Brakes - V versus mechanical disc

duckson

What are the pros and cons over one over the other?
I'm led to believe that V brakes are better than most mechanical cable operated disc brakes or is this incorrect?

dave_hill

It's debatable.

A good set of v-brakes has enough power and control to allow you to ride reasonably confidently. Where they score over a set of mechanical discs is that they weigh a lot less and don't require as much maintenance.

However, rim brakes of any sort are less effective when they get wet/dirty, and if you damage the rim at all, then they just won't work properly. Plus they wear the rims - which means eventually you'll have to replace that too.

Disc brakes of any sort are less prone to poor performance because of the wet and they offer far more braking power than rim brakes (with mechanical discs you need to make sure that they are well maintained and set up properly). Good cables (preferably compressionless) are essential to correct working.

Of course, hydraulic disc brakes knock the lot into the weeds.

quagmire man

Hi DUCKSON just started riding again after 25 years first bike was a cheep bike vee brakes upgraded the brake blocks and they where ok dry or wet.Just bought a mongoose tyax with mech disc brakes wet dry on off road great, keep em clean and serviced and you'll be like me looking at Hydraulic brakes next

duckson

Lowering my sights on the budget from mid £300's to £300 or less preferably and so V brake vs mech disc is a question i needed answering!

Also just looking at the Tyax Elite:-
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Mongo ... 2197/#size

Do you think medium would be fine for me being 5ft 9" and a trouser inside leg of 30"?
I would normally be buying an 18" bike so hope medium is comprable?

quagmire man

duckson wrote:

Lowering my sights on the budget from mid £300's to £300 or less preferably and so V brake vs mech disc is a question i needed answering!

Also just looking at the Tyax Elite:-
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Mongo ... 2197/#size

Do you think medium would be fine for me being 5ft 9" and a trouser inside leg of 30"?
I would normally be buying an 18" bike so hope medium is comprable?

Yep size should be fine i'm 6ft 2'' and 33'' leg and have the tyax comp large frame so a medium should suit you fine also look at the tyax comp same spec and a few quid cheeper i rode both and the dealer even said go for the comp.

supersonic

Both systems can have good and bad examples: careful set up is key.

One advantage of mechanical discs is that it leads to an easier upgrade path to hydraulics (ie has disc wheels)

nicklouse

duckson
So, if i get this right, the question is which bike? one with mech disks or V brakes?

I would say make sure that it is disc ready, IE frame and fork have disc mountings and the wheels are disc ready.

then look at the rest of the spec. and get the best.

boyse7en

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with V-brakes. We used to do some pretty extreme riding with them, back in the days before discs were available (but then again, we also did fast downhills on rigid bikes!) They are comparatively lightweight, but they do not have the ultimate stopping power of discs.

Depends what sort of riding you are likely to be doing - do you actually need the extra stopping power, or would you be better off saving weight and a few quid and using Vs?

ride_whenever

Vees are lighter, nuff said...

Surf-Matt

I'd avoid mechanical disks - seem to have the bad points of cable and disk brakes combined!

From disks you have:

Heavy
Fiddly
Hard to set up

And from cable/V brakes you have:

Cable stretches.
Cables get muddy.

I'd have Vs over mechanical disks any day.
But I'd have hyrdraulic disks over Vs any day too!

toasty

Not a fan of mech discs myself, seems like all the downsides of V's and hydraulic discs combined into one bulky package.

Prone to cable stretch and weaker like V's, yet with the extra weight and easily contaminated rotors of discs.

They'd be handy as a stepping stone as mentioned, if I was buying to keep them though I'd much rather get a good set of Vs.

Edit: Damn, I said exactly the same as Surf Matt, oops sorry. Serves me right for not reading everything.

Anonymous

for the price of a decent set of mech disc, you can get some decent budget hydraulic numbers, esp if you can scour the for sale ads and the bay.

discs are much better than v's in all but the weight department. even xc racers are using discs pretty much exclusively now as they find the extra stopping power from discs a bigger advantage than the disadvantage of extra weight.

bluechair84

I didn't ever have too much problem with V Brakes suffering from not enough power. They do suffer in the wet but coping with that will make you a better rider ;-)
Mech discs are just too prone and I don't think that they are a worthwhile upgrade.
Find out if the bike with Vbrakes has the disc ready wheels and with the money you have saved put toward a budget set of hydraulic discs. The shop might give you a discount for buying the upgrade with them at the same time. Don't go for the big expensive names like Avid, no need. Budget hydraulics from Quad and Tektro will give you the same power as your Vs or more, with non of the draw backs of either system.
If it doesn't come with disc ready wheels, decide if you can afford to upgrade your mech disc bike to hydros. If not, go for the one with Vs.

duckson

Thanks for all the input.

I managed to pick a cheap new bike up for sub £250 and it has hydraulic brakes - Quad QHD-SP

Anonymous

nicely done, lets see some pics soon.

niblue

I'd avoid cheap mechanical disk brakes however the Avid mechanicals are excellent - as good as (if not better than) some hydro's.

Properly set-up V-brakes are great in the dry however in wet conditions they can be a problem. I've worn out a set of pads in less than a lap of Glentress in winter conditions. I've also had issue with rims icing up when riding in snow and then it was very difficult to keep the V-brakes working - in the same conditions disks were fine.

I still use V's on my commuter bikes however all my mountain bikes have switched to disk now, one of them with Avid mechanicals but the others with hydros.

xtreem

A little late by me but....
I agree with niblue, about Avid mech brakes, if you are light person, my BB5 stop me at any time.
I've rode my friend's bike with Avid V's, and compared to mine the mech are better
compared to stopping power. Now, I think I'll never buy a hydro brakes because BB5 are
exelent and if i need a little bit more stoping power I'll buy 203mm front rotor or go for the BB7.

Btw, post pictures of your bike, so we can see it.