Difference between mechanical and hydraulic disc brakes

[mynydd]

can anyone tell me how big a difference there is between mechanical and hydraulic disk brakes please?
Since buying a road bike with hydraulic disc brakes, I’ve been very keen to buy a new commuter with similar brakes, as I’ve a long steep downhill ride into work and my current commuter is very difficult to stop on wet mornings downhill.
I’ve got my eyes on the boardman ADV 8.9 with hydraulic brakes, but notice the next model down is £250 cheaper, but has mechanical disk brakes. (Obviously there are other spec differences too, but decent brakes is high in the priority list)
Any opinions would be greatly received.
Thanks

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I wouldn't touch cable disc brakes but I'm sure somebody will be along shortly advising that I haven't a frigging clue & they've had cable disc brakes for the last 50 years & never had an issue.

 

[stumpy66]

I had mechanical disc brakes I thought they were worse than rim brakes, I changed them to hydraulic brakes and the difference is night n day. If it was me I would have the hydraulic brakes. Just my opinion, I’m sure others will say otherwise

 

[derrick]

Hydraulic are a lot more powerful.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Quite happy with cable on road. For off road I use hydraulic for the obvious reasons.

 

[NorthernDave]

Based on my experience:

Properly set up cable discs work fine and are better than rim brakes, especially in the wet.

Hydraulic discs are considerably better in terms of feel and performance though.

 

[lazybloke]

Quite happy with cable on road. For off road I use hydraulic for the obvious reasons.

Sorry, not obvious to me at all. Genuine question : If cable is fine on-road, why not off-road?

 

[Drago]

I've ridden great hydraulics and terrible cable disc brakes.

I've also ridden truly terrible hydraulic and really quite decent cable disc brakes.

There is no satisfactory one size fits all answer to the OPs question.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Cable disc brakes are Satan's invention. They're crap.
The problem is the cable, the one-sided activation (on most) and the lack of brake force. Discs really need a lot of pressure and cables don't supply that, especially not when they get old and grindy.
Having said that, not all hydraulic is great. Oil is better than DOT Fluid and, you have to match the disc/pad combo too your type of riding. If you are doing lots of downhill/enduro, then metal is best. If you commute, get resin pads. Don't mix after the fact, start with the right pads from day one.
There's a lot involved in pad technicalities, but most important is that metal only works well when very hot and resin only works well when they don't get too hot.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

My only experience with mechanical disk brakes was on a new bike that came with them.
They did not brake.
The LBS did not believe me, said I did not bed them in right.
After 300 scary miles I changed them to hydraulics, all good first time.
Years later I met another rider with my same bike, he was very happy with the original brakes.
I suggest a downhill test drive before buying.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Sorry, not obvious to me at all. Genuine question : If cable is fine on-road, why not off-road?

Off road you gets lots of crud on the cable which affects the performance and amount of maintenance. On the road the cables stay clean (if you use mudguards) work great and need very little maintenance other than the odd adjustment for pad wear.

 

[mynydd]

Thanks all for the comments.
You’ve pretty much unanimously confirmed what I suspected.
I have to say the hydraulic brakes on my canyon endurace are fantastic, l’ll keep focused on the hydraulic boardman then

 

[vickster]

What brakes are they, not all are created equal obviously.
Personally I only use TRP Spyre mechanicals which rock...because I like cross lever brakes which you can’t have with hydraulics...besides most hydraulic hoods are super fugly and look ghastly on a roadbike

 

[I like Skol]

After years of Shimano XT hydraulic brakes and recently some Ultegra hydraulic brakes that are so powerful I even launched myself over the handlebars once, I have recently taken ownership of a bike fitted with cable operated TRP Spyres. I have to admit they don't match the top end Shimano stuff but they certainly aren't lacking in term of performance and stopping power. They do seem to be improving with use. Now after 700 miles they feel better than ever, I think the discs are just reaching optimum condition.

 

[Rooster1]

My new Giant Defy Advanced has hydraulic discs and they are mighty good - I had total faith in them coming down a 20% hill yesterday. The downside is that the handlebars are blessed with a Starship Enterprise like shape up front - ugly as hell....

There was a kit that came with the bike however which I can only assume lets me replace this unit with a normal stem and therefore mechanical braking only.