Idly thinking last night

SimonAH

The difficulty with hydraulic brakes on drop bars is incorporating a master cylinder into a brifter, or going for a clumsy cable-to-master-cylinder bodge.

.....with Di2 or equivalent this becomes a non-issue......

Wouldn't that be nice!

8)

Ben6899

It'd be nice (I guess), but also unnecessary additional weight. Well-tuned dual pivots do a good enough job as far as I am concerned.

mudcow007

would you need the power of hydraulics on a road bike?

admittingly the brakes on my sectuer get quite frightening in the wet.

anyone remember the Mavic rims that were etched along the rim to give my abrasion for the brake shoes to grip?

bails87

mudcow007 wrote:

would you need the power of hydraulics on a road bike?

It's more about the consistency I think.

A 140mm rotor would be enough, no wearing out rims, no loss of brakes in the wet.

mudcow007

bails87 wrote:

mudcow007 wrote:

would you need the power of hydraulics on a road bike?

It's more about the consistency I think.

A 140mm rotor would be enough, no wearing out rims, no loss of brakes in the wet.

but what about hydro cantis - like Magura's?

ive got a HS33 on my hardtail (no disk mounts) swweeet brake

veronese68

There was an article on the main site about discs on everything. It basically said why wouldn't you. Weight will come down as they make road specific discs, consistency is improved, rims will be lighter as they won't need a braking surface so less rotational mass. Improved braking in the wet is the biggest benefit for me.

SimonAH

Veronese68 wrote:

There was an article on the main site about discs on everything. It basically said why wouldn't you. Weight will come down as they make road specific discs, consistency is improved, rims will be lighter as they won't need a braking surface so less rotational mass. Improved braking in the wet is the biggest benefit for me.

This, faster wheels, consistent braking, little or no degredation in braking in the wet, longer life from your rims (essentially making wheels cheaper too!). All around a win win win win.

rick_chasey

Heavier.

Uglier.

Possibly less aero?

bails87

mudcow007 wrote:

bails87 wrote:

mudcow007 wrote:

would you need the power of hydraulics on a road bike?

It's more about the consistency I think.

A 140mm rotor would be enough, no wearing out rims, no loss of brakes in the wet.

but what about hydro cantis - like Magura's?

ive got a HS33 on my hardtail (no disk mounts) swweeet brake

They still wear rims though. Rims are harder and more expensive to replace than a rotor.

mudcow007

bails87 wrote:

mudcow007 wrote:

bails87 wrote:

mudcow007 wrote:

would you need the power of hydraulics on a road bike?

It's more about the consistency I think.

A 140mm rotor would be enough, no wearing out rims, no loss of brakes in the wet.

but what about hydro cantis - like Magura's?

ive got a HS33 on my hardtail (no disk mounts) swweeet brake

They still wear rims though. Rims are harder and more expensive to replace than a rotor.

touche'

rolf_f

Surely for a road bike cable discs are fine if you must.

I'd add complexity and hassle as another minus for discs. Discs are fine when they work but absolutely vile when they don't.

I think discs do have some advantages for commuter bikes (and MTBs but the advantages are much more obvious there in any case) but for weekend posh I can't think of much in favour of them.

UndercoverElephant

SimonAH wrote:

faster wheels

Strange you should mention that as I've never come across a disc wheel that didn't rub a bit. I like the free rotation of my wheels.

chilling

Isn't that due to poorly adjusted brakes or slightly bent discs. Mine don't rub at all.

SimonAH

Ah, good point (hadn't considered that). Yes, discs will always rub to a miniscule level.

But ugly? I rather like. Heavier? A tiny bit, but a large proportion of that weight is near to the hub rather than out at the rim, so far better in terms of rotational mass.

Admittedly not for everyone, and not for all applications (the idea of grafting a hydraulic front end onto my fixeh is repellent), but for a workhorse all-weather bike? I can only see upsides.

jds_1981

My mtb disc brakes don't rub when properly set up...
+ they nominally recentre themselves (juicy 3s) if they aren't properly set up.

itboffin

I kinda wish both my ribble commuter and dolan cx had discs mostly for the wet and mud stopping power, a few times last year i had to feathered the brakes like a demon descending in rain or sliding around in the mud, neither of which have ever been a problem on the MTB with hydro discs.

veronese68

I'd have thought good cable discs would be better for a road bike. I seem to recall early Honda Fireplaces had a cable operated clutch as it was lighter than hydraulic actuation.

Jay dubbleU

Bit of a myth that discs always rub - the hydraulic Avids on the Duster don't rub - self adjusting see ? TBH when I had the CdF I found the discs excellent both on and off road - the only reason I sold it was because the frame was too small and I couldn't get comfortable. There may be something in the weight argument at the moment but I'm sure someone will come up with a lightweight alloy disc

itboffin

anyone know if it's possible to retro fit disc brakes to a frame?

davis

itboffin wrote:

anyone know if it's possible to retro fit disc brakes to a frame?

Yep, if you're properly handy with a welder. I think I'd only consider it on a steel frame, but even then I'd be a bit nervy.

Jay dubbleU

Biggest problem on road bikes might be flex on the front fork

jds_1981

Jay dubbleU wrote:

Biggest problem on road bikes might be flex on the front fork

I think that it would just require different design - the same amount of force is going to go through the fork for the same amount of deceleration where-ever the brakes are. Just the forces will be in different places.

mudcow007

Jay dubbleU wrote:

Biggest problem on road bikes might be flex on the front fork

i dont think i have ever seen carbon forks with disk mounts?

i know this years Tricross with disks have alloy forks, i dunno if that is a cost saving thing though?

jds_1981

quick google & http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/produc ... ?&id=17086

mudcow007

jds_1981 wrote:

quick google & http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/produc ... ?&id=17086

website wrote:

- Lightweight alloy fork is ultra-durable and disc-ready, while the lowrider rack and mudguard mounts allow you to keep the water off and the load well-balanced

jds_1981

mudcow007 wrote:

jds_1981 wrote:

quick google & http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/produc ... ?&id=17086

website wrote:

- Lightweight alloy fork is ultra-durable and disc-ready, while the lowrider rack and mudguard mounts allow you to keep the water off and the load well-balanced

bah, the big overview description said carbon forks.

How about http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/18859/product ... -fork.aspx
?

davis

You can have disc mounts with any material. Cotic do a carbon fork with disc mounts for their X 'cross bike.

mudcow007

jds_1981 wrote:

mudcow007 wrote:

jds_1981 wrote:

quick google & http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/produc ... ?&id=17086

website wrote:

- Lightweight alloy fork is ultra-durable and disc-ready, while the lowrider rack and mudguard mounts allow you to keep the water off and the load well-balanced

bah, the big overview description said carbon forks.

How about http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/18859/product ... -fork.aspx
?

dammit! ok you won this round

i thought they were usually alloy because of the forces involved with discs....

good spot

bails87

Boardman CX has discs on a carbon fork.

The Planet X dirty disco is fully carbon, don't know if there are alloy inserts at the brake mounts though.

Plenty of rigid MTB forks are carbon, lots of carbon MTB frames have fully carbon rear brake mounts too.