Lance, discs?

stickman

I saw a quote somewhere, something like 'Armstrong: we'll all be using disc brakes soon', does anyone know what was in that discussion/interview?

oscarbudgie

It was a tweet (twitter) - can't remember when though.

stickman

Ah! Also a tweet, thanks. I saw it on the front of a magazine in a shop, can't remember which magazine though.

calvjones

Can't see it myself. Even (especially) if there were any performance advantage, the UCI would ban it as they've done in Cyclocross.

stickman

The uci said about cyclocross they are not in favour of discs because they are not traditional - but they are only banned because no-one has applied for them to be allowed.

le_patron

http://twitter.com/lancearmstrong/status/3212413403

http://twitter.com/lancearmstrong/status/3212149280

stickman

Great! Thanks.

Unsheath

hmmm..

Pros - No blown tubs on decents
Cons - Extra weight.

Think I'll stay with the calipers.

inseine

You get a wheel from the neutral service and find you've got no brakes!

pedro118118

Was all something to do with the weight limit being no longer relevant. Therefore, instead of stuffing chains down seat tubes (a la Sastre and his R3-SL), you may as well concentrate effort on elements, which assist performance. Hey presto - disk brakes?!

calvjones

What, replace static mass with rotating mass?

calvjones

What, replace static mass with rotating mass?

chriskempton

Road discs would be small and so close to the hubs as to be barely "rotating weight". I've ridden a disced up montain bike down a Pyrenean hairpinned col, and can definitely vouch that it's an idea with potential

camerone

plus i suspect the rims could be lighter without having to have a braking surface

eh

plus i suspect the rims could be lighter without having to have a braking surface

But you'd need to beef up the forks and frame to cope. They are also less aero.

I don't understand the main reason, what advantages do they bring specifically for road racing?

(NB: I understand why they are good on mtbs and commuters)

andyp

The ability to brake later? It could be useful in crits and potentially on mountain descents.

calvjones

andyp wrote:

The ability to brake later? It could be useful in crits and potentially on mountain descents.

But any calliper brake will max out the friction available then lock the wheel, disc would do the same so you couldn't brake later.

I guess they might be more easily modulated, and certainly better in the wet, but who dives down descents like a madman in the wet on the road?

andyp

Sammy Sanchez?

stickman

I'm interested in the subject of the disc situation although i'm into hub brakes myself, got one on the front of my cyclo cross bike (an adapted road bike), fully enclosed parts and not affected by rain, don't need disc specific forks, only a compatible brake arm clip.

nicklouse

stickman
a project from back in 2006

http://www.canyon.com/_en/technology/project68.html

stickman

Thanks that's interesting reading.
I don't know why they can't have just put steel forks on it though as with modern bikes it's about not being too light, and makers having to add weight for uci races.

Homer J

I can guess they would wack the price up for a decent set of wheels

eh

I don't know why they can't have just put steel forks on it though as with modern bikes it's about not being too light,

Huh? decent steel forks are way heavy as you actually need a fair amount of metal in them to get them stiff enough to react well under breaking. You'd be better still building the forks out of CF but beefing them up a bit to cope with the different braking forces from a disc.

term1te

I like the idea of disk brakes, but there are pros and cons. Given that weight isn't an issue anymore... Are there any other bits of kit that could be added to imporve performance? Powermeter, ABS brakes, espresso machine?

calvjones

I'm not really sure what problem discs are supposed to solve. Would anyone honestly get down a hill or around a crit quicker or more safely with discs rather than calipers?

And of course, when everyone has them. there's no performance advantage anyway, but a fair bit of added complexity.

Mind you, they sell Di2 I suppose, so what do I know!?

teagar

Surely, once you reach the ability to lock up your brakes, which you can do with calipers, it no longer is an issue of the brakes, but of the grip the tyres provide?

dougzz

teagar wrote:

Surely, once you reach the ability to lock up your brakes, which you can do with calipers, it no longer is an issue of the brakes, but of the grip the tyres provide?

+1

I've never understood all the different brake types. Surely any well adjusted brakes can lock the wheels and then as teagar says it's about the mechanical grip from the tires.

bompington

Term1te wrote:

I like the idea of disk brakes, but there are pros and cons. Given that weight isn't an issue anymore... Are there any other bits of kit that could be added to imporve performance? Powermeter, ABS brakes, espresso machine?

Drip stand

Stuey01

The main benefit of discs is that they work well in the wet. Whether you think that is a benefit worth having is a another question.

Buckled_Rims

Term1te wrote:

I like the idea of disk brakes, but there are pros and cons. Given that weight isn't an issue anymore... Are there any other bits of kit that could be added to imporve performance? Powermeter, ABS brakes, espresso machine?

The possibility of connecting the Di2 system with the brakes could give anti-locking and even traction control

I don't think that aerodynamics will be a problem once new systems are developed. Innovation will soon develope rather then using MTB style system. hydraulic lines could be routed inside the front fork or frames.

The great factor IMO is that if you buy an expensive wheelset you need not worry about the rims wearing out if you live in a hilly area and constantly use the brakes on your bike.

term1te

bompington wrote:

Term1te wrote:

I like the idea of disk brakes, but there are pros and cons. Given that weight isn't an issue anymore... Are there any other bits of kit that could be added to imporve performance? Powermeter, ABS brakes, espresso machine?

Drip stand

I was going to suggest centrifuge, but didn't.