Cable disc and Cable Actuated 'Semi Hydraulic' Discs

[paraffinlamps]

Sorry forgot to reply to your other questions :-
1) How long do the pads last?

It really does depend on the pads and how you ride , brake etc . I get about 9 months out of a set . Our Saturday route is about 45 miles and very rural with lots of farm crap,mud etc on the roads in winter but I probably replace them before they need it to be honest

2) How long do the discs last?

I fitted new discs when I fitted the Hydraulic a year ago so cant really say

3) How easy is it to change a wheel? I presume that if you have two wheelsets, the discs in theory should just line up (might have to adjust the pads a little for different amounts of wear, but this seems easy on the Juin Techs) but how does this work in practice?

In theory very easy , however I have found minor differences between wheelsets ( Fulcrum DB 5 , Original Mavic 317 supplied with the bike , Some Handbuilt DT Swiss R460 on Shimano 505 with centrelock rotors and some Prolite Disc wheels .
The wheels would always go in but I had to make minor adjustments to the brakes to stop rub , by loosening and then retightening the mounting bolts . I would say you could get home with a replacement wheel though

4) Fade - I am about 75-80kg, and ride in reasonably hilly places, sometimes with panniers. I presume fade is not something I need to worry about unless I ride somewhere very hilly with very heavy panniers? Or can it occur in relatively 'mild' conditions?

I havent noticed fade but I havent really been down any long hills .

 

[si_c]

I've got a set of Rever MCX1 brakes that came stock with my bike. They're dual sided mechanical discs like the Spyres, and they work very well.

Admittedly they were a faff to get setup right at the start, partly as they assembly of the bike wasn't done properly and the calipers weren't centred over the rotor (I knew nothing about disc brakes when I got the bike), so I was constantly adjusting the pad clearance unnecessarily to try to stop the rubbing. In the end I followed the Rever installation guide, no problems since.

I use the stock metal pads that came with the brakes, so far I've done around 5500km and I'd guess I've used around half the pads, theres still a good 2mm of pad on the backplate. Changing the pads will be easy, one 3mm allen bolt and the new ones will drop in, then just re-tension the cables.

Braking performance is as good as any rim brakes in the dry, and in the wet exactly the same, so how I'd expected when I got them. The only downside has been that if I'm out of saddle sprinting or going uphill, occaisionally I get some rotor-pad rubbing, but it's nothing significant, but I think I'd get that on any disc equipped bike as the wheel/forks flex and pad clearance is very limited.

 

[chriscross1966]

Although my situation is a lot different to yours, I strongly suggest you do keep the Spyres in mind. During a massive bout of upgrading I fitted one the the rear of my Brompton and it has been a revelation, it always feels the same, doesn't fade, doesn't grab and the pad life on the stock resins is excellent. Fitting was not that hard, given I have a custom rear frame to take an Alfine 11-speed I could accept that I had to take a file to the adapter bracket to ease its location. Since then it has just been a joy. I'm running Litepro ultralight levers and Jagwire Basics cable, though that might get an upgrade to Elite Link in the next few months.

 

[EasyPeez]

My two-penneth:

1) Cable discs are ok, but apart from Spyres, all have one piston which makes them a pain to set up and keep aligned and thus take a fair amount of fettling. The nest of the non-Spyre bunch seems to be Avid BB7s

I have TRP Spyres on one bike and Avid BB5s on the other - I have found the latter to be crap, frankly - good stopping power but a constant faff to keep adjusted, whereas I find the TRP Spyres a doddle to keep adjusted (quick wind of an allen key every couple of months to draw the pads in a little closer to the rotor) and give good stopping power in all conditions. As @Yellow Saddle says, there is some judder with cable discs under heavy braking.

2) Hydraulic discs are good, but you need large, ugly and expensive shifters and may or may not spend the rest of your days bleeding them - I guess this depends to a small extent on luck and a large extent to how well you set them up in the first place

3) Cable actuated hydraulics should overcome both these issues, but Hy:Rds seem to have attracted a large number of disgruntled posters who can't get them to work reliably. When working properly though they sound good - they have two pistons and auto adjust for pad wear. Juin Tech R1s are a closed system so they don't adjust for wear automatically, but they are cheaper and lighter then the Hy:Rds and seem to generally get better reviews.

I can't comment on the hydraulics as I can't afford them, not the Juin Techs as I've never heard of them. I have had a quick go on a bike with Hy:Rds and found them very effective, but the lever travel required was considerable and I didn't like that - I like my brakes to start gripping as soon as I pull on them.

1) How long do the pads last?
I get about 5,000 miles out of mine. Depends how many hills you go down and how heavy you are, I guess. Most of my riding is on the flat and I'm built like a Benghazi racing snake.

2) How long do the discs last?
No sign of wear on mine after 8,500 miles.

3) How easy is it to change a wheel? I presume that if you have two wheelsets, the discs in theory should just line up (might have to adjust the pads a little for different amounts of wear, but this seems easy on the Juin Techs) but how does this work in practice?
A doddle. No need to touch the brakes at all, other than a slight adjustment of pads to account for different wear levels.

4) Fade - I am about 75-80kg, and ride in reasonably hilly places, sometimes with panniers. I presume fade is not something I need to worry about unless I ride somewhere very hilly with very heavy panniers? Or can it occur in relatively 'mild' conditions?
Never had fade.

Without wishing to divert the thread I'm about to swap out the BB5s on my Boardman CX Team for TRP Spyres (I'd prefer to upgrade to hydraulics but can't justify the expense, especially as it's for my 'second' bike). Has anyone else done the same? Will I need spacers (The rear rotor on my CX is bigger than on my road bike so I'm guessing yes) or any other bodgy bits, and if so will these come with the rotors when I order them? If not what exactly should I be looking for?

Thanks.