gthomson

I'm not sure whether it's an age thing or a preferred status on bike design but I just can't get used to bikes transitioning from rim brakes to disc brakes. I am old school and have a passion for vintage steele but I also love a sleek, aerodynamic new carbon bike as well. I just don't see any sex appeal in a disc brake. I know they are superior in performance to rims, especially for serious riders who ride mountains or ride in less than ideal conditions like rain or snow but that doesn't change my opinion. When I see them, I see a mountain bike.
I can swipe through image after image of beautiful vintage racing bikes from the 70's and 80's with their bright colours and chrome forks thinking of the Tour De France coverage we used to watch on the Wide World of Sports.
Ahh, caught me reminiscing again.

shelbyfv

My position on this hasn't changed since last week

Steve B.

Disc brakes are nice as it’s easier to design a bike to have clearance for wide tires. On the flat, paved roads I ride, pretty much never in the rain, rim brakes work just as well.

GlennR

I have 2 bikes, a road bike with rim brakes and a CX bike with disc.

I have no problems.

350htrr

Disc all the way.... I would not buy a bike without disc brakes... Same with index shifters.. I would not buy a bike without index shifters... I guess I am just too old to change, as I have had disk brakes and index shifters for the last 20+ years, and, am used to the good old things of 20 years ago, unlike some that think even older things work better than some of these sort of newer things, so some people seem to think older, older stuff is the cat's meow from a 100 years ago ... NOT so IMO...

DiabloScott

Almost all my riding is on the local mountain...all on the road, sometimes in the rain, occasionally snow.

I’ve never ridden a bike with disc brakes, not in a hurry to get one, but my next new bike will probably have them.

GlennR

You might not have a choice since many bikes are only offered with disc.

reverborama

I have bikes with rim brakes and bikes with disk brakes. I don't mind either but as mentioned above, wider all-road tires all come with disk brakes and that's where my interest lies going forward.

Retro Grouch 

Your personal bicycle has only one purpose for it's existence - that's to make you happy. Rim brakes have proven through the years to be adequate. Since that's your personal preference, I think you should stick to rim brake bikes.

fietsbob

A broad sample: Drum, disc, single pivot, dual pivot , cantilever, V & hydraulic rim brakes.. they all are made to work..

I have a few of each of them ....








...

gthomson

It's not really about how they work but the esthetics of how they look. I think image one looks better than image two and would win me over if I was purchasing this bike (I wish). The lines just look cleaner and sleeker with rim brakes. I know that's not a fact but just the way it looks to me. They are not the same model but I'm looking at the those wheels and the rim brakes distract.

prj71

Sex appeal? Really.

Ohfercripesakes. It's just a bike. Ride it and quit looking at it.

zacster

The thing that caught my eye wasn't the rims but the Super Record vs. Ultegra. No contest in my eye, SR all the way.

Ogsarg

While I appreciate aesthetics, I am a function over form person all the way. After making my fist serious descent (>10% grade with 10-20 MPH curves for 2+miles) with disks, I can say that I was very happy to have them. Would not do that ride on rim brakes; not that they would fail or anything, I just would not have had the same confidence in their ability to control speed. And i actually like the way they look.

But people should just do what is best for them and respect others right to do the same.

xroadcharlie

I much prefer tried and proven rim brakes for their easy service. The last thing I want is to deal with hydraulic fluid. Rim brakes give me more stopping power then I'll ever need and are easy to modulate.

That said It my be my next bike of choice may only be available with disc brakes. If I can't find what I want without them, I may have to go with disc. If I can get mechanical disc all the better.

My comfort bike has 26 x1.95" tires", Rim brakes, 9 " things" on the handlebars, a rack and trunk bag, reflectors and lights, and handlebars that are 8" Above the seat. So as you can see, I could care less about either fashion or modern technology... And I love it.

fastcarbon

I always favored rim brakes;my S works Tarmac came with the direct contact rim brakes which I found to be almost as good as discs even on wet carbon rims; but unfortunately a truck wiped that bike out in May and my new S works Tarmac (good homeowners property coverage got immediate money) was only available with disc brakes. The modulation is slightly improved and they will be better if I need braking on 14% grades in the Eastern Sierra; my big complaint is the screeching noise they make from time to time. I have used them on mountain bikes for years with no problems. On the good side the new bike has e tap red with a 10 tooth gear on the back so my downhill age group KOM's may return.

Hondo Gravel

I like mechanical disc brakes. Good enough for me since I don’t ride crazy like a did years ago. I have had enough orthopedic operations The hydraulic disc brakes on my MTB will face plant you if you are not careful. I favor disc brakes but not by much my cyclocross bike has rim brakes and I still like the bike.

AlgarveCycling

I have rim brakes on my lightweight bike, prefer the aesthetics and weight advantage that they currently have. On my aero bike, it is disc. I find the disc option more fiddly in terms of keeping it from rubbing - I encountered this first with my MTB - but there is just no denying that disc is ultimately superior at the job of stopping the bike.

In my case, I put Zipp carbon wheels on my light bike and that makes it worse for rim - not a bike I'd ride anymore in anything approaching damp weather. Disc doesn't have that issue, of course. But even rim married to good alu wheels can't quite match disc in the dry, albeit it is closer than some think - disc only really shows a significant advantage in wet conditions.

I guess it also depends upon how fast you ride, heavy you are and therefore how much stopping power you need in any given situation.

Classtime 

My E-Bike will have disk brakes.

jppe

I can relate to how you feel.

I love both my rim brake and disc brake road bikes. I feel much safer on my disc brake bike on hilly technical descents than on my rim brake wheels. Otherwise I’m fine with either.

I used my disc brake road bike on Cycle Oregon last September. There were a couple days where it rained a lot. We had a few steep and curvy descents where I’d be white knuckled if I was my rim brake bike. The wet rim brakes slow the bike some but it takes much, much longer to stop at speed. Some of the descents were at least 10% with curves and at a descent distance. The disc brakes allowed me to feel much safer and thus enjoy it a lot more. Plus I’m able to use wider carbon wheels at lower tire pressure so it creates a terrific ride.

I also remember doing a 6-7 mile descent on rim brakes in the rain in the NC mountains several years ago. I literally could not easily come to a complete stop because of the speed and amount of rain. I got behind a car that stopped to make a left turn on the downhill. I had to make a decision to either run into the back of the vehicle or head for the ditch and hope for a good outcome! The bad part was I was only half way down the hill!

Disc brakes allow you maintain safer speeds on longer descents without risking overheating rims as well. I’ve ridden with folks that have popped tires from overheating from continually riding their brakes or delaminated their carbon rim brake wheels from the heat. For those reasons I like disc brakes.. Maybe we shouldn’t have been on those roads?? But it’s not unusual to encounter 10-15% for a lot of our NC mountains.

However most of my miles are in the foothills and still on my classic shaped Pinarello rim braked bike with carbon wheels!!!

jppe

Have you tried other discs on your wheels by chance? My “wheel smart” buddy told me that discs with a sturdier spider (holds the disc) will do better on warping. He also showed me how putting a light under the brake and then looking down through the brakes makes it easier to spot where the disc was rubbing.

Clyde1820

I, too, prefer rim brakes. Have had canti, v-brake, disc. Not many of each, but enough to appreciate the mix of adjustability, low noise, ease of maintenance, lower cost.

Could be swayed, I suppose, but so far (for me) I've not seen a great need to go disc. Don't do muddy or deep-wet conditions, so don't have to worry much about the braking failing me in nasty conditions. Don't have wheelsets I swap between bikes, where disc would make that simpler. All of which would change if makers ceased selling compatible framesets, or component parts makers turned off the spigot.

PaulH

I like drum brakes because they work well in rain and snow and have minimal maintenance. Also, around here, the sand and salt on the road are sufficient to reduce the lifetime of rims used in daily commuting to one winter.

mpath

Rim brakes work for me, so I won't change what ain't broke. Having gone up and then down Haleakala with them on carbon wheels, no complaints or issues. But if you want clean lines, look at this Venge (stock photo). Look ma, no cables.

FiftySix

Coaster Brakes for the win, baby. Now, if I could only figure out how to mount one on the front wheel and make it work . . .