Disc Brakes Letting Some Pros Down
#1
Zen Master
Thread Starter
Disc Brakes Letting Some Pros Down
There have been at least a couple of Giro riders that have over-temped their disc brakes and shot right off the road. Maybe if they increase the size of the disc rotor by several factors, the increase in surface area will prevent that...then again...there's always rim brakes. Get the popcorn started.
Pro Blames Disc Brakes for Losing at Giro
Pro Blames Disc Brakes for Losing at Giro
__________________
Ron - Tucson, AZ
Ron - Tucson, AZ
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TC, MN
Posts: 39,520
Bikes: R3 Disc, Haanjo
Mentioned: 354 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20810 Post(s)
Liked 9,456 Times
in
4,672 Posts
He apparently suffered a broken spoke, which he claimed was caused by his disc brakes becoming overheated.
Likes For WhyFi:
#3
-------
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: Tejas
Posts: 12,795
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 9653 Post(s)
Liked 6,365 Times
in
3,505 Posts
When you lose you look for excuses, regardless of the type of competition you are in.
#4
Zen Master
Thread Starter
I guess it is human nature to discount the word of someone having road racing as their actual profession, riding more miles than most everyone reading this article, having bikes which are maintained by some of the most skilled mechanics, etc.
He breaks down how crappy of a day it was for him, on many levels, including disc brake issues....but there's no matching forum wisdom.
He breaks down how crappy of a day it was for him, on many levels, including disc brake issues....but there's no matching forum wisdom.
__________________
Ron - Tucson, AZ
Ron - Tucson, AZ
Likes For Miles2go:
#5
I'm good to go!
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 14,985
Bikes: Tarmac Disc Comp Di2 - 2020
Mentioned: 51 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6193 Post(s)
Liked 4,808 Times
in
3,316 Posts
Obviously you just started watching Tours and Grand Tours. Back in the days of rim brakes only there were also plenty of issues. Like the rim getting too hot from braking and the tire rolling off the rim.
#6
Zen Master
Thread Starter
Right, those were the days of tubeless tires right? oh, wait...I think we're talking about tires glued onto the rim. ....wonder what happens when you heat up glue. Yeah.
__________________
Ron - Tucson, AZ
Ron - Tucson, AZ
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 23,208
Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18883 Post(s)
Liked 10,646 Times
in
6,054 Posts
Likes For Seattle Forrest:
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TC, MN
Posts: 39,520
Bikes: R3 Disc, Haanjo
Mentioned: 354 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20810 Post(s)
Liked 9,456 Times
in
4,672 Posts
I guess it is human nature to discount the word of someone having road racing as their actual profession, riding more miles than most everyone reading this article, having bikes which are maintained by some of the most skilled mechanics, etc.
He breaks down how crappy of a day it was for him, on many levels, including disc brake issues....but there's no matching forum wisdom.
He breaks down how crappy of a day it was for him, on many levels, including disc brake issues....but there's no matching forum wisdom.
Likes For WhyFi:
#9
Clark W. Griswold
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 13,516
Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26
Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4350 Post(s)
Liked 3,989 Times
in
2,663 Posts
Look I get that they ride a lot but a decent portion of them when it comes to bikes really not very knowledgeable, they are like the cycling friend every needs to schlep to the bike shop to question the actual professional who sells and works on a wide variety of bikes daily vs. the one bike that rider rides. Trying to blame disc brakes for spoke failure is absolutely silly. Having too few spokes which is the trend these days and loading them with the brake force at the hub is causing issues and also using smaller rotors and things like that. Now if the mechanics went and said yeah that was the cause I would say OK maybe something to that but just being a rider doesn't mean you need to know about the bikes and how they work beyond just operating them while riding.
Every pro is going to want to have something to say when they didn't win. Sometimes it is positive like "hey he was just a better rider, I need to train harder" and sometimes it is "my brakes overheated broke a spoke and yada yada".
Regardless though whatever braking system they use someone is going to say another braking system it better. That is part of the fun.
Every pro is going to want to have something to say when they didn't win. Sometimes it is positive like "hey he was just a better rider, I need to train harder" and sometimes it is "my brakes overheated broke a spoke and yada yada".
Regardless though whatever braking system they use someone is going to say another braking system it better. That is part of the fun.
#10
Klaatu..Verata..Necktie?
Join Date: May 2007
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 17,960
Bikes: Litespeed Ultimate, Ultegra; Canyon Endurace, 105; Battaglin MAX, Chorus; Bianchi 928 Veloce; Ritchey Road Logic, Dura Ace; Cannondale R500 RX100; Schwinn Circuit, Sante; Lotus Supreme, Dura Ace
Mentioned: 41 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10424 Post(s)
Liked 11,896 Times
in
6,094 Posts
Tubular. And these still are the days of tubular tires in the pro peloton, though some are riding tubeless, I hear.
__________________
"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Mich
Posts: 7,386
Bikes: RSO E-tire dropper fixie brifter
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Liked 2,968 Times
in
1,917 Posts
The operator needs to know when to respect the equipments limitations.
If the course they faulted on was ridden by the same person, using a bicycle not equipped with disc brakes, exerting the same level of performance [& techniques] , & before the current mishap; would the times & speeds be equal or any better?
In the end, the general non pro rider will buy what they want.
If the course they faulted on was ridden by the same person, using a bicycle not equipped with disc brakes, exerting the same level of performance [& techniques] , & before the current mishap; would the times & speeds be equal or any better?
In the end, the general non pro rider will buy what they want.
__________________
-Oh Hey!
-Oh Hey!
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 7,877
Mentioned: 38 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6963 Post(s)
Liked 10,961 Times
in
4,687 Posts
Sometimes spokes just break.
Likes For Koyote:
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Nor-Cal
Posts: 3,767
Bikes: lots
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1958 Post(s)
Liked 2,932 Times
in
1,489 Posts
I guess it is human nature to discount the word of someone having road racing as their actual profession, riding more miles than most everyone reading this article, having bikes which are maintained by some of the most skilled mechanics, etc.
He breaks down how crappy of a day it was for him, on many levels, including disc brake issues....but there's no matching forum wisdom.
He breaks down how crappy of a day it was for him, on many levels, including disc brake issues....but there's no matching forum wisdom.
Likes For cxwrench:
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 1,606
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 581 Post(s)
Liked 921 Times
in
518 Posts
Yes, discs get hot, sometimes very hot, and yes, sometimes hot enough to cause braking issues. No, that heat will not be sufficiently transferred (through the 'spider' on the rotor and through the hub's disc boss and out the hub's flanges) to the spokes such that it would cause the metal of the spokes to weaken... that's absurd.
Disc brakes DO, however, put a load on the spokes in a way that rim brakes do not - rim brakes stop the rim directly, while disc brakes stop the rim by exerting force on the hub which pull on the spokes to stop the rim. Enough to break spokes? Maybe over the medium term after many miles. If that is how that pro's spokes broke then it is an issue of not replacing the wheels or spokes soon enough, or of some other problem with the wheel build or configuration. It's easy to forget that lots of riders in that event (and many other events and grand tours) use disc brakes, yet only one person complained of the disc brakes causing spokes to fail.
Perhaps the rider got to the finish line and the team mechanic was embarrassed that a bike in their stable had a problem, and rather than admit the wheels didn't get the attention they needed before the race, or that the wheels given to the team by a sponsor had a failure, used the excuse that it was the discs' fault,
Disc brakes DO, however, put a load on the spokes in a way that rim brakes do not - rim brakes stop the rim directly, while disc brakes stop the rim by exerting force on the hub which pull on the spokes to stop the rim. Enough to break spokes? Maybe over the medium term after many miles. If that is how that pro's spokes broke then it is an issue of not replacing the wheels or spokes soon enough, or of some other problem with the wheel build or configuration. It's easy to forget that lots of riders in that event (and many other events and grand tours) use disc brakes, yet only one person complained of the disc brakes causing spokes to fail.
Perhaps the rider got to the finish line and the team mechanic was embarrassed that a bike in their stable had a problem, and rather than admit the wheels didn't get the attention they needed before the race, or that the wheels given to the team by a sponsor had a failure, used the excuse that it was the discs' fault,
Likes For ClydeClydeson:
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Seattle
Posts: 1,955
Bikes: Specialized Roubaix, Canyon Inflite AL SLX, Ibis Ripley AF, Priority Continuum Onyx, Santana Vision, Kent Dual-Drive Tandem
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 873 Post(s)
Liked 726 Times
in
436 Posts
waiting for Specialized to slap "for flat and uphill riding only" stickers on the revised Roval wheels, then have their marketing claim the next version with more spokes to be safe for downhills and the fastest yet.
Likes For surak:
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Northern NY...Brownville
Posts: 2,571
Bikes: Specialized Aethos, Specialized Diverge Comp E5
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 241 Post(s)
Liked 454 Times
in
265 Posts
Maybe he is correct and had a problem with his disk brakes.
Perhaps he overheated the rotors by too much, continuous braking.
Perhaps the brake pads were fairly worn or a bit contaminated which resulted in overheating and loss of braking power. We've seen videos showing the pro mechanics washing, etc. team bikes...they are not the most careful because of how many they have to prep, only so many mechanics to do the work, etc.
Perhaps he was just too hard on the braking and plain old overheated them...could have happened with rim brakes...they too would have failed when needed most.
You would have to remove the parts and look at them closely to see if there is a mechanical reason for failure.
I'd want to talk to the rider to hear how, when, etc. they failed.
It is interesting.
Oh it is a lot of fun to be in a race and the rider in front of you rolls his sewup...you know the next few seconds are going to be hair raising fun for those behind.
Perhaps he overheated the rotors by too much, continuous braking.
Perhaps the brake pads were fairly worn or a bit contaminated which resulted in overheating and loss of braking power. We've seen videos showing the pro mechanics washing, etc. team bikes...they are not the most careful because of how many they have to prep, only so many mechanics to do the work, etc.
Perhaps he was just too hard on the braking and plain old overheated them...could have happened with rim brakes...they too would have failed when needed most.
You would have to remove the parts and look at them closely to see if there is a mechanical reason for failure.
I'd want to talk to the rider to hear how, when, etc. they failed.
It is interesting.
Oh it is a lot of fun to be in a race and the rider in front of you rolls his sewup...you know the next few seconds are going to be hair raising fun for those behind.
#18
Zen Master
Thread Starter
I didn't confuse tubulars and tubeless (raced a decade on sew ups), so read it again knowing that I meant to say tubeless, then oh wait!...no, we're talking about glue, tubulars, sew ups.
__________________
Ron - Tucson, AZ
Ron - Tucson, AZ
#19
Zen Master
Thread Starter
Of course not. The discussion wouldn't be as interesting if I didn't paint that picture. Now we can see that pro cyclists don't know what they are doing, bike mechanics might not be maintaining the brakes properly, etc., etc.
__________________
Ron - Tucson, AZ
Ron - Tucson, AZ
#20
Klaatu..Verata..Necktie?
Join Date: May 2007
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 17,960
Bikes: Litespeed Ultimate, Ultegra; Canyon Endurace, 105; Battaglin MAX, Chorus; Bianchi 928 Veloce; Ritchey Road Logic, Dura Ace; Cannondale R500 RX100; Schwinn Circuit, Sante; Lotus Supreme, Dura Ace
Mentioned: 41 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10424 Post(s)
Liked 11,896 Times
in
6,094 Posts
The problem is, it doesn't make sense.
__________________
"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
Likes For genejockey:
#21
I'm good to go!
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 14,985
Bikes: Tarmac Disc Comp Di2 - 2020
Mentioned: 51 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6193 Post(s)
Liked 4,808 Times
in
3,316 Posts
Races of any sort for the last couple centuries have almost always involved manufacturers showcasing and doing practical testing of their latest technology. If we are only to race on proven and trouble free technology, then we'd probably be riding the stuff that was cutting edge back in 1903.
Likes For Iride01:
#22
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 598
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 389 Post(s)
Liked 255 Times
in
165 Posts
I'm going to make a wild assumption: There are very few, if any, pros that ride their brakes down a hill in a race. I really doubt if there were any over heating problems.
Likes For Jack Tone:
#23
Hear myself getting fat
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Inland Northwest
Posts: 754
Bikes: Sir Velo A Sparrow
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 335 Post(s)
Liked 265 Times
in
134 Posts
He also said he had a sore back.
By the way his teammate actually won the stage...Wonder what kind of brakes was he using?
By the way his teammate actually won the stage...Wonder what kind of brakes was he using?
#24
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 8,417
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4399 Post(s)
Liked 4,844 Times
in
2,997 Posts
I guess it is human nature to discount the word of someone having road racing as their actual profession, riding more miles than most everyone reading this article, having bikes which are maintained by some of the most skilled mechanics, etc.
He breaks down how crappy of a day it was for him, on many levels, including disc brake issues....but there's no matching forum wisdom.
He breaks down how crappy of a day it was for him, on many levels, including disc brake issues....but there's no matching forum wisdom.
Likes For PeteHski:
#25
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TC, MN
Posts: 39,520
Bikes: R3 Disc, Haanjo
Mentioned: 354 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20810 Post(s)
Liked 9,456 Times
in
4,672 Posts
You came across a statement from a pro rider that was so dumb that it didn't merit discussion. Since you wanted to generate a discussion, you decided to adopt the position of an intellectually challenged devil's advocate.
Is that about right?
Likes For WhyFi: