reroll

It's a bike industry thing and most of the bike market has swung over to disc brakes. Rim brake bikes are still available but tend to be lower cost, entry-level models. Part of the switchover from rim to disc brakes has to do with bike frames generally not being made to fit both disc and rim brakes, meaning two different frames would need to be made for the same model of bike in order to offer a choice of brakes or two different frames would need to be made in order to sell one of them and bike shops having enough valuable floor space in order to offer two otherwise identical bikes while also having to stock different brake parts for each of them. Those considerations would significantly raise costs for manufacturers, dealers, bikes and customers.

sjanzeir

More often than not, the progress that some of us like to lament really does bring actual, tangible benefits, to both us the consumers and to the manufacturers. Fortunately, this tends to be the case far more often than it being just progress for its own sake, and at the end of the day, consumers will always figure out what's best for them eventually and vote with their wallets.

I, for one, used to be a staunch advocate of rim brakes on this forum, and sometimes I used to be a complete ash-hole about it, going so far as to label people who purchased bikes with disk brakes as "pretentious" and wealth-signaling. That was until I - on a complete whim - bought my first bike with disk brakes (in late 2020) and until I realized just how many problems disk brakes solve as opposed to the very few ones that they create.

And I was just as big of a fudgehole when it came to square taper bottom brackets and cranksets - until (again, on a whim) I decided to upgrade one of my bikes from its very cheap factory square taper to external bearings (a Hollowtech II knockoff out of China in this case, just to test the theory before I splash out on the real thing, and not because I wanted external bearings but because I needed shorter cranks, which created the opportunity.) And just as I did with disk brakes, I quickly found out just how many problems external bearings solved while creating virtually none.

Now, you, the OP, will be doing yourself a big favor if you start seeing the move from rim brakes to disk as more of a routine, incremental change (which it is) and stop seeing it as this whole paradigm shift that threatens to upend your entire cycling life (which it isn't,) take it in stride and move on.

Now, in 2022 and beyond, have little or no interest in buying a bike with rim brakes, new or used, and neither should you or anyone else, be they seasoned riders or beginners. Don't get me wrong - I still enjoy all four of my rim-brake bikes and will continue to enjoy them for years to come, and so should you enjoy yours; they are still great bikes with components - rim brake included - that are still just as excellent now as they were when they were new. But today, in 2022 and beyond, my (and your) time and money would be better invested in bikes with disk brakes. I'm actually on the prowl for used hybrids and folding bikes in the local classifieds, and the first thing that I eliminate from the search results is bikes with rim brakes. And if and when I end up buying a used bike to upgrade, the first upgrade I would be making is from square taper to external bearings. Not because I have cash to burn (I don't) but because they just simplify and improve the whole riding experience: With external bearings, you need just one special tool whereas with sealed square taper you needed two (a crank puller and a notch socket.) And whereas with square taper you had to make sure that you bought a replacement with just the right spindle length to get the chain line right (or return the wrong one and wait for yet another replacement,) with external bearings it's just a matter of swapping spacers around. And trust me, once you get the hang of it, bleeding a hydraulic disk brake system (with mineral oil, that is) really isn't any harder than recabling your rim brakes.

Camilo

That makes about as much sense as boomers whining that millennials are so self absorbed and lazy. In other words, none.

rydabent

The only fear you have is fear itself. Time moves on and this is the era of disc brakes.

OTOH if the bikes you have perform ok with no problems and are in good shape, why blow good money just to look up to date to some one else that really dont care anyway.

indyfabz

They shoot horses, don’t they?

Germany_chris

To make everything explode I have a disc brake bike with a square taper crank

sjanzeir

Well so did I until recently 😁

reroll

I earlier posted on this thread that this switchover from rim to disc brakes is an industry thing. Industry is a business which goes to wherever there is available money and a switchover from rim to disc brakes became a huge marketing opportunity.

Disc brakes certainly do have their needed uses, but actually by far not everybody needs all of what disc brakes can do. For instance, Europe and North America could be seen as the core of a Western bicycle market, yet then there are so many other regions around the world which have bicycle needs and priorities other than those of the Western bicycle market, the largest such group being in Asia, and so there would also be an Eastern bicycle market too.

That Eastern market is heavily reliant on rim brakes including many millions upon many millions of rim brake bicycle users and so rather than feel as though rim brakes would be going away, have a look at the Eastern bicycle market and see what sorts of bikes with rim brakes those riders are using. That can be done right here, online, the only language you would need to speak is bicycle language and any details can get worked out after that. Yes, have a look and see what they are doing!

By the way, some of those Eastern bicycle dealers can be found right here in Europe and North America.

smd4

I don't care what happens to new bikes or bikes in the future. I've got the bike I want, with rim brakes, down tube shifters, tires with inner tubes, a quill stem and made of steel. What do I care what new bikes are made of and what parts come on them?

reroll

I have bikes just like yours and as you would know, bicycle parts and components which get used can break or wear out and need replacement. The trouble which you and I share is in finding replacement parts and components for our bikes because so many of today's American and European bicycle dealers have switched over to newer technologies which have nothing to do with our older bikes. It would be more likely to find what we need in Europe or Canada than in the USA and then there are Asian / Eastern bicycle parts and components businesses which commonly deal with bicycles and bicycle technologies the West was using years and even decades ago.

smd4

I don't really have the "trouble" of which you speak.

I have enough tires, cables, tubes and brake shoes to last me until I don't need them any more.

Finding parts is a non-issue for me. Over the past two years I've picked up two new 7700 hubs (front and rear), a couple new derailleurs, NIB brake hoods, a couple sets of brand-new cleat plates for my 38-year-old pedals and NIB toe straps. I picked up a spare set of Veloflex 700 x 23C tires when it looked like they'd be going bye-bye. It's all out there if you're patient, and if you get the stuff before you actually need it.

genejockey 

My approach is to have enough bikes that even if I ride as much as I have the last two years (~5-6000 miles), the cumulative wear on each amounts to no more than 1000miles/year or so on the bike that gets ridden the most. Parts last a lot longer the less they're used, but I still get all the riding I want.

The Chemist

I recently converted my bike from rim brakes to cable actuated hydraulic discs (my frame had a disc mount so I just installed a new fork with a disc mount) and all I can say is that I won't go back to rim brakes. Discs feel better, and I feel they work considerably better especially in the wet.

smd4

I’ve heard of hydraulic disc brakes and cable actuated disc brakes, but never cable actuated hydraulic brakes. How do those work?

The Chemist

The entire hydraulic system is self contained within the caliper. The cable is run just as you would for a mechanical disc brake, but it is used to pull on he hydraulic master cylinder, which then pressurizes the fluid and pushes the pistons to squeeze the rotor.

You get the ease of setup of cable brakes (no special tools, no bleeding of brake lines, can use any brake levers designed for cable brakes) and a lot of the benefits of hydraulic brakes (self adjusting, dual piston, better brake feel) at a reasonable price. I'm surprised more people don't know about this option.

big chainring 

Weinmann centerpulls for the win.

smd4

Thanks. Interesting.