Disc brakes on road bikes

[SpokeyDokey]

And people keep buying all the new technology

We should've consigned R&D to the bin at the Penny Farthing stage.

 

[Profpointy]

We should've consigned R&D to the bin at the Penny Farthing stage.

Nowt wrong with an "ordinary"

 

[dougie78]

just getting into cycle racing too. this thread is very helpful 👍

 

[Punkawallah]

And people keep buying all the new technology

While true, if the ‘new technology’ is all that is on offer, it is difficult to -not- ‘choose’ it.

 

[Punkawallah]

We should've consigned R&D to the bin at the Penny Farthing stage.

‘These young tear-aways on their Ordinaries!’

 

[Alex321]

I bore myself saying this, but my main gripe with discs on road bikes is that I always feel it was an industry wide decision to essentially push the cost of bikes up. The whole shift towards various tech 'improvements' like DB, aero frame, integration of cables/cockpits etc. all seems to have enabled price increases in the last 5 years that are far and above inflation or even R&D costs to manufacturers. In many ways it feels like a a big motivation is to keep trying to justify price hikes with something new every few years.

But it is my impression that prices have actually fallen for mid range new bikes in those last 5 years.
Just as an example, I pad £2100 for my Cube Attain GTC Race (105 11 speed groupset) in August 2021.

The nearest equivalent now is the Attain c.62 Race, which is £1899 (Cube's own price, probably available less elsewhere), with 105 12 speed mechanical groupset.

 

[Alex321]

If a very small/easy movement of the lever makes disc brakes go to 'full stopping power' that doesn't make them easier to modulate (than rim brakes), it makes them more difficult.

It isn't about a small movement, it is about how much less hand pressure is needed.

It is much easier to vary when you don't need much than it is when you need to use a lot of strength.

Almost everybody I have heard of who has ridden both says it is easier to modulate with disc.

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

But it is my impression that prices have actually fallen for mid range new bikes in those last 5 years.
Just as an example, I pad £2100 for my Cube Attain GTC Race (105 11 speed groupset) in August 2021.

The nearest equivalent now is the Attain c.62 Race, which is £1899 (Cube's own price, probably available less elsewhere), with 105 12 speed mechanical groupset.

I was thinking more of traditional rim brake vs disc. In 2019 I bought a custom spec Cannondale Caad12, full sram red 11 speed mechanical, mavic ksyrium sl wheels, quarq powet meter and fizik finishing kit. It was £2700.

Like you say, that would get you a cube or similar with 105 mechanical and a fairly standard set of wheels. For something of a similar spec and weight of the Caad, you would be looking at £5k+ in current disc bike.

 

[katiewlx]

I was thinking more of traditional rim brake vs disc. In 2019 I bought a custom spec Cannondale Caad12, full sram red 11 speed mechanical, mavic ksyrium sl wheels, quarq powet meter and fizik finishing kit. It was £2700.

Like you say, that would get you a cube or similar with 105 mechanical and a fairly standard set of wheels. For something of a similar spec and weight of the Caad, you would be looking at £5k+ in current disc bike.

but that price increase isnt necessarily to do with the discs, the bike I bought 11 years ago had mechanical disc brakes for under £800, the bike I bought last year had hydraulic disc brakes was £400.

 

[katiewlx]

I have a Dura ace equipped rim braked bike with carbon rims which I found stopped very well. I then got a disc braked bike and swopping between the the two I‘ve found I need adjust my braking distances.
With the discs it’s leave it to the last minute and use one finger on the brake lever. With the rim brakes it’s start planning where to brake from the word go on steep descents.
On some of the steep descents round here on the NY moors I get a bit of a forearm pump from braking on the rim braked bike and I have pretty good finger and forearm strength from rock climbing for 50 plus years.
When discs came out I was sceptical about the need for them and they aren’t essential but they do work well.
I do wonder if the instant stopping power of discs causes what seems to me to be on the increase, crash’s in the bunch in pro racing. If the persons if front causes you to grab your brake then the person behind you will run it to the back you. Such is the stopping power.

no because I remember Hannah Barnes saying when she first started riding discs, whilst half the peloton were still on rim brakes, she avoided a heavy crash in a bunch because she had disc brakes and could stop in time whilst if she had rim brakes she'd have just had to crash, as in people were still crashing with rim brakes and kind of always expected it.

so I think what we're seeing in pro racing now with crashes, is simply people riding with less old fashioned caution and respect for other riders than they used to, because theyre riding at such a tempo all the time to keep up with the super powerful riders, theyre going for gaps that arent there, or not leaving enough space to each other because its all about tiny aero gains,and bunches get very compacted thesedays imo and you only need one rider to make a mistake and it can bring a whole group down, disc or rim brakes wouldnt change that.

I mean I dont feel discs are instant stopping power anyway, for sure if you grab a handful of lever in a panic, yes youll be somersaulting your way away from your bike because it stopped and you didnt and inertia etc etc.

but just like with cars, you stamp on the brake pedal youll stop very quickly, but you dont tend to brake like that in a car, you tend to more press the brakes (even ones with potentiometers so your not even physically feeling the connection properly) to find the point where the pad engages and then you can modulate braking power very easily from there, and its just something your brain learns

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

but that price increase isnt necessarily to do with the discs, the bike I bought 11 years ago had mechanical disc brakes for under £800, the bike I bought last year had hydraulic disc brakes was £400.

I agree, it is the tech as a whole; discs, aero frames, integration of components, electronic drivetrains. All of this is becoming the 'standard' now. A rim brake, mechnical bike is no longer the norm and its modern equivalent is generally more expensive at a range of price points.

 

[Dogtrousers]

If I was buying a new bike I'd get discs.

But I'm not, and my Spa Steel Audax is showing no signs of aging (unlike me) so it looks like it's rim brakes for me for the rest of my days. Which will keep my local wheel builders in business as I chew through rims.

I did ride a very nice hire bike with discs. They were ok. I descended the Tourmalet without dying.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Mod note:

Thread closed until the 'spat' posts are removed.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Mod note:

Thread tidied up and reopened.

If I have missed anything please report in the usual manner. Thanks.

 

[matticus]

And why has no-one mentioned the wet-weather squealing?? I think that's a great feature!

Doesn't even need wet roads - even a foggy day seems enough!