Disc or no disc?

[Nebulous]

I'm sure this could be a controversial one, but I'm considering a new bike for long-distances. I'm looking at a genesis equilibrium, probably building from a frameset. The disc frameset was originally more expensive but is discounted more than the non-disc so prices for the frame alone are pretty similar.

I have a rim-braked road bike with ultegra, which stops very well. My only experience with discs on the other hand is my cyclocross computer which has mechanical discs. They are difficult to set-up and even then are prone to squealing and making strange noises. The braking isn't hugely impressive either.

A rough calculation is that despite the similar price in frames, getting a fully hydraulic set-up will cost me about £250 more. People complain about the size of the hoods for some of the shimano shifters because of the oil tank. I would probably get built or try to build my own wheels with a dynamo. With bigger tyres I'd need longer than standard brake calipers going rim-braked but other than that it would probably be a full 105 groupset.

So what do you think?

Go disc for more bucks or stick with what I know and trust?

 

[Drago]

Personally, I have no issue with rim brakes and I'm very heavy, so I wouldn't sell a rimmed brake bike just to replace it with a disc braked machine.

However, if I were shopping for a new bike I'd likely choose a disc braked one, but wouldn't exclude a rim braked ride that was otherwise fantastic in every other way, or that was very cheap, or on special offer.

Discs can be great, but they're not a deal breaker for me on a road machine.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I would go for discs, but only if you can afford/live with hydraulic calipers. Cable-actuated disc brakes are very poor as you've noted. Hydraulic brakes are low-maintenance and self-adjusting with pad wear whereas cable brakes are the opposite. With hydraulic disc brakes you can also swap between resin and metal pads - provided the discs can handle both and you've done the proper bed-in procedure during swapping. This gives you access to two completely different modes of brake operation. Resin is nice for slow action and gentle, squeal-free riding whereas metal pads operate best under severe conditions. On road bike riding I would class severe conditions as mountain riding and loaded touring. Peloton riding is fine with resin brakes.
Don't expect better stopping with (good) disc brakes than with good rim brakes. Stopping cannot be improved on what we already have because the limiting factor is not brake force but overturning momentum. In other words, the bike does an endo long before the brakes are even biting as much as they can.

 

[raleighnut]

I'd stick to rim brakes if you plan on making long trips to places where there aren't that many bike shops, I wouldn't want to be stuck somewhere waiting for disc pads to turn up so I could continue a trip.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Oh.....no.......must......resist......... Balls, discs brakes are for mountain bikes and Hybrids, and TT bikes, in TT events, disc brakes on a bike that is expected to be ridden in typically relatively larger groups are a liability and an injury accident waiting to happen, for all sorts of reasons IMO. The disparity between the braking efficacy, of a mixed bunch of rim and disc braked bikes, for the start of a long list. They are also heavier, so why spend loads on a light bike, then bolt a dead horse to the front?

And breathe.

 

[Jody]

I'd stick to rim brakes if you plan on making long trips to places where there aren't that many bike shops, I wouldn't want to be stuck somewhere waiting for disc pads to turn up so I could continue a trip.

Iv'e done a couple of thousand miles on these pads (resin) including riding in some shitty conditions and they still have a while to go. Stick some sintered in and you will have no problems. But pads are so small and light you can just take a spare set or two with you

 

[Kestevan]

Personally I'd go hydraulic disk for any bike likely to be ridden in variable conditions.

If it's purely a dry weather bike, then I'd not be bothered either way, as the performance in the dry is pretty much equal (assuming well set up brakes/pads) as you'll be able to lock the wheels with either system.

I have bikes with both types, and only really notice the difference when on the rim brakes in the wet when I really want the disks back.

 

[jowwy]

Cable discs are in no way very poor, unless your pish at setting them up...................i have two disc brake machines running cable discs, they are trp spyres....team them up with compressionless outer's from the likes of jagwire and they will stop you on a dime and are as simple as 1,2,3 to set-up

DONT let people put you have cable discs just cause they don't have the ability to set them up properly............

 

[jowwy]

Oh.....no.......must......resist......... Balls, discs brakes are for mountain bikes and Hybrids, and TT bikes, in TT events, disc brakes on a bike that is expected to be ridden in typically relatively larger groups are a liability and an injury accident waiting to happen, for all sorts of reasons IMO. The disparity between the braking efficacy, of a mixed bunch of rim and disc braked bikes, for the start of a long list. They are also heavier, so why spend loads on a light bike, then bolt a dead horse to the front?

And breathe.

i have a disc brake machine set-up at 7.2kgs..........so tell me why thats heavy?? they are also not an accident waiting to happen, stop running a scare mongering retarict just because you don't like something

 

[ianrauk]

Agree with @jowwy
Many years running Avid BB7 cable disc without any sort of problem. In all weathers, in all conditions, all year round, commuting and touring.
Very poor? Nah I don't think so.

 

[iandg]

Been thinking the same myself. 15 months of cross-check riding on local trails with new wheels last March - worn through a Rigida Sputnik on the rear over one winter. Now considering a Straggler or Croix de Fer.

Not an issue on my caliper road bikes as (relatively speaking) I don't use the brakes as often and wheels last years.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Cable discs are in no way very poor, unless your pish at setting them up...................i have two disc brake machines running cable discs, they are trp spyres....team them up with compressionless outer's from the likes of jagwire and they will stop you on a dime and are as simple as 1,2,3 to set-up

DONT let people put you have cable discs just cause they don't have the ability to set them up properly............

I'm not sure what a disc brake machine is, the discussion is around bicycles. Compressionless outers....you'll find that all brake cable housings are of the so-called compressionless variety, so there's no danger that someone may have tried the non-compressionless type and found them lacking.
Jagwire cables are particularly poor - especially the teflon coated ones, for reasons described on this forum many times. I would not recommend those to anyone.

Stopping on a dime. I assume metaphor here and that I will overlook. However, the implication that they perhaps stop quicker than other types of brakes needs to be challenged. The brakes are NOT the weak link and for that reason all bikes of reasonable quality can stop on a dime, or penny or cent, whatever your currency.

There is no question that hydraulic brakes require less maintenance than cable brakes. Cables have to be replaced and adjusted as the pads wear down. Hydraulics, not. The rotating mechanism in the mechanical caliper requires routine maintenance, hydraulic calipers less o.

I don't think anyone mentioned set-up, so you are building a straw man there.

i have a disc brake machine set-up at 7.2kgs..........so tell me why thats heavy?? they are also not an accident waiting to happen, stop running a scare mongering retarict just because you don't like something

I was hoping the person that inspired that reply of yours was attempting sarcasm, which doesn't require a reply or acknowledgement.

Agree with @jowwy
Many years running Avid BB7 cable disc without any sort of problem. In all weathers, in all conditions, all year round, commuting and touring.
Very poor? Nah I don't think so.

It will boil down to semantics. I'm sure you don't consider cable replacement and regular pad adjustment a problem. I would just prefer not to do it at all. Further, there really is no comparison for the smooth feel of hydraulic vs cable - in my eyes in anyway.

 

[Drago]

Having had the joy of stripping and rebuilding 2 x Hope master cylinders I don't buy in to the maintenance argument for hydro's. Id rather twiddle a cable adjuster for less than 5 seconds every three months, than spend several hours every 5 years with increasingly bad tourettes. Sure, Hydro's are quite resilient, less likely to go bad, but when they do you'll be cursing more than a Guy Ritchie gangster.

 

[ianrauk]

I'm not sure what a disc brake machine is, the discussion is around bicycles. Compressionless outers....you'll find that all brake cable housings are of the so-called compressionless variety, so there's no danger that someone may have tried the non-compressionless type and found them lacking.
Jagwire cables are particularly poor - especially the teflon coated ones, for reasons described on this forum many times. I would not recommend those to anyone.

Stopping on a dime. I assume metaphor here and that I will overlook. However, the implication that they perhaps stop quicker than other types of brakes needs to be challenged. The brakes are NOT the weak link and for that reason all bikes of reasonable quality can stop on a dime, or penny or cent, whatever your currency.

There is no question that hydraulic brakes require less maintenance than cable brakes. Cables have to be replaced and adjusted as the pads wear down. Hydraulics, not. The rotating mechanism in the mechanical caliper requires routine maintenance, hydraulic calipers less o.

I don't think anyone mentioned set-up, so you are building a straw man there.




I was hoping the person that inspired that reply of yours was attempting sarcasm, which doesn't require a reply or acknowledgement.



It will boil down to semantics. I'm sure you don't consider cable replacement and regular pad adjustment a problem. I would just prefer not to do it at all. Further, there really is no comparison for the smooth feel of hydraulic vs cable - in my eyes in anyway.

Pad adjustment once every few months, a simple twist of a dial.
Cable replacement and pad replacement, once a year.
And you would be replacing pads with HDB's too. So all that is not exactly taxing. And if you don't want to do it then your LBS would be happy to.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Pad adjustment once every few months, a simple twist of a dial.
Cable replacement and pad pad replacement, once a year.
And you would be replacing pads with HDB's too. So all that is not exactly taxing. And if you don't want to do it then your LBS would be happy to.

I agree, it is not a big deal. I've stated my preference. But what is a HDB?