph +.

Campag4life

Mine won't.

Campag4life

Why even ask? What does club riding have to do with pro level racing?
watermelon and pizza.
If I have my druthers...no disc bikes in fast group rides either. But that ain't gonna happen. Always some yahoo who wastes his money thinking disk brakes are better on a road bike...lol.

Campag4life

Relieved that a guy who makes wheels for a living gets it.

Campag4life

Sorry to single you out but you really define how ignorant people are about this issue. I am a motorcycle guy too FWIW. Elite athletes riding 30+ mph 2 feet apart including the utter mayhem of sprinting bouncing off one another's handlebars has nothing to do with riding a motorcycle or even motorcycle racing. They can't even be compared down to the full face helmets and full reinforced clothing.

Allowing use of disk brakes into the blood sport of road cycling racing, isn't just stupid, its beyond stupid. I am very sorry that guy got so badly hacked. Did you guys see his leg in that picture? Could have been much worse. Could have been the guys' face or a main artery to his body cause further destruction or death. The sport of cycling at the elite racing level is already VERY dangerous on so many levels. Adding to this for virtually no benefit and an argument can be made that enhanced braking is actually more dangerous within the peloton as well...any of you guys crash in a group ride because an idiot in front of you over applied his brakes?...pretty unbelievable that disks were allowed in the first place.

bruce19

You might think differently if you, like me, had had a front brake lock up resulting in a broken neck and fusion of C1 & C2. Then again, maybe not. To each his own.

(Nothing to do with what I just posted but I, too, am a motorcyclist. MSF Instructor riding Ducatis for the past 15 yrs. And, riding generally since 1975.)

znomit

Speaking of motorcycles...


The GP bikes used to run shrouded carbon disks too (they liked to stay hot).

American Euchre

Well, there's the key. You had a choice. Professionals don't. They have to use whatever equipment is pushed on them by their sponsor.

Fortunately, UCI saved the riders this time, ironically from the manufacturers who are paying their salaries.

I've ridden mechanical discs and feel they are overkill. I don't ride in the rain, and I weigh 165 or so.

Maybe a 300 pounder who loves to ride in the rain might feel otherwise.

masterchief

Disc brakes brought the "endurance/adventure/gravel/whatever" style road bike with more tire clearance with them, and going back to 25c tire road bikes would be the biggest loss to me, if disc brakes disappeared.

Almost every major brand has an "endurance/adventure/gravel/whatever" type of bike in their line up now, and they didnt before discs brakes was here. I hope they will keep producing the type of bike, even if disc brakes goes away as a result of this.

K.Katso

That's Hardley what I'd call a motorcycle

BTW that brake system pretty much failed miserably when they tried unsuccessfully to step up to World Superbikes. The dual-disc systems their competitors were using outperformed them, as if they needed any more disadvatanges.

smarkinson

What are you going on about?

I am referring to the inaction by the UCI over the spate of recent motorcycle crashes including the death of Antoine Demoitie in Gent-Wevelgum this year. Did you not see the motorbike piling into the back of the Sky rider in one of the crashes in Paris Roubaix? Yet, another crash that could have ended very badly for that rider. The comment I made about disk brakes was just a little, light hearted thing that I threw in but it seems everyone has picked up and that and not the main point I was trying to make which is that the UCI has acted quickly over this incident but has been slow to do anything about the motorbikes which have done far worse damage to riders than disk brakes.

By the way, I did see the leg of the rider who claims it was caused by a disk brake and also the cut to the other riders left knee. I haven't seen anyone explain how a disk brake could possibly have caused that injury to his left leg. Disks are on the left side of the bike so it would have required an interesting chain of events for a disk rider to cut someone's left leg.

Here is a quote by the rider himself:

“I didn’t actually fall down: it was only my leg touching the back of his bike. I keep riding. But shortly afterwards, I have a glance at that leg: it doesn’t hurt, there’s not a lot of blood covering it, but I can clearly see part of the periosteum, the membrane or surface that covers my tibia.”

If he didn't fall and his left leg touched the back of the bike of the rider in front then how the hell did a disk brake cut it?

On the other hand, I can certainly see how a rider who bumps into another rider either from in front or behind can easily have their right leg gashed.

For the record, I am not a fan of disk brakes and I am also not here trying to say disk brakes are awesome nor am I saying that they are the most evil thing invented like most others seem to be doing. I am just trying to point out that the UCI is, once again, remarkably inconsistent in it's handling of rider safety. Too slow to act on motorbikes in the peloton causing serious injuries to riders and perhaps too hasty to act on disk brakes.

dksix

I feel hydraulic disc brakes are superior in every way to cable actuated calipers but agree that caliper brakes are plenty fine for a road bike. I would not buy a road bike with disc due to the extra cost and weight vs a road bike with calipers and that opinion has developed over the few months I've been riding. I was in one of those earlier threads arguing for the use of disc but now my opinion aligns more with those I argued against, for my road bike caliper brakes are the best option even with my CF wheels (but I'm slow lack confidence riding at high speed). They were right and I was wrong @Lazyass

As far as the UCI changing the rules, it's their call and if someone doesn't like it then don't compete in UCI events. If manufactures don't like it then they should participate in UCI events. People want to complain about everything they don't agree with, I'd much rather see boycotts. If a rider, team or manufacturer doesn't like the way an event is being run just don't participate in that event.

Lazyass

I posted the article below a few months ago. It caused so much drama people were acting like I personally wrote it and made up the quotes myself. It was like debating the Iraq war or something. One certain pro-disc guy even defended his comments by saying what his freaking college major was, I mean it was ridiculous. Here's one quote:


Geoff Brown (Garmin-Sharp mechanic): Now we’re already knackered with the front wheels anyways, because of the fork tabs. So it will add a bit more time, whatever, OK, fair enough. But more it’s just what it’ll do to the guys riding the bike, or the guy next to him. I personally have real fears about it. I don’t want to jump out of the car and see a guy with his femoral artery sliced. If there’s 25-30 guys on the floor, there’s not enough medical staff there to deal with the mess. It’s first come, first serve, the guy could bleed out right there.

Read more at Stopping progress? Pro cyclists weigh in on the disc-brake debate - VeloNews.com

Maconi

I don't understand how those who despise disc brakes are using this to justify not having discs on ANY road bike. Unless you're riding in a massive pro peloton pack the disc brakes are no danger to you as a normal person. You can still argue that you prefer other options but this changes nothing for the large majority of us.

Juan Foote

What are we going to change bikes over to internally geared/chain/rings so that no one can ever be hurt by them?

What about pedals?

Uh oh, there are spokes on that bike.

Need some baby bumpers on the end of those handlebars too.

Matter of fact, think everyone needs to start racing tricycles, because those two wheelers are inherently unstable. Wait, can't corner on a tricycle, so the race tracks need to be all straight, all flat, and have NASCAR-esce safety barriers. While we are at it, wrap the racers in bubble wrap.

This world is becoming more and more sissy by the minute.

pdedes

an injured rider writes about his P-R disc brake injury

rpenmanparker 

You can say that again. It is up to you to hold the line. Don't let anyone tell you what to do. It is a matter of principle. I, OTOH, will be happily wearing my helmet. Life is too short...already.

gregf83 

He clearly doesn't like disc brakes. Unfortunately, in this situation there isn't really any evidence that his cut was caused by a disc. A disc is not the only sharp thing on a bike. Could have just as easily been a wheel skewer.

aubiecat

I agree the world is becoming more sissy by the minute, especially here in the US. In this case it has nothing to do with being sissified. It's just common sense.
A bike already has inherently dangerous parts but without those parts the bike wouldn't function.
Why force pro racers to add a part that isn't needed to begin with?

dr_lha

I think we can now safely answer the major question that rages in cycling forums across the world (other that that of disc brakes): sock height.

The answer is: Thigh high kevlar lined socks.

deapee

After riding disc for two years on the road, I purposefully purchased the caliper version of my new bike. I even saved money doing it.