Disc vs rim

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jonny jeez

Legendary Member
So, what do we think....for a road bike

I like the idea of not "wearing" down my rims...especially if I choose a fancy carbon flavour....also, stopping in the wet is a bonus (multiply that by 3 with the same fancy carbon jobbies).


But...boy are these things fugly.

So, are they catching on? will we see a full peloton of pro riders all sporting discs anytime soon...which means the shops will start to inevitably stock them more.

Am I making a mistake to look at discs for my new ride?
 

SWSteve

Guru
Location
Bristol...ish
So, what do we think....for a road bike

I like the idea of not "wearing" down my rims...especially if I choose a fancy carbon flavour....also, stopping in the wet is a bonus (multiply that by 3 with the same fancy carbon jobbies).


But...boy are these things fugly.

So, are they catching on? will we see a full peloton of pro riders all sporting discs anytime soon...which means the shops will start to inevitably stock them more.

Am I making a mistake to look at discs for my new ride?


Are they *really* that bad looking? What I've seen in the flesh, in an LBS, they look good, and I doubt you spend much time getting a profile view of your bike you're using it. Try riding with and without, lots of manufacturers do similar/same level bikes with and without disc brakes (Specialized and Cannondale to start) so why not take a rest ride of each to see how you get on? The increased braking when experienced may negate the fugality of the bike
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
A classic case of once you go disc you wont go back. Swapped over a few years ago to a disc braked road bike for my commute. Sick of going through rims and pads at an alarming rate. Rims every 18 months, pads every 3 months. Disc brake pads I change once a year, and they cost less then rim pads. Rotor's I have never had to change.

Even though stopping is as good as your tyres allow rather then the brakes. With disc brakes you don't have to feather them first to clear the rims of water before they get a decent bite. Disc brakes just stop you, simples.

And as for 'ugly'. Think they look great myself.

Most bike manufacturers are going down the disc brake route now and as for 'are they catching on'?, Well they already have. I am seeing more and more disc braked bikes on my daily commute then ever before, shops are already stocking them and I don't think it will be long before the pro-peleton will be using them.

My next Carbon and Ti bikes will both have disc brakes.
 

w00hoo_kent

One of the 64K
Discs will be the mainstream choice within 2-3 years, if not sooner. Cyclist magazine said Giant are only shipping the Defy with disc brakes for 2015 and it's allowed them to redesign the frame so it's no longer compatible with both, allegedly saving them weight. When I was at Specialized HQ for the bodyfit thing earlier in the year it looked like the majority of the 2015 range were disc. The arguments against it for the pro peloton will melt away, most of them are a bit odd anyway.

Looks, I don't particularly like how mechanical discs look but it's really not a big thing and anyway, I don't like how a lot of rim brakes look either.

In use, discs have a bit of a different usage method, probably not shown on normal commuting, but if you were doing big descents they work better with occasional hard use rather than the constant dragging you might do with rims (heat build up being a thing, although only with hydraulic systems). The big difference is that they grip whatever the weather straight away and that they have a lot more feel than rims. I'm sure a well set up rim brake is the equal of a disc brake, but a poorly set up rim is nowhere near as good as a rarely looked at disc brake (it's the crossbowmen vs longbowmen argument basically). The feel thing is basic physics, it takes around 200nm to lock a wheel with a rim brake and 1000nm to do it with a disc brake. That makes the difference between braking 25% and 50% much bigger for a disc than a rim, meaning you can partial brake with much more control on discs.

My 80's Raleigh is my only rim braked bike. I view it as a bit of a novelty (also get to scream 'stop, stop, stop' occasionally when riding it in the rain). Everything new that I buy will have discs, just the same as I wouldn't buy a modern car with drums.
 
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Location
Spain
The next bike i buy will be a cx so that'll probably have discs and i reckon next time i buy a road bike it'll have them too. Not necessarily by choice, although it might be by then, but i reckon most of next years new designs will have disc as at least an option or the manufacturers might be more bold, like Giant this year, and only have disc versions.
 
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jonny jeez

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
Are they *really* that bad looking?
Yeah, they really are...but then I'm no oil painting so.go figure.

You are right though, in the flesh they are nowhere near as offensive.
 
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jonny jeez

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
A classic case of once you go disc you wont go back. Swapped over a few years ago to a disc braked road bike for my commute. Sick of going through rims and pads at an alarming rate. Rims every 18 months, pads every 3 months. Disc brake pads I change once a year, and they cost less then rim pads. Rotor's I have never had to change.

Even though stopping is as good as your tyres allow rather then the brakes. With disc brakes you don't have to feather them first to clear the rims of water before they get a decent bite. Disc brakes just stop you, simples.

And as for 'ugly'. Think they look great myself.

Most bike manufacturers are going down the disc brake route now and as for 'are they catching on'?, Well they already have. I am seeing more and more disc braked bikes on my daily commute then ever before, shops are already stocking them and I don't think it will be long before the pro-peleton will be using them.

My next Carbon and Ti bikes will both have disc brakes.
But would you swap out the rim brakes on the weekend roubaix.

commuting...geddit, makes total sense ...but weekends, should I stick to a purist weekend ride
 

DRHysted

Guru
Location
New Forest
But would you swap out the rim brakes on the weekend roubaix.

commuting...geddit, makes total sense ...but weekends, should I stick to a purist weekend ride
Yes, and I did.

I am a convert (especially after the poor performance of my rim braked bike this morning). My normal commuter bike is a CX with discs, its currently off the road awaiting new wheels after the rear got damaged, hence why I was on the rim braked Allez this morning. I was so impressed with the difference between rim and disc, that when I bought the Roubaix, I got the disc model (and love it).
 
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