Speaking of "in the wet" pretty much everyone know disc brakes are better. But another strike against rim brakes is that in the wet, sand and girt get on the rims, and rim brakes grind away at the rims. So to me the fact that disc brakes eliminate wear and scabbing up expensive rims is the second biggest reason discs are better.
Disc brakes on road bikes
- Thread starter Yellow Fang
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EckyH
It wasn't me!
- Location
- Nottuln, North Rhine-Westphalia
Rim br
On the other hand there are measures to reduce the amount of "average wear per kilometer". Proper maintenance is the cheapest: Set up the brake pads properly, keep the brake pads and the rims as clean as possible and remove abrasive particles like aluminium chips of the rim from the pads. Improved cornering to reduce the need for braking is also free. Another measure is to use brake pads which are more gently to the rims.
E.
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AndyRM
XOXO
- Location
- North Shields
Maybe there should be a "Rim Vs Disc Brakes" discussion area, like the "Helmet" one?
Vapin' Joe
Formerly known as Smokin Joe
- Location
- Bare headed cyclist, Smoker
There's always a "Something v something" debate in cycling. Campag v Shimano, friction v indexed, brifters v D/T, clipless v flats or toe clips, electronic v manual, carbon v aluminium v steel, tubes v tubeless etc etc.
Live and let live IMO.
AndyRM
XOXO
- Location
- North Shields
Very true.
matticus
Guru
I think this has been covered already:
Anyways, I don't see this as the obvious win that you do. Some reasons:
- braking wears things out. Brake discs and pads don't grow on trees either. Maybe one system works out cheaper? I don't know for sure.
- I've never met a rider with a worn rim that was affecting their ride. I've seen quite a few instances of disc pad wear ending a ride.
- The only people I meet who have worn out rims are the long-distance types and serious commuters. It's weird that the weekend warriors riding rims that are too expensive to replace are also the ones leaping to disc-brake bikes.
- I hugely reduced rim wear by moving to decent brake blocks. Shimano ones are well-known to be harsh on rims - just do your research people!
Talking of decent brake blocks... IF you're worried about poor wet-weather braking, again, BUY DECENT BLOCKS!!! Even in today's hyper-inflation, it's £8 for your front set. That's a fair bit cheaper than a disc-brake upgrade. On the bikes with decent blocks, my dual-pivot brakes - which I spend minimal time on setup - have got me down massive and steep descents, with luggage, in all weathers, with no concerns (except rear-tyre lockup in the case of Hardknott).
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100% this.
I've got rim braked bike and It's fine however in the wet not only is braking not as good there are times when I can hear and feel grit etc grinding away at the rims. I've got Hunt aluminium wheels and I find they seem to shed a lot of fine particles which get embedded in brake pads so I'm regularly having to pick out pieces.
Dogtrousers
Lefty tighty. Get it righty.
In 2012 when I had my "let's get back into cycling" mid life crisis and got me a new bike (my Spa) it took me not much more than a winter and a spring of long-ish rides to destroy my front rim. I'm not sure what distance that was. I think this was due to:
- Cheap blocks. Spa have an eye on their margins so they don't fit the likes of Koolstop to new bikes. They provided some very hard black blocks, no idea exactly what. I knew no better.
- Poor maintenance. I wasn't all that assiduous cleaning them.
- Fat barsteward. I'm a big lump and can accrue a lot of kinetic energy.
- Heavy handed braking, especially downhill. I don't like going fast.
My latest front rim to be replaced lasted just shy of 7,000 km. Which is still quite low really I think. I've remedied the first two points above but the second two are here to stay.
- Cheap blocks. Spa have an eye on their margins so they don't fit the likes of Koolstop to new bikes. They provided some very hard black blocks, no idea exactly what. I knew no better.
- Poor maintenance. I wasn't all that assiduous cleaning them.
- Fat barsteward. I'm a big lump and can accrue a lot of kinetic energy.
- Heavy handed braking, especially downhill. I don't like going fast.
My latest front rim to be replaced lasted just shy of 7,000 km. Which is still quite low really I think. I've remedied the first two points above but the second two are here to stay.
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Dogtrousers
Lefty tighty. Get it righty.
One thing the current prevalence of disc brakes points to is the throwaway society. Disc brakes were pretty uncommon outside of MTBs 14 years ago. They really got established with the pros picking them up about 10 years ago.
And yet they seem to have largely taken over*. If I look at a random road bike when I'm out and about, odds-on it has discs. This means that it's odds-on that the bikes are less than 10 years old. Now, some of those are new converts to cycling on their first bikes. But for the remainder, given that you need a new frame to swap from rim to disc, it means people replace their bikes after less than 10 years. Which seems a bit quick to me.
*Source: No source, it could be I'm making this up to support my point.
And yet they seem to have largely taken over*. If I look at a random road bike when I'm out and about, odds-on it has discs. This means that it's odds-on that the bikes are less than 10 years old. Now, some of those are new converts to cycling on their first bikes. But for the remainder, given that you need a new frame to swap from rim to disc, it means people replace their bikes after less than 10 years. Which seems a bit quick to me.
*Source: No source, it could be I'm making this up to support my point.
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Vapin' Joe
Formerly known as Smokin Joe
- Location
- Bare headed cyclist, Smoker
One thing the current prevalence of disc brakes points to is the throwaway society. Disc brakes were pretty uncommon outside of MTBs 14 years ago. They really got established with the pros picking them up about 10 years ago.
And yet they seem to have largely taken over*. If I look at a random road bike when I'm out and about, odds-on it has discs. This means that it's odds-on that the bikes are less than 10 years old. Now, some of those are new converts to cycling on their first bikes. But for the remainder, given that you need a new frame to swap from rim to disc, it means people replace their bikes after less than 10 years. Which seems a bit quick to me.
*Source: No source, it could be I'm making this up to support my point.
Going back to my club days which were largely spent in the days of steel frames and D/T shifters very few riders had a bike that was over ten years old.
Dogtrousers
Lefty tighty. Get it righty.
Seems a bit of a short time to me. But it could just be that I'm out of step with everyone else
Sure, tyres and chains and rims and so on wear out and get replaced. But whole bikes?
Probably not really. Since almost all mfg are going to disc brakes, even on low cost bikes, the decision has been made for everyone.
T4tomo
Legendary Member
I'm inclined to agree with you - my "new" posh best bike still has rim brakes, but I realise it was new in 2015!
Anyway its rims haven't worn out yet, they are actually on Mrs T's bike but still going strong, replaced with some carbon rims with nice soft brake blocks. Although carbon rims are a tad slower to stop in the wet (albeit swiss stop blocks mitigate this somewhat) the rims dont seem to to wear much at all - combo of soft block and no aluminium from the rim getting embedded in the blocks and adding to rim wear*
*about as well sourced / evidenced as your above *'ed point but seems feasible from my observations.
Having multiple bikes is also good for reducing rim & disc wear, splits your miles over more rims / discs!
AndyRM
XOXO
- Location
- North Shields
It was a joke referencing the circular nature of debate and entrenched viewpoints on various topics...
As @Vapin' Joe said, "Live and let live", but I would say that manufacturers removing choice from the customer is not a good thing.
- Location
- Inside my skull
The clue is in breaking
