anga

Have the frame equipped with bosses for rim brakes and tabs for disc brakes.
You can use either, switch if necessary.

amyvegan

i actually suggested that with BF sales but they said "perhaps unnecessary, as you'd need to also have disc hubs, too, and additional costs up front and additional costs to add disc calipers later..."

Pinigis 

It isn;t a big deal for them to supply disc-hubs with out the discs installed.

anga

That shouldn't be a constraint. All wheels I build have rims with machined brake surfaces for rim brakes and disc hubs. I can use these wheels with rim brakes or disc brakes.

Hubs for disc brakes may cost a few dollars more than hubs for rim brakes.

Cost for adding disc tabs or rim bosses later are high, since you need to repaint the frame.

Insist on disc tabs (is or pm), rim brake bosses, rims with machined brake tracks and disc hubs. That's what I do when I have the option. Don't have a preference for one or the other brake but want to retain flexibility.

Also, go for adjustable dropouts. Will allow you to switch between cassettes and derailleurs and internally geared hubs (IGH).

If within your budget, go for a Rohloff hub (expensive) and Hebie's chainglider. Your maintenance will be restricted to checking tire pressure. Or, you can start with derailleur and cassette and switch to a Rohloff once you start using the bike a lot.

It is always less expensive over the life of the bike to retain flexibility by paying a little extra at the start. And, Bike Friday's are on the expensive side.

amyvegan

they can do it. but i'm being discouraged i guess. i know rim brakes are easy and i can work on those myself. disc? nope. thanks.

amyvegan

thanks so much for all this but this hub stuff is waaaaaay above my understanding ... i will send your comments to BF and see what they say. thanks.

seat_boy

Do you want to be able to fold your BF to take it upstairs, or do you just want a smaller bike?

If I had to fold my BF regularly, it would really annoy me. It doesn't fold up easily or into an easily carryable package, like (for example) a Brompton.

amyvegan

good question. it fits in an elevator unfolded. i will be folding it in my car (honda fit) and maybe for plane travel.
i can fold it in my living room when i have a guest futon on the floor.
the BF has 18 speeds and elec. assist and i do need all that because i'm old and it's hilly here. thanks.

anga

Since it is an ebike check with folks on ebike forum about brakes.

You also don't know about electric motors and so on. No one knows everything.
Disc brakes are listed as a choice for NWT. Makes no sense for bike friday to discourage you. Parts shortage?
I would insist, but your choice.

linberl

Everyone has preferences but I much prefer rim brakes. If you go with discs do NOT get the Avid BB5, get the 7's. Discs are fiddly, imo, to keep them quiet. I ride where it's mostly dry and motorized and rims work just fine to stop. If you live where it is wet, then maybe discs are preferable especially with a motor. Weather is the biggest factor in choosing imo. Weight is another factor; if you're light weight then you don't need the stopping power of discs as much as a big guy might. As to working on them, they're just different from what you are used to but it's not difficult. Watch a few you tube videos and you've got it. But - as I said - the Avid BB5's require a LOT more frequent tinkering than the BB7's to keep them from squealing so definitely get the 7s if you get discs.

anga

Amy lives in Portland, OR.
While the thread started as rim vs disc, it has come to the frame, hubs and rims providing options for rim and disc brakes. Bike Friday is steering her towards rim brakes only, without any option for switching to disc brakes.

linberl

Ahh...Portland. Yeah I would do disc brakes then. Two reasons: 1) crappy weather, 2) resale value. Discs will be more palatable to anyone in that area if the bike is resold. I would just stay away from the BB5's as I said (I have them and have finally got them to be less of a pain on my recumbent trike) and go with the BB7's right off. Amy should watch some you tube videos and will realize that just because they are unfamiliar doesn't mean they are difficult to maintain. Worst case, you get your local LBS to let you watch how to adjust them; they might show for free but even if they charge it won't be a big deal. Once you know, it's pretty easy. Just don't get the BB5s. Seriously. I don't see any reason to get the BF set up for both systems. Don't let fear of the unknown dictate the bike specs. I am a 72 year old female and if I can adjust my stupid BB5s (often) then Amy can handle discs as well. If BF doesn't have stock right now then Amy can source the BB7s herself and send them to BF. I did that with a couple of the parts I wanted on my pakiT build.

amyvegan

They do offer mechanical, not hydrolic, disc brakes. I think the sales person thinks mechanical disc will be more expensive to maintain/repair and that v-brakes are sufficient for me even in the rain.
They will sell me mech. disc, of course they will, but he thinks it's overkill for me I guess.
THANK YOU Everyone.

linberl

If you haven't already you should join the BF group. You'll get advice specifically from BF owners there and great ideas, too. Bike Friday Community | Facebook

amyvegan

i did join after posting here and i will join. thanks.

amyvegan

good idea, re: e-bike. thanks.

HelpSingularity 

One issue I have in the rim/disk wars is that to my knowledge Bike Friday does not offer thru-axles, only the traditional dropouts. In my readings it seems like thru-axles are a somewhat crucial part (or important upgrade) of the brake system. But maybe I'm just reading too much into it and it doesn't really matter. Sometimes it's hard to separate reality from the hype. I've never owned a disk-braked bicycle so I do not have any first hand knowledge on the matter. So for me, at this stage of my brake type education, I'll probably be going for rim brakes. But I am open to new information and reserve the right to change my mind.

amyvegan

thanks so much for this. right now, i'm thinking e-assist + rain + hauling a burley trailer loaded w/food = disc but i dunno...
in 20 years, will rim brake pad and parts even exist? would anyone want to buy my bike when i'm 80 (in 20 years) with rim brakes?
e-bikes come w/disc and i am getting e-assist (and will remove the battery much of the time).
sigh.

this is a really hard decison for me.

HelpSingularity 

Concerning parts availability I don't think you really have to worry about that (although I could be wrong). There are millions and millions of rim-braked bicycles in the world that are going to be around for a long time. Plus it is a mature technology so it is unlikely to change much. Plus rim brakes over the last 90 years have worked perfectly fine.
But certainly a very real thing is perception. Will rim-brakes in 20 years seem so hopelessly outdated that you can't give the d*mn thing away? Who knows ? Equally the current crop of disk brakes (and accouterments) could become obsolete and parts availability will become problematic in 20 years. I guess we can touch bases again in 2042 and see how it all played out.

amyvegan

lololo. omg, with climate change, will there even be a human alive on the planet in 2042? lolol.

HelpSingularity 

#amyvegan
Just a fyi: It's funny that you should bring this subject up; 'cause I've been reading up and thinking about this very subject since I started contemplating getting a Bike Friday myself a few months ago.
cheers

amyvegan

climate change issues are front and center for me. it's not going to be pretty.

HelpSingularity 

My theory is yes, there will be some humans still hanging on, Mad Max style, but with bicycles.

amyvegan

lolololololol. and no replacement parts.

linberl

Maybe you are overthinking this. Your only reason against discs from what I've read is you aren't familiar with working on them. It's not hard. If you can adjust rim brakes you can adjust disc brakes. the bb7 has 2 adjusters which is much easier than the bb5 which only has one. So where with your rim brakes you would adjust the pull of the cable and also the position of each pad, with disc brakes (BB7) the equivalent to the pad adjustment is done with the two dials, not hard at all. replacing them is pretty easy as well. watch a video on you tube and you'll feel a lot more confident. And just like you can put kool stop pads on your rim brakes, they also make pads for mechanical discs. So when the originals wear out you can switch over if you want. As long as you get discs with both inner and outer adjustment dials, I just don't see any problem. as for pulling a trailer, I haul `60lbs on a burley travoy attached to my recumbent trike (which has the crappy bb5 discs) and I have to say coming down a hill with a load is definitely better with the discs. I used to pull that load with my BF pakIT with caliper brakes and they are shimano 105's which are pretty good, but the discs are better.