brake disc bikes

[noadapter]

After christmas i will be looking to buy a new bike Hybrid most likely and wanting some feedback on brake disc are these necessary on a commuting bike? are they reliable? are they expensive to fix? or should i just stick with v brakes as it will be cheaper to buy and don't want to buy a bike that gives me hassle What do you think?

 

[fossyant]

Potentially cheaper in the long run, as you won't wear the rim, but hubs do get knackered.

I like the idea of discs for commuting...don't rule it out, but conventional V's are now very powerful.....

 

[col]

generally more expensive than normal brakes,more things to go wrong,not needed in most things with bikes,good poseur value but thats about all for me,but if i had the cash i might get a bike with the most expensive ones,just to look good

 

[Piemaster]

I disagree . Possibly.
I've have discs on my Giant escape and love 'em. Never had any bother with them, never needed adjusting, they just work and I'd want them again if I replaced the bike in the future.
I also tow a trailer occasionaly and it make little difference to stopping with it, even when I had around 50kg in it. Couldn't say the same for setting off though.

Do you need them though? Probably not.
Any chance you could test ride 2 equivilent bikes one with, one without and see what you think?

 

[BentMikey]

The nice parts about disc brakes is the beautiful feel and modulation in stopping power, low lever force, lack of rim wear, better in the wet (but only a little, some squeek horrendously), and best of all the lack of dirty rim paste to blacken your fingers when swapping inner tubes.

I opted for light weight and rim brakes on my latest bike, the above are not enough to make it worth having a disc on the recumbent. I must admit the much higher lever forces are taking some getting use to, but all the stopping power is still there.

 

[J4CKO]

I have a Cannondale Bad Boy 700 which came with disks, I just love the idea of disk brakes on a bike, to be honest, well set up rim brakes are fine for road use, in fact the ones on the Cannondale were Avid Juicy 3;s with a 160 mm disk which wasnt powerful enough so as my MTB was knackered I swapped the Hope Mono Mini's onto it seeing as I wasnt using it, now has a 180 mm disk and stops the getting on for 300 or so lbs of me, bike, panniers, lights, rack etc quite well but they do sqeal a bit.

So, not essential but if you fancy disks (they look so damn good) then why not.

 

[wafflycat]

No, they are not necessary. If you want them, get them, but they aren't an essential.

 

[HJ]

I would agree with wafflycat, they are not essential, but they are nice to have. I borrowed a bike on holiday which had disc brakes and when I came home the first time I went to ride my bike I was surprised how much harder I had to pull to get the same braking effect. That said I have never had a problem getting my bike to stop, accept the time I forgot to reattach the brakes after taking the wheels off ...

 

[Steve Austin]

You know that slidy judder you get when you squeeze a rim brake in the wet? .... Well, that don't happen with disc brakes.

 

[RedBike]

Just stay clear of cheap cable disc brakes.

 

[summerdays]

Potentially cheaper in the long run, as you won't wear the rim, but hubs do get knackered.

Why or how does it effect the hubs? And how will I know when it has?


I have a bike with V-brakes and one with disks. The reason I bought the disk brakes was that I had worn out my rims in just over a year, and loads of brake pads. I think it is worth having the disk brakes when commuting in a hilly town. However I would say it hasn't been trouble free. My front disk varies between a little mouse like squeak and a full blown steam train coming. I still prefer them for the consistant feel to braking, stopping in the wet (especially downhill when I felt my V-brakes didn't), no longer getting grey gunge and not replacing the pads every 4 months.

 

[Keith Oates]

I bought a MTB that had them already fitted and was very satisfied with them. If and when I get the chance I would buy another bike with Discs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dodgy]

Discs are a good choice for a commuter, one of the advantages is that they don't care about wobbles in your wheel, so break a spoke or slightly buckle your wheel and it won't affect your brakes. I've had hydraulic disc brakes on my 3.5 year old Specialized Stumpjumper and not had any issues at all.
Only you can decide if the added expense is worth it, just try not be put off with the 'it adds complexity to your bike' crowd, in reality, they just work.

 

[Mr Pig]

Personally, I think that disk brakes are massively overrated, even on a mountain bike. On a commuter there's no way I'd want them, I'd rather redirect the money towards lightness and quality elsewhere.

 

[cheadle hulme]

I've got hydraulic disks on my commuting MTB.
They're like modern cars; I haven't a clue how they work, but I don't need to know as they never go wrong.