Newbie: Brakes - Disc or V ?

[Iggy1969]

Hello,

Still fairly new to biking & I'm thinking of changing from a mountain bike to hybrid/urban. I've been scouring loads of websites selling bikes, & now have a rough idea of what I want. But I cannot find any info/advice on the pro's/cons, advantages/disadvantages and differences between disc brakes and v brakes. Can anyone enlighten me.

Cheers.

 

[dodgy]

V Brakes

Pros:

• Mechanical simplicity
• Easy to service and maintain
• Parts are readily available no matter how exotic your location
• Very good stopping power in the dry (a match for disks in most cases)

Cons:

• They will eventually wear your rim away
• Comparatively Ineffective in the wet and mud
• Can be noisy as they require a little care in setting up (toeing in)
• Can be a problem if you buckle a wheel or damage the rim in some way

Disks:

Pros:

• Effective in wet and dry (braking surface away from the mud)
• Fairly simple if cable (not hydraulic)
• Simple to set up once installed
• No problems with cable drag if you go for hydraulic
• Sealed system means mostly winterised (again - for hydraulic)

Cons:

• Quality systems are pricey (hydraulic)
• Require very specific pads (carry spares if away from home for long periods)
• Can wear pads very quickly (but never a problem for me in the past)
• Problematic to maintain if you have hydraulic (but again, my hydraulic system is 3 years old and has so far required no servicing).
• Pad drag against the disk can be an issue on some systems

That's all I can think of But in summary, cheap V brakes are better than very cheap disks.

Dave.

 

[Perry]

If you are just on the road either one will be fine. If you are going off road then start looking into brakes in more detail.

Dodgy Dave was spot on.

 

[Willow]

I find the wheel easier to remove with disc brakes which is useful for slinging it in the boot of the car

 

[Andy in Sig]

Disks. They stop you quicker, the pads are easier to change, last longer and they don't require that you are forever fiddling about making sure they are correctly adjusted.

 

[postman]

Yes go for v .As a newbie easier to look after.Then as you progress as we all do go for a better bike.

 

[postman]

Forgot to say.I will take Punkypossum's advice.My next bike will be a Trek.Have fallen for a 1.7 at Chevin Cycles Otley.Just waiting for some spare money.

 

[Iggy1969]

Thanks for all the replies. Especially dodgy, plenty of info & to the point. The only thing that's left is how much do I want to pay/can afford. To be honest I'm leaning towards discs. I've noticed that the wheel rims on my current bike are already starting to wear, or it could just be the coating. And I don't fancy having to replace the wheels as well.
Still haven't got a clue about which makes of hybrids to look at though. Are they all much of a muchness. Saw a nice GT Transeo 3.0, & a nice Claud Butler Urban 400 on the internet. Any suggestions.

 

[punkypossum]

Forgot to say.I will take Punkypossum's advice.My next bike will be a Trek.Have fallen for a 1.7 at Chevin Cycles Otley.Just waiting for some spare money.

Mine will be either a trek, giant or ribble (very much leaning towards the ribble at the mo)...but I'm waiting for a lot of spare money..

To the OP, disks add a bit of weight as well, which you might want to consider.

 

[Andy in Sig]

I'm really surprised that some people have suggested that disc brakes are more demanding. I find the opposite to be the case in that they are "fix and forget". All you have to do is change the pads and that is achieved with much less fuss than changing brake blocks. Add to tnat the benefit of non-desctruction of rims and they are a clear winner.

At first I was concerned that being hydraulic, if anything went wrong in a remote place they would be unfixable and for that reason they could be a bad idea if you intend to cross the Gobi desert but otherwise should they go wrong (and mine never have, touch wood) it just means a trip to the LBS.

 

[Steve Austin]

Cable disc brakes (avid bb7's) are simplicity themselves. better braking than V's, need no adjusting ever, and don't wear rims.

given a choice, i would go for Cable discs

 

[Andy in Sig]

At the risk of stating the obvious, it must be all down to alignment. Perhaps is the eyelets which take the disc brakes are just a bit out, then you'll never get the right kind of contact. Is that fair comment?

I think cable disc brakes are a very good idea for somebody who wants the reassurance of no possible problems with hydraulics e.g. for a genuine transcontinental expedition or similar.