First road bike: mech disc brakes vs v-brakes?

[pdc97]

Hello all,

I'm keen to buy my first road bike to do some rides around London (evening and weekend rides for exercise and travel), I've narrowed it down to 2 within my price range:

The Carrera Zelos from Halfords https://www.halfords.com/bikes/road...-bike-2020---white---s-m-l-frames-348606.html

and the Triban starter from Decathlon https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/women-s-starter-road-bike/_/R-p-301919

There doesn't seem to be too much in it but I was just wondering whether anyone had any advice or thoughts on which might be better for a beginner?
I've read so many different opinions on mech disc brakes vs v-brakes(?) but I'm still not set either way... mech discs better in rain vs v-brakes lighter and easier to replace(?). As someone who has never maintained a bike before I don't want to go with mech disc brakes if that means having to have expensive replacements down the line that I can't do myself.

However, Halfords appeals as they offer lifetime bike health checks, warranty on the frame and Carrera seem to be a decent brand for a beginner?

Also the double braking system on the Triban looks appealing but the handlebars seem to be quite narrow at the top and I'm thinking when I get more into cycling they may become an annoyance/no room for lights etc?

Any advice at all is much appreciated!

Many thanks in advance

 

[chris-suffolk]

I think I would go for the Decathlon. Disc brakes run with very small tolerances, and have to be 'just so' to work well. Rim brakes can work with more of a gap between brake pads and rim. They are undoubtedly easier to maintain / service for a novice / inexperienced mechanic, and cheaper to do if you have to head to the shop. They are also cheaper, so for a given budget the bike without them should have a better spec / better design elsewhere.
Decathlon are normally quite highly rated by many on here, and usually give value for money.

Others, with other opinions will no doubt be along soon.

 

[vickster]

Im a big fan of cross lever brakes esp in traffic (London suburbs here) as I find the reach a bit much on brifters as they are pretty much designed for larger male hands (sram are much better for me than Shimano but harder to come by). I don’t have any issue with lights, but you can always take the brakes off and recable if you don’t want them, or use the stem. You may even find you need wider bars than supplied (I use 40cm, 5’10 broad of shoulder for a woman).

I’d choose decent rim brakes over super cheap cable discs as those will be

 

[Andy in Germany]

I think I would go for the Decathlon. Disc brakes run with very small tolerances, and have to be 'just so' to work well. Rim brakes can work with more of a gap between brake pads and rim. They are undoubtedly easier to maintain / service for a novice / inexperienced mechanic, and cheaper to do if you have to head to the shop. They are also cheaper, so for a given budget the bike without them should have a better spec / better design elsewhere.
Decathlon are normally quite highly rated by many on here, and usually give value for money.

Others, with other opinions will no doubt be along soon.

V-Brakes are simple, easy to fix on the road and work well: I use them all year round in all weathers.

That said, I've never used discs, so I can't give a definite comparison.

 

[chris-suffolk]

V-Brakes are simple, easy to fix on the road and work well: I use them all year round in all weathers.

That said, I've never used discs, so I can't give a definite comparison.

Put disc brakes on my MTB last summer, but they cost more than half of the price of the bikes above, and I considered that an 'entry' point for discs where I wasn't just going to wish I had never installed them.

When they work, they are excellent - especially in the wet (hence putting on a MTB), but if you have an issue they are much more complex than rim brakes to sort or 'bodge' to get home.

 

[figbat]

For clarity, the Triban bike linked in the OP has regular caliper rim brakes, not V-brakes. This may or may not be as important as the difference between (some kind of) rim braked and disc brakes but the responses here may be specific to V-brakes.

In my fleet I have rim calipers, mechanical discs and hydraulic discs. Each works well enough - the rim caliper brakes are on my road bike and are very effective stoppers. The mechanical discs are also effective but have required changing the pad material to get them how I like them (I now use sintered pads). That said, the rim-braked bike goes out on dry roads and the mechanical discs go out in all weathers on gravel routes.

 

[Big John]

I haven't got a preference one way or the other but neither have got v brakes (which the thread title suggests) unless I'm looking at the wrong bikes ☹️

 

[MichaelW2]

The Triban has caliper brakes. These work OK but limit tyres size and mudguard/tyre combinations. Road brake levers are generally all compatible with calipers and work less well with the longer cable pull required by v and disk brakes.
I ride cable disk brakes. They stop the same wet or dry. No need to dry off rims with one rev of braking before brakes become active.

Also check tyre and mudguard clearance and threaded eyelet fittings for rack and mudguard. Entry level roadbikes are not going to win races and see more action as commuter bikes ( with a shopping trip as required) and light touring bikes. Good options for rack and mudguard fitting turn a playbike into a workhorse.

 

[pdc97]

Thank you so much for all of these replies! This is all such useful information and I very much appreciate it!

I have been using the terms mechanical brakes/v-brakes as these are the only terms I've learnt and couldn't see what to call the decathlon brakes from the page - so apologies there! I don't think I can edit the title but thank you for the correction

 

[Chislenko]

Bear in mind on the decathlon one you are limiting yourself to only 8 gears as it only has a single front ring.

Obviously we don't know your level of fitness / strength, the local terrain etc but your easiest gear will be 40 / 34.


Unfortunately try as I might I can't seem to find the chainring and cassette size for the Halfords bike.

I think I would pay the extra £50 for the Carrera Virtuoso at Halfords with 2 X 8 Claris, although they don't specify gear sizes on that either.

 

[vickster]

Bear in mind on the decathlon one you are limiting yourself to only 8 gears as it only has a single front ring.

Obviously we don't know your level of fitness / strength, the local terrain etc but your easiest gear will be 40 / 34.


Unfortunately try as I might I can't seem to find the chainring and cassette size for the Halfords bike

Under specification

 

[Chislenko]

Under specification

Thanks, shows how often I buy a new bike!!

 

[slowmotion]

I know very little about disc brakes but I've commuted in heavy London traffic for a few years with rim brakes and they've never let me down. As others have said, they have the virtue of simplicity. I value that.

 

[pdc97]

Bear in mind on the decathlon one you are limiting yourself to only 8 gears as it only has a single front ring.

Obviously we don't know your level of fitness / strength, the local terrain etc but your easiest gear will be 40 / 34.


Unfortunately try as I might I can't seem to find the chainring and cassette size for the Halfords bike.

I think I would pay the extra £50 for the Carrera Virtuoso at Halfords with 2 X 8 Claris, although they don't specify gear sizes on that either.

Hi, thanks so much for your response!

That’s a very interesting point. Yeah I did also shortlist the Virtuoso but when I read the specification it’s all just numbers to me so I couldn’t tell what I was actually getting for the extra £50.

I’d say my fitness is decent and I’ll be riding around London... how easy/difficult is 40 / 34? What do those numbers refer to?

Do you think the extra gears on the Virtuoso (with mech disc brakes I believe) outweigh the other positives of the rim brakes/decathlon bike?

thank you in advance

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

I know that you asked about brakes, but the gear choices offered by the two bikes are very different.

As mentioned we have no information on your fitness, but we also have no information on your ambitions or intended use.

I would have the opposite concern to Chislenko and I would be worried that you would be under geared.

I have been playing with a 1x 8speed recently and I think that they aren't a great idea given that you can buy a 2x drive train so easily.

Once you get to a 10 speed cassette or greater then the argument changes significantly as the extra 2 sprockets fill in the holes and give you pretty much the same as 2x8.

As most 1x are 10 speed plus and a lot more expensive, I wonder if Decathlon are inspired and have had a great idea, or have jumped onto the 1x bandwagon at too low a price point.

I have colour coded the gears below,
red - too high for almost everywhere
orange - steep downhill
yellow - downhill
green - flat
blue - uphill
grey - steep uphill

Clearly the categories are subjective and the differences don't look that much and only you can tell if they matter to you.

40-Decathlon, 50/34 Carrera, 52/42/38 for reference, what I have used recently.

Bye

Ian