Originally Posted by
Dave Mayer
This is true; new carbon frames are reinforced for disc mounts and the extra braking forces. But since the extra braking power of discs is not worth the weight penalty (or the cost and maintenance hassles), I won't be buying these. Thank goodness for direct purchases from Asia, where you can still source a 800g frame for $500. Components and wheels: add $500 worth of early-adopter cast-offs and you can put together a 16 pound bike for $1k.
So you can build a cheap, mediocre bike by sourcing a lightweight frame directly from an Asian factory that may look fine, but probably has unknown ride quality, stiffness, aerodynamics and structural quality. The Chinese frames that are actually showing to be of good quality (Winspace, Seka) are trading more in the $1,500-1,800 range, not $500.
Please elaborate on exactly what components you are getting for $500 to build out your 16 pound bike. That seems unlikely unless you are getting very used components.
Also, there are current modern aero disc brake bikes that come in at just over 15 lbs, and more in the 16 lb range you're talking about, so where exactly is this weight penalty you are talking about?