redlude97

probably around that, I've only ever replaced 1 rotor since I'm constantly swapping wheels/bikes and upgrading rotors. I do have a pile or partially worn rotors which I should probably measure

bikeaddiction1

I do all of my own maintenance and a fair bit for my riding friends so I have worked on many brake systems. As I am familiar with the systems I do not find the maintenance on disc brakes to be significantly more involved than rim brakes. When I first started riding with hydraulic disc brakes I thought it would be a pain to maintain but once I had done a bleed it is not hard (youtube is your friend). It is maybe a bit more effort than changing brake cables and housings on a mechanical system. I do prefer dealing with mineral oil systems over DOT fluid systems as the mineral oil is easier to handle and dispose of in an environmentally safe way. I find disc brakes easier to align and adjust, but the pads do seam to need cleaning occasionally depending on your riding environment, which is a bigger effort than rim brakes require.

As a rider I prefer hydraulic disc brakes over rim brakes for many of the reasons already posted. I still think rim brakes are very good in most applications and I prefer rim brakes over mechanical disc brakes as I have not experienced a mechanical disc brake that stops as well as a rim brake (assuming dry conditions). I know that mechanical disc brakes are improving and have not ridden some of the newer models that the pads are actuated from both sides so I can't comment on them. For those who are not aware, most mechanical disc brakes have actuation against one pad (usually the outer one) and bend the disc into the other (inner) pad.

One big advantage of disc brakes over rim brakes is you can get away with your rims being a bit out of true. whereas a warped rim plays havoc with rim brake adjustment. The likelihood of a rim being bent or needing alignment is significantly higher than a disc being bent..

autonomy

I've had no real maintenance costs related to brakes on my bikes, but then again, I'm not as high-mileage as some of you are. I did replace my road bike's pads with Koolstops once the stock Shimano pads seemed to get less pliable with age. Replaced disc pads once as well. My discs are mechanical. When I did have hydraulic discs, I only needed adjustment once in two years (then the bike got stolen).

Rim brakes - less weight, excellent for dry conditions, so-so for wet (I just hate that grinding noise and the slushy grey stuff that my rims will be covered with if I get caught in the rain)
Disc brakes - excellent for all kinds of conditions, heavy riders/loads, tolerant of out-of-true wheels, I can use different width rims, tires, AND different-diameter wheels all on one bike. How awesome is that!

Cyclist0108

Yes. You want to go in where one of the notches is, because a ridge develops at the top. I make a few measurements and average them.

1.5 mm is the official number. I usually let them get to about 1.2 mm

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...l-installation

https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/si/SI-8J50A-002-ENG.pdf

WhyFi

Do you run IceTech rotors down that far? Maybe it's unfounded, but I'd be a little leery of doing that with their sandwiched construction.

Cyclist0108

In practice, I change them when I notice the lever is too squishy with new pads. That is usually somewhere between 1.25 and 1.5 mm. I go through enough rotors that I am more worried about being excessively conservative.

Caliper

Everyone on here hating their BB7's can send them my way. Maybe it's the full length Jagwire cable/housing, but I like my BB7's w/ Rival lever slightly better than my Rival Hydros. I've certainly felt a gritty mech disc lever at a LBS, but these are almost as smooth as hydraulics. The hydro is ever so slightly smoother in actuation, but with the mech disc I can adjust the freeplay on the pads to get them to bite sooner (not adjustable on hydros of course). I like my brake to engage very early in the travel and I often have that brief moment of panic when I switch back to the hydraulic bike and have to adjust to the slightly longer lever travel to begin braking.

In terms of maintenance costs, I never use brakes all that much (Michigan, so hills are minimal) so I'll have spent far more at coffee shops and on energy gels and other things than what brake pads cost when it finally comes time to replace them so it's a non issue here.

noodle soup

I might have missed something, but I'm not seeing any BB-7 specific hate here.

I'd take almost any non-Avid/SRAM hydraulic brake over BB-7 brakes, but BB-7 brakes are the only mechanical discs i'd ever use.

Campag4life

I will register my vote for BB7 hate. Throw in BB5 too. One sided piston actuation...fixed other pad. They suck for adjustment and don't stop that great.
If going disc and putting up the maintenance PITA of hydraulics on a bicycle, hydro disc or mechanical rim brakes. No mechanical disc brakes tho the two sidedl piston mechanical discs are better than one sided loathsome BB7's.

Dean V

I have had no problems with BB7's. They are not great but do the job ok.
Also have no issues with the one sided actuation. A bicycle disc rotor is very weak laterally and has no problem flexing the small amount required.

redlude97

+1. I've used pretty much all the popular mechanical discs as well as owning both a shimano and sram hydro road system currently including hy/rds. I actually prefer BB7 to trp spyre as the spyres only work well with super SLR shimano levers and I prefer the knob adjusts with clicks that never back out to the screws on spyres that require loctite to stay in place. The only really bad system was BB5 and similar generic discs that used too small of a pad

NoWhammies

Thank you! Very much appreciated.

Orkun KnighTR34

Rim brakes makes your rims worn, so you will need to change rims and make your wheels laced again, but if you use disc brakes only rotors will be worn, so only thing that you will need to is changing only rotors with only a 5 mm. alien in 5 minutes. If you use mechanical disc brakes, it's maintaince is certainly cheaper than rim brakes but if you use hydraulic disc brakes, I'm not sure that whose maintaince is cheaper than each other. I have mechanic discs on my bike.

Cyclist0108

Shimano hydraulic fluid (mineral oil) can be stable for years. In my experience, the maintenance is all rotors/pads. If you do need to bleed, it is fairly cheap and straightforward, but as long as it is (and remains) a sealed system, you really don't have to worry about it much.

fietsbob

Both use friction of pad against disc , so you replace pads & eventually your discs..

you don't get air bubbles in cables like you do in hydraulic brakes... Bleeding gets air bubbles out, a maintenance job.

Hydraulic brakes compensate for pad wear over time, cable takes the pad wear compensation adjuster is You.

cables have some friction in the housing , fluid in a hose has none..

most cable brakes use a inside pad , and an outside pad pushes the disc against it.. exception is TRP Spyre (& Spike but this is MTB not Road)

Hydro pinch the disc between pads ..

TRP Hy Rd Splits the difference cable pulls actuating lever on the caliper , which is hydraulic.



BTW Magura makes an excellent Hydraulic Rim brake and several price levels of Hydraulic MTB Disc Brakes,
but no longer any road brake lever masters..





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