discobrakes.com

[Scilly Suffolk]

They were recommended to me by another forum user and they have impressed me with both there prices and service so far.

I ordered some cartridge inserts on Saturday, they were dispatched after the Bank Holidays on Wednesday (ie the next working day) and were received today, Thursday.

That's a good turnaround at any price, but when you consider I paid £7.29 for four pairs, post free, that blows your socks off.

Of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating so I will update this thread when I have put some miles on them...

 

[Psyclist]

Part of Carbon Cycles.CC (eXotic) if I recall correctly. CCC are a great company.

 

[dan_bo]

I've been using discobrakes for a bit now but it's bugging me that I don't know where they are based and where their stuff is manufactured- anyone have a clue?

 

[ColinJ]

I've been using discobrakes for a bit now but it's bugging me that I don't know where they are based and where their stuff is manufactured- anyone have a clue?

According to LinkedIn - York.

As for manufacturing, I found this on their forum:

Hi

You are right, there are different prices for different countries.

It is not a secret and is due to many factors, not least that we ship from many countries and each has different import/export rules and taxes.

All prices are clearly displayed on the website & anyone can check the price in any country if they want to.

Thanks

 

[dan_bo]

Cheers Col.

 

[Blue Hills]

Anymore feedback on these folk?

They sure look interesting.

Especially as I reckon there's a fair degree of **sh*t/marketing hype in the cycling world about over-priced products which are surely pretty mature technology-wise - like, er brake pads, which are surely available very cheap in many parts of the world.

Or maybe there are annual breakthoughs in brake pad technology?

Mini rant over, I'd welcome any views on these folks.

Am currently looking for cantilever pad suppliers but would be interested in folks' feedback on their other stuff - V-brakes etc.

 

[ColinJ]

I have been buying my Campag clone blocks and also Hope clone disk pads from them for years. The prices are way cheaper than anywhere else I've found.

The road blocks are about 95% as good as the real thing - I think the compound they use reacts more to the heat of severe braking on steep hills than my original Campag blocks did, but I'm a big bloke and the hills here are steep so my brakes have a lot of work to do!

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend their products unless you are huge, or you are going to descend Alpine passes on a heavily-laden touring bike. In fact, their brake products are so cheap that you might as well buy some anyway and see if you agree with me!

 

[Blue Hills]

Thanks for the recommendation Colin - I'll try them - very impressed by the prices and reports, and I see that they do blocks for Magura rim brakes as well.

 

[NormanD]

I'd recommend disco brakes too, ordered new pads for a friends bike on Monday morning at 9.30am and was fitting them to his bike by Tuesday afternoon, prompt fast service and cheap prices.

 

[jay clock]

I have a few years old MTB that gets little use, but is of high quality. Discobrakes came up with the disc pads at a fraction of the cost and seem to work very well. I then got some red Shimano road bike inserts and these seem excellent and of great quality

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

The real test of a company's service is when things go wrong: I ordered some more cartridge inserts for the Dunwich Dynamo, but they sent the wrong ones (although they were delivered very quickly).

I was slightly concerned that no phone number was given, only an e-mail address. but I received a reply the day after I sent a message advising that the replacement inserts had been sent along with a pre-paid envelope to return the wrong ones.

They were true to their word and everything was resolved in good time, so I'm happy to keep shopping with them.

 

[Blue Hills]

My cantilever pads have been on the hybrid/part timer tourer for a while now and seem pretty good. I do get the odd bit of debris in them but no worse I think than others and I always check my pads regularly. Price amazing.

Thanks for the recommendation folks.

 

[400bhp]

I have the cartridge inserts for my road bike. They appear to wear a bit quicker than, say Koolstops, but I haven't noticed any difference in braking.

I will continue to buy from them.

 

[lejogger]

I've been using disco brakes BB5 disc brake pads on the commuter, and when giving it the spring overhaul I found that the pads had fused to the caliper to the point where i had to prise them out with a screwdriver.
The red dial adjustment mechanism had also completely seized to such an extent that when i tried to dial out the pads, the force required shredded the head of the Torx bolt and left the calipers completely useless.

I can't say for definite that this was caused by using cheap alternatives rather than the Avid pads, or that it wasn't just from a build up of road grime over the winter and that my cleaning should have been more thorough... but it's not something that I'm going to risk on my new BB7s.

 

[ianrauk]

I've been using disco brakes BB5 disc brake pads on the commuter, and when giving it the spring overhaul I found that the pads had fused to the caliper to the point where i had to prise them out with a screwdriver.
The red dial adjustment mechanism had also completely seized to such an extent that when i tried to dial out the pads, the force required shredded the head of the Torx bolt and left the calipers completely useless.

I can't say for definite that this was caused by using cheap alternatives rather than the Avid pads, or that it wasn't just from a build up of road grime over the winter and that my cleaning should have been more thorough... but it's not something that I'm going to risk on my new BB7s.

Nothing to do with the pads.
It's all to do with keeping the callipers nice and clean.
They have moving parts. If you use the bike in all weathers then expect trouble if you don't keep the brakes tip top.
I do many thousand of commuting miles a year in all weathers using BB7 and discobrake pads with no problems what so ever, due to my cleaning regime.