Disc brakes on road bikes

[Ming the Merciless]

people saying the same things as has been said hundreds of times already.

I blame the fact that the rim brakers just cannot stop.

 

[matticus]

I blame the fact that the rim brakers just cannot stop.

... but we do screech much less!

 

[Webbo2]

Lots of relatively short and steepish stuff, they've got me to 40mph + a few times, but compared to what I used to (where I grew up) there's nothing of note. its all relative. Collyweston, Rockingham and Harringworth are amongst the one the locals class are hills
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I don’t think they would even get noticed where I’m hanging out these days which is the Southern edge of the North York Moors. If I go North it’s pretty hard to find a circular route which doesn’t go up something 20% plus. So most of my solo distance rides go South West where the hill are only 10% plus.😏

 

[All uphill]

... but we do screech much less!

I'm going to have to block you.

 

[Binky]

... but we do screech much less!

That is true in my experience. So far my new disc bike been pretty soundless under braking but I''ve heard some horrendous noises from other disc bikes. My rim braked bikes unless in the wet are quiet.

I realise you are probably making a humerous point but I'd say there's some truth in it.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

... but we do screech much less!

True, Rim Brakers just whine more.

 

[Webbo2]

My carbon rimed brake bike sounds like a jet coming in to land when I brake. Where as my disc braked bike since changing the pads now makes a very quiet screech when stationary with the wheel lent over.🤷🏼‍♂️

 

[HLaB]

I don’t think they would even get noticed where I’m hanging out these days which is the Southern edge of the North York Moors. If I go North it’s pretty hard to find a circular route which doesn’t go up something 20% plus. So most of my solo distance rides go South West where the hill are only 10% plus.😏

I'm used to something closer to that growing up too and hills actually lasting more than half a mile (a lot of them in SE England are shorter too). When my cycling groups get back from Rutland etc it's like we've climbed the Alps, really 🙄

 

[Webbo2]

I'm used to something closer to that growing up too and hills actually lasting more than half a mile (a lot of them are shorter too). When my cycling groups get back from Rutland etc it's like we've climbed the Alps, really 🙄

Yesterdays midweek club ride which is termed the midweek meander and supposed to be a very steady ride for people who aren’t that fit or that experienced. I go because it’s the only midweek group ride round here and its a good social outing.
However it was 49.5K but with 779 metres of climbing it went in to Rosedale but avoided the three steep ways out of it.
I did 56.5K before meeting up with the group but only 221 meters of climbing in that distance.
My clubs rides are more about difficulty than distance so I often have tag something on the start or the finish to get a 100K plus ride.

 

[Milzy]

Why rim for road? Disc brakes have been proven to be better, certainly in the wet. Then you get long descents and personally I'll feel a lot happier now on disc brakes than rim brakes. Aside from stopping power - and yes so far rim brakes have worked hence I'm around to write this - there's issue of rim damage, over heating potential etc.

Rim brakes have worked for decades and worked well but for me the evidence is there that discs are much better.

I don’t ride in the rain. My Rim brakes are easy to set up, no bleeding. No disc rubbing. No weight penalty.
The bicycle is supposed to simplify your life not complicate it & cost you more money.
I’ll be in the rim brake mafia cult forever. Gravel and mountain bikes will get mud everywhere so discs are fine then.

 

[Punkawallah]

I don’t ride in the rain. My Rim brakes are easy to set up, no bleeding. No disc rubbing. No weight penalty.
The bicycle is supposed to simplify your life not complicate it & cost you more money.
I’ll be in the rim brake mafia cult forever. Gravel and mountain bikes will get mud everywhere so discs are fine then.

To quote an American YouTuber, they are ‘good enough for who they are for’. Rim brakes are perfectly adequate for the majority of users. Disc brakes are useful for the minority in certain situations.

 

[Binky]

Disc brakes are useful for the minority in certain situations.

I'd say that was more likely to apply to rim brakes. Discs work in all situations wouldn't you say seeing as they are better in the wet.
Again, I'm not trying to be argumentive just saying how I see it. I still own and ride a rim brake bike.

 

[Alex321]

To quote an American YouTuber, they are ‘good enough for who they are for’. Rim brakes are perfectly adequate for the majority of users. Disc brakes are useful for the minority in certain situations.

Not quite the right phrasing there.

Disc brake are useful for just about everybody, in pretty well all situations.

They are more useful than rim brakes for the minority in certain situations, which is not the same thing - and I might dispute "minority" even then, I think the majority of riders will at least occasionally get into situations where they are more useful. People who only ever ride on dry roads with good visibility will never benefit, but I think those are probably the minority.

 

[Punkawallah]

I'd say that was more likely to apply to rim brakes. Discs work in all situations wouldn't you say seeing as they are better in the wet.
Again, I'm not trying to be argumentive just saying how I see it. I still own and ride a rim brake bike.

Of course. But consider, Clarks rim brakes are £18, cable disc brakes from same are £36. Would Joe Public rather their bike was more or less expensive? Do the majority of people ride in the wet?
If you are an ‘enthusiast, or a ‘sportsman’ rider who is ‘in training’, then disc brakes could be considered essential. But the estimate for cyclists who ‘compete’ rather than ‘ride casually’ is about 1 in 20. So the industry is potentially selling 19 out of 20 cyclists something they don’t need for their usage - like carbon wheels or aero frames when only a fraction of users can make use of them.
‘You do you’, but I think that more people would use bicycles if they were practical -for them-, rather than exotic machines to tempt the cognoscenti with ‘upgrades’. I was talking to a chap yesterday whose bike had been parked in the yard for two years, and when he came to ride, usurpingly it failed him. This sort of ‘rider’ needs something ‘bomb proof’, rather than high performance’.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

I was talking to a chap yesterday whose bike had been parked in the yard for two years, and when he came to ride, usurpingly it failed him. This sort of ‘rider’ needs something ‘bomb proof’, rather than high performance’.

There is no way you can "Bomb proof" a bike that has sat outside unused for two years. The chain and sprockets will be rusted solid and the tyres will be deflated and cracked. And in many of the times when bicycles were cheap and practical far fewer people rode them than is the case now. Not that you can't get bikes that are cheap and practical now, walk into any bike shop and there are plenty of them.