Disk brakes verses rims

[SpokeyDokey]

God above, this debate goes on and on and on...

Our MTB brethren sorted this argument out decades ago.

Discs simply work whatever the weather and however steep the road is (subject to the limit of maximum tyre adhesion to the road surface) - it's that simple for me.

By coincidence my bum was parked on a pub bench a couple of weeks back in Staveley (Lake District) and of 31 bikes that went by only 4 had rim brakes. As much manufacturer driven as demand driven but it is a sign of the times.

 

[T4tomo]

subject to the limit of maximum tyre adhesion to the road surface)

which is why its a less clear cut argument on dry roads and a 25mm /28mm tyre where there is a bit of rubber the size of 10p piece in contact with the tarmac. That is your limiting factor, not how quickly you can stop a wheel turning from either gripping the rim or a disc attached to the hub.

it addition with MTB's you are comparing disc to v brakes, not dual pivot calipers as an alternative.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

which is why its a less clear cut argument on dry roads and a 25mm /28mm tyre where there is a bit of rubber the size of 10p piece in contact with the tarmac. That is your limiting factor, not how quickly you can stop a wheel turning from either gripping the rim or a disc attached to the hub.

it addition with MTB's you are comparing disc to v brakes, not dual pivot calipers as an alternative.

I know the limiting factor is the tyre/road behaviour but the fact is that whatever the weather and however steep the hill is the wheel stops rotating faster with disc than rim brakes.

 

[T4tomo]

I know the limiting factor is the tyre/road behaviour but the fact is that whatever the weather and however steep the hill is the wheel stops rotating faster with disc than rim brakes.

agree, but that doesn't stop a road bike any quicker on a dry road.

so why have the extra expense, set up issues, trickier pad replacement, noise/ squealing, weight and fugliness on your best road bike

 

[fossyant]

so why have the fugliness on your best road bike

There ! Fixed it.

The rest, nah.

 

[fossyant]

PS, this is an electric bike thread, so fugly brakes don't matter on fugly bikes.

 

[Kajjal]

Seems some people have problems with setting up disc brakes. Unless contaminated by oil or you need to change the pads they should be fit and forget for hydraulic disc brakes road or mountain bike.

Potential set up issues are too much fluid in the system causing very tight pad clearance, something stuck behind the pad again causing very tight pad clearance, wheel not in straight either on setup or after removing or replacing and the normal something is lose like the calliper or disc rotor. Also a chain with too much oil on can contaminate the pads.

 

[Jenkins]

Huge plus for commuting ! I wore rims out in 18 months.

Two years (approx 8,000 miles) of all weather commuting and this is the result - despite using Koolstop & Swissstop brake pads. Not had any problems with the other rim braked bikes as they are only dry weather use.

As this is in the Electric Bikes sub-forum, I think that disc brakes make sense for better stopping where the batteries and motors make for (generally) heavier bikes.

 

[jowwy]

agree, but that doesn't stop a road bike any quicker on a dry road.

so why have the extra expense, set up issues, trickier pad replacement, noise/ squealing, weight and fugliness on your best road bike

Because some roadies dont have the same opinion or issues as you……..

 

[Drago]

Discs simply work whatever the weather...

Until, as has happened to me, they suddenly don't work.

Then, after much prodding and head scratching, you discover that its an internal master cylinder failure and its not possible to strip the unit down that far. At this point you will most assuredly wish that you had a lever pulling a cable which then actuated a caliper which could be diagnosed and repaired in minutes and for pennies.

I know I did!

About half my bikes are hydro discs and they are wonderful, but im not a sycophantic worshiper of them. They do have shortcomings, and while these don't appear very often I can guarantee you a seriously foul outbreak of tourettes when they do.

 

[mickle]

I'm still living in the 9 speed 90's as far as bike componentry is concerned. We don't have disc brakes yet.

 

[Chief Broom]

Until, as has happened to me, they suddenly don't work.

Then, after much prodding and head scratching, you discover that its an internal master cylinder failure and its not possible to strip the unit down that far. At this point you will most assuredly wish that you had a lever pulling a cable which then actuated a caliper which could be diagnosed and repaired in minutes and for pennies.

I know I did!

About half my bikes are hydro discs and they are wonderful, but im not a sycophantic worshiper of them. They do have shortcomings, and while these don't appear very often I can guarantee you a seriously foul outbreak of tourettes when they do.

and thats why i dont want disc's! I like to like a vehicle whether a car/motorcycle or bike and if i had a disk shod bike i would think those ****ers are going to go wrong and cost a fortune at some point as well as the hassle of getting parts. Like modern cars i dont have an affection for them because of all the high tech electrical gubbins which will fail eventually. For me its not about stopping distance's [you might disagree if you live in the city and heading for an errant driver] but living with it on a daily basis. So if anyone is aghast at my new bike not having disks i shall respond with "i know aint it great"!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I'm still living in the 9 speed 90's as far as bike componentry is concerned. We don't have disc brakes yet.

9 speed and discs aren’t mutually exclusive 😉

 

[Drago]

My olde XTC950 of the early 00's is 9 speed XTR and Hope M4 hydo (hateful things, but thats another story) and came that way from the factory.

Tellingly though, it's from that period of time where it still had the bosses and cable stops for V brakes as well.

 

[Alex321]

9 speed and discs aren’t mutually exclusive 😉

That was my first thought - my last hybrid was a 9 speed with discs.

But not from the 90's