veganbikes

Anytime there is a discussion about anything there are the Canine Youngster to come in and go in a different direction usually "well I only ride a single speed so gears are irrelevant" or complain about people who like certain brakes.

Anytime people mention brakes most people tend to have their favorite brakes and some people will say that another brake system is bad no matter what it might be and it can come from all sides. Most brakes are either crap or decent according to so many different people.

Eric F 

Hmmm...okay. Would that vary greatly with riding conditions? Kapusta saying he is bleeding his brakes 2,3,4 times per year is puzzling to me, but this is only based on my own experiences.

wolfchild

No need to call out any specific person. We now who they are . Just read some of the negative comments by one specific poster about how hydro discs are an absolute perfection and anything that's cable actuated is junk that's riddled with problems and complexity.

Eric F 

Is it "they" or "one specific poster"? Painting out a scenario of a group of "hydro disc fan boys" when it's only one person is not at all the same thing. Someone spelling out their reasons why they have a preference of one type over the other, including pointing out their perception of flaws with the disfavored system, is par for the course on both sides of this particular fence. Sometimes people use personal experiences for their justifications. Sometimes people make up theoretical conditions without any experience at all.

t2p

a switch to immersive wax instead of mineral oil or DOT fluid will greatly extend service intervals

veganbikes

So which is it a group of people or a single person that you refuse to name even though this is an online forum and nobody knows who anyone is anyway and you can mention people in any post quite easily like wolfchild . If you truly believe that there is a single person trashing a certain brake heavily you should include them in the discussion otherwise saying "you do the research" just sounds like you have nothing of substance to really provide. If it is a group I can understand that can be harder but I am doubtful as you seem to change the narrative on this one.

Making claims like single speed is better always in every geared discussion has a similar ring to it and while I love single speeds, I also loved geared bikes as well and one can love and have both and be happy. You would be good to seek happiness. I know it is tough, depression is easy to get and hard to shake but you gotta try. Variety is the spice of life : )

50PlusCycling

Yes. Changes in temperature can cause changes in pressure in braking systems, which can cause them to draw in air. As brake pads wear, brake fluid levels get lower, and adding fluid can introduce air into the system. I run Magura disk brakes, and as I don’t ride my mountain bike that often, the pads don’t wear much, and the fluid level remains pretty consistent. Also, they use mineral oil instead of brake fluid, so moisture absorption is less an issue. However, if I do need to add fluid, by the time I position the bike on the work stand, move the lever to make it level, and get out the fluid, syringe, tools, and hose, there is only another step required to bleed the brakes, so why not do it?

It’s kind of a dirty job, and not one which i like. But it takes less time than adjusting the shoes on a rim brake system. A typical rim brake adjustment for me involves dressing the shoes with a file, wiping down the wheel braking surfaces with aceton, adjusting the shoe alignment and toe angle, the tension springs if I am working on v brakes, and of course adjusting the cable length.

smd4

What you just described in your first paragraph is enough to dissuade me from using disc brakes.

What you wrote in your second paragraph, while it may be your practice, is nothing like how most people adjust their rim brakes.

PeteHski

It's called confirmation bias.

smd4

Oh. OK. Thanks.

Maybe it should just be called "confirmation?" He's confirming by his own explanation what I always thought to be true: That disc brakes are a PITA.

Maelochs

<eyeroll>

seypat

Glad I'm not in the market for a new bike. I'm even more confused now after reading through the thread. Are disc brakes good or bad?

Germany_chris

Yes..

Maelochs

One hundred percent of disc brake users either have died or will die. One. Hundred. Percent.

You decide.

Germany_chris

But I have rim brakes and mechanical discs so I'm going to live forever...take that bikeforums

PeteHski

That's why they call it confirmation bias i.e. your opinion was fixed before you even read it. If someone said disc brakes were no hassle you would just ignore it.

PeteHski

IME they are very good. Generally better than rim brakes in situations where braking performance actually matters. A no-brainer for technical alpine descents, much less important on flatlands. Maybe overkill for some. Also if you happen to have carbon wheels, it's nice not to be grinding them down with brake pads. Carbon doesn't get on well with heat either.

Worried about brake bleeding? I wouldn't. You don't need to do it often (a bit like your car) and if you can't be bothered it's a quick shop job during a service. I've never had to bleed my oldest road disc brakes (2019) and typically bleed mtb brakes once every couple of years as required. Pad changes vary depending on riding conditions. I wore out a set of SRAM organic pads in a week riding in the Alps (should have switched to sintered for that trip really). Same pads locally last all year with plenty of short, steep descents. Changing pads is a 5 min job.

smd4

My opinion was "fixed?" Duh!! That's why they call it an "opinion." And they still sound like a PITA. In my opinion.

elcruxio

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means..."

PeteHski

Opinion - 'a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge"

People can and often do change their opinion as they gain more knowledge and experience, but I'm guessing that would be an alien concept for you.

Atlas Shrugged

The problem the comment is not relevant with modern hydraulic braking systems. My wife and I have GRX-equipped adventure bikes, which we store in an unconditioned garage, and we have travelled extensively with these bikes. In a few instances, we have taken these bikes from a cold northern winter climate to Laos in one case and to southern Portugal the other as well as numerous trips to the desert without yet needing a bleed. I have placed hydraulic disc bikes on planes for years and have yet to have an issue: the most extreme conditions, temperature and pressure differential. You can't accept that disc brakes work are reliable and provide superior braking. If you like legacy rim brakes, good for you, but looking for unfounded reasons makes no sense.

smd4

My comment is based on what 50PlusCycling wrote. If you think his reasons are unfounded, take it up with him.

Eric F 

Other than the rim wipe-down, what 50PlusCycling described sounds exactly like what it takes me to replace rim brake pads.

PeteHski

He was just saying that IF you have to add brake fluid then you might as well bleed them too - which does make sense. But in reality most people don't need to add fluid or bleed their brakes very often.

You were happy to take those reasons as amounting to discs being a PITA, but quick to disagree with his comments about adjusting rim brakes - which in his opinion was actually more of a PITA. Yet somehow your brain managed to reverse what the poster actually said to suit your own narrative. It's comedy gold.

terrymorse 

That process sure seems overly complicated. All I do is:

• slide out the old pads
• slide in the new pads
• adjust the cable tension with the brake's barrel adjuster

Several seconds of braking downhill "tunes up" the new pad surfaces.