center lock or bolt on ?

bamba

brake disc's , Whats the prefered fixing method for a brake disc on a new wheel ? Which is deemed better center lock or bolt on.

Anonymous

Personal preference. I'm a big fan of centrelock, after having problems undoing people's rotor bolts due to overly strong loctice, or corrosion, or over-tightening.
Centrelock is ace, give you a huge area to use a proper tool, so the chances of stripping tool or ficing are massively reduced.

bamba

i see. So there no effect on brakin performance then

nicklouse

bamba wrote:

i see. So there no effect on brakin performance then

how could there be? it is just a fitting.

tom_howard

If you speak to a Shimano employee, then centrelock. Everyone else prefers 6 bolt, as thats what every other manufacturer uses/makes. I have both, and there is no noticeable difference in performance.

Northwind

No difference in performance except, possibly, weight. I miss the convenience of it... I'm not a monkey so I don't snap or crossthread or overtorque rotor bolts but I do a fair amount of wheel and rotor swapping and it's just a bit dull isn't it. Centrelock's so fast.

leaflite

I have 6 bolt on my hardtail, but have centrelock on the apollo. I found that the centrelock is quicker to install but as it reduces your choice of hubs and rotors, and that you have to buy a special tool etc, I think its more of a marketing ploy than the next big improvement.

Anonymous

Special tool? It's a bloody cassette tool, you should have one of them anyway.

rhialto

I prefer centrelock as well. Like yeehaa says, it takes a cassette lockring tool to remove and install the rotors, which makes it quicker and easier, for me at least.

It doesn't really limit your choice of rotors. My bike came with 6 hole Formula rotors with centrelock adaptors (DT Swiss makes adaptors as well) so I can swap my rotor for any other, centrelock or 6 bolt.

The Northern Monkey

Same as most here... much prefer centre lock, but it really reduces the number of off the shelf wheelsets/hubs that you can use which is a bit crap.

desmojen

I like centrelock, I like the minimalist look of it, and I like that it takes seconds to change a rotor. Am I right in thinking though, that if you want to run a 20mm front axle, you have to use a Saint hub and rotor?

Jen.

The Northern Monkey

desmojen wrote:

I like centrelock, I like the minimalist look of it, and I like that it takes seconds to change a rotor. Am I right in thinking though, that if you want to run a 20mm front axle, you have to use a Saint hub and rotor?

Jen.

Nope. XT ad SLX 20mm front hubs iirc!

cooldad

Some use a cassette tool, mine (Fulcrum) use a BB tool. No big deal as you need both anyway.

Northwind

Yep. And 6-bolt usually needs a special tool anyway, most non-riders don't have a T25 torq.

TBH it's just standards wars isn't it, what's best often isn't what wins.

Si1988

The Northern Monkey wrote:

desmojen wrote:

I like centrelock, I like the minimalist look of it, and I like that it takes seconds to change a rotor. Am I right in thinking though, that if you want to run a 20mm front axle, you have to use a Saint hub and rotor?

Jen.

Nope. XT ad SLX 20mm front hubs iirc!

SLX certainly do, imagine XT would aswell. My 20mm SLX Centrelock locking ring uses a shimano HT2/truvativ GXP tool to tighten as opposed to a cassette tool.

Far easier than 6 bolts, but I've found with mine there is a certain amount of play between the rotor and hub, very minimal at the contact point but translated to 13" on the rim it equates to a CM or two in fore/aft movement. Apparently a noted problem, and they will replace "defective" items if issue is raised, but all that said it makes little to no effect on the trail so didnt bother.

cooldad

Mine have a tiny bit of play as well but don't notice it at all riding and doesn't seem to get worse or cause issues so I just ignore it.
Wouldn't say a cm or two though, just a few mm maybe.

hobbitsharley

Have tools for both as well as torx25 ( hd rider ), as nice as centre lock is it nicer to use and is very race car for speed and unless your using an adaptor choice of rotor is limited.
As I run hopes there 6 bolt only no centerlock which is fine as I now have hope hubs

The Northern Monkey

I doubt very much that there is a cm movement of the rotor... If there was, then there is something wrong with your hub/disk.

I've had a few sets of xt/saint hub and rotor CL combos and they've all been solid once torqued correctly.

stubs

Drilled quite a few bolt heads off in my time but the only time I have had to undo a centre lock thought I was going to bust a blood vessel it was so tight straight from the factory. Ended up busting a couple of the splines and the guy had to buy a new lockring. Looks really neat though.

Anonymous

hobbitsharley wrote:

Have tools for both as well as torx25 ( hd rider ), as nice as centre lock is it nicer to use and is very race car for speed and unless your using an adaptor choice of rotor is limited.
As I run hopes there 6 bolt only no centerlock which is fine as I now have hope hubs

What the hell does any of that mean? The first part makes no sense at all, and I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but you can run shimano centrelock rotors with any manufacturer's brakes. In fact the only ones you couldn't are the Hope V2 or something, with the vented rotors.

Why do you need a "choice" of rotor? What's inherently wrong with Shimano in the first place?

Si1988

The Northern Monkey wrote:

I doubt very much that there is a cm movement of the rotor... If there was, then there is something wrong with your hub/disk.

There is a fraction of a mm at the hub, but stationary, with the brake applied, if i rock my bike back and forth the wheel will rotate a degree or two, which at the wheel edge translates to about a centimeter. As I dont do this much on thr trail it's not much cause for concern to say the least.

Anonymous

Are you sure the movement isn't in the brake pads, or some flex somewhere? All my brakes appear to have a tiny movement at the wheel edge, with or without centrelock rotors.

stubs

Are you sure its not play in the pads. My Shimano XT calipers you can put the brake on and rock the wheel back and forward a good bit. Its just the small bit of play magnified.

Si1988

I thought that wouldve been the case at first, but if I hold the wheel steady I can twist the disc ever so slightly. nothing major atall, there could also be small amounts of play in the pads, this might be why it seems to equate to quite alot of rotation. but that's only really when it's been "cocked back" as it were, on the trail the pads and disc are, one presumes, under forces from a constant direction so it's unnoticable.

I commented about it on here when I first noticed it and apparently it can happen, send it back and they'd replace it, but i just wanted to get on and ride.

matt@theforce

I use 6 bolt on my Cube and Centrelock on my Kona.. To be honest my only preference comes down to changing rotors which I don't do very often, have upgraded the front rotor on both bikes to bigger ones and the centrelock was certainly the quickest/easiest to use.

stevethompson76

Hi, I prefer centerlocks but I have a massive issue with them.

I have Avid hydraulic discs and bought some MT15 wheels with centerlocks. Problem is that the rotor now scraps the brake mount and calliper not allowing the wheel to rotate - in a nutshell shell, it seems as though the space between the rotor and calliper has reduced.

Has anyone heard of this issue, and do you know where I can get a thinner calliper mount or how to resolve this problem...I'm at whits end!!!

Cheers
Steve

Greer_

Is the rotor fitted properly? Are you're brakes IS or Post mount? Do you mean there isn't enough space between the pads for the rotor, or it just isn't aligned properly?

tom_howard

Holy thread resurrection Batman!