Another good reason to not adopt disc brakes on road bikes.

[ianrauk]

I'm considering buying a new road bike sometime in the next few months, and was pondering the merits of rim vs disc brakes. I read this article by Paul Allen of the Harris Cyclery (of Sheldon Harris fame): https://www.sheldonbrown.com/disc-brakes.html
It gives a very thorough list of the advantages and disadvantages of disc brakes. I must admit that I was put off disc brakes a bit when I got to the list of disadvantages of disc brakes.

The way I see it.
Rim brakes, I am replacing rims every 18 months. With disc brakes. The rims are lasting.... forever.
I feel more confident with disc brakes in the wet
They cause far less black gunk mess in the wet.
Disc brake pads last a year where as rim brakes pads last a couple of months.
I find no difference in weight or handling of the bike between rim and discs.

For me it's a no brainer. I can't see any disadvantages.

Though, I do love my rimmed braked bike and won't ever get rid of that.

 

[Blue Hills]

No, the grinding under braking started within a couple of miles of us setting off though.

If so soon maybe the first time he braked properly then.
Could well have been simple poor maintenance/not cleaning pad and rims.

 

[NorthernDave]

The question is, why were his brakes grinding? I'm on rim brakes and my brakes don't grind. The other question is, why do people get through rims so quick, I've always used rim brakes and I've never changed a rim, I usually find a wheel is seven or eight years old before rim wear becomes a concern.

It was purely the muck, etc picked up off the roads. He cleaned the rims and brakes off when we stopped and that temporarily sorted it, but it was soon back again.

 

[si_c]

The way I see it.
Rim brakes, I am replacing rims every 18 months. With disc brakes. The rims are lasting.... forever.
I feel more confident with disc brakes in the wet
They cause far less black gunk mess in the wet.
Disc brake pads last a year where as rim brakes pads last a couple of months.
I find no difference in weight or handling of the bike between rim and discs.

For me it's a no brainer. I can't see any disadvantages.

Though, I do love my rimmed braked bike and won't ever get rid of that.

Indeed, I've got a number of bikes, rim and disc braked, and the advantages of discs are evident throughout - the article is a little old I think in some of the disadvantages. For me the only downside I've had is that the spokes on the front wheel on my most commonly used disc braked bike have started to brake sooner than on other bikes - after about 10k miles. I've recently rebuilt it with new spokes and the same rim - partly that was down to me not building the wheel as well as I could have.

The biggest advantage is the consistent braking - they brake the same wet or dry. They offer both more control as well as needing less force to brake hard.

I don't see myself buying another rim braked road bike at any point in the future.

 

[rivers]

If it's wet, disc brakes every time. In the dry, it depends what I'm doing. Normal road riding, I'm on my summer bike with rim brakes. Bit of off-road, it will be on the CX bike with discs. Even if it cost £30 for a new set of disc pads (and I've seen a lot cheaper than that), it costs me £25 for swiss stop pads for my rim brake bike. It's just a part of maintenance really, and I go through a set every 12-18 months maybe. Hardly breaking the bank

 

[Deleted member 1258]

It was purely the muck, etc picked up off the roads. He cleaned the rims and brakes off when we stopped and that temporarily sorted it, but it was soon back again.

It must have been an exceptionaliy mucky ride.

 

[Blue Hills]

It was purely the muck, etc picked up off the roads. He cleaned the rims and brakes off when we stopped and that temporarily sorted it, but it was soon back again.

In two miles?

As Dave says the roads must have been incredibly mucky - more mucky than I'd expect anyone to be riding around on a road bike.

I had some rim brake issue recently as colin can attest - but that was because we were going across salter fell where the road gave out and we were walking through churned earth - and I had set my rear V brake up particularly close to the rim. Soon sorted with a quick wipe when we actually got back onto something that resembled a road. Once had a very short term issue with some magura rim brakes after straying off road but again they are set very very close by default. In over 20 years of being back into cycling those are the only two (and very soon sorted) episodes I can remember.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The only rim braked bike left in my stable is the Brompton. This wet weather has reminded me how shoot rim brakes are in comparison. I can't see myself buying another rim braked biked ever.

 

[Racing roadkill]

I find it hilarious that people think that their tyres suddenly increase their traction when they use disc brakes.

 

[mustang1]

Also need to factor in the time required to replace rim brake pads and then eventually the wheels.

All things considered I like hydro disks. But for road bikes I have a slight preference for rim brakes despite the advantages mentioned above. (I have both rim and disk brake road bikes).

 

[Smudge]

Whether disk or rim brakes are better, is totally dependant on how you use your bike.
Ride in all weathers, commute, do big mileage, or ride off road a lot, then obviously disk brakes are a win. If you're only a fair weather recreational rider and dont do big mileage, then rim brakes are better. They are cheaper, lighter and easier maintenance.

 

[ColinJ]

Mm

What will taking your front mudguard off do to the headset colin?

You misunderstood me... I wasn't suggesting that it would be better to ride in bad weather without mudguards, I was suggesting that I should have put the mudguards on a much cheaper, more rugged bike so I wasn't so bothered about wearing its rims out! I paid over £300 for the best bike's wheels and I almost wore the front one out in just one winter of riding.

This question has been covered several times before on CycleChat. It may well be that riding on flat roads doesn't cause many problems with rim wear in winter. Coming down evil steep descents like the one below, however, means that prolonged heavy braking is the only way to avoid ending up like poor Chris Froome (badly injured in a high speed crash into a wall yesterday). In the winter, the roads will have been covered in salty grit. Round here there will often be stuff washed off fields into the roads too. I have no intention of stopping every 5 minutes to clean the rims and if I don't then they WILL get mucky very quickly. (What I DO do is to ride through shallow puddles to rinse off crap without having to stop.)

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I'm considering buying a new road bike sometime in the next few months, and was pondering the merits of rim vs disc brakes. I read this article by Paul Allen of the Harris Cyclery (of Sheldon Harris fame): https://www.sheldonbrown.com/disc-brakes.html
It gives a very thorough list of the advantages and disadvantages of disc brakes. I must admit that I was put off disc brakes a bit when I got to the list of disadvantages of disc brakes.

Without going through that disadvantage list item by item and refuting many of them it's almost as though the author was trying his damnedest to make it as long as possible.

I'm on my 5th disc braked bike (all Hydros) with my current bike being my first road bike with discs and not one has howled in the wet and none have had rotor rub that could not be dialed out with careful adjustment. They are pretty much maintenance free and thus far nothing has ever failed or required replacing apart from new pads - and they go on for yonks on road bikes.

Imo a disk braked bike is the way to go - for me they simply work brilliantly in all conditions, are virtually fit and forget and are very reliable.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

As someone who knows very little about disc brakes: is cable friction really a problem for mechanical disc brakes, as the Sheldon Brown web site claims? Or is the risk of cable friction pretty much the same as for rim brakes?

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I have another question: how long would it typically take to bleed a pair of hydraulic disc brakes? I read this article about it, and was wondering about the time it would take:
https://roadcyclinguk.com/how-to/ma...r785-hydraulic-disc-brake-for-road-bikes.html

Regards & thanks,

--- Victor.