Disc brakes on road bikes.

estampida

that won't be a problem

that is the point of race teams, they work out the best way of doing something

then the product of 2 years time will have that fix included.... for you to buy

Drfabulous0

This is coming, the momentum is gathering in a big way. Extra weight is no problem, modern top end bikes are so far below the UCI weight limit that the pros are putting chains down the seatpost. If you struggle to fit the rear wheel in you must be drunk (and a bike with hydraulic brakes should really not be upside down). You are wrong about the shims, disc brakes are self adjusting.

Alain Quay

Of course with disc brakes we'll miss the early summer morning 'pop' 'pop' 'pop' of
continental sportive riders descending steep mountain roads and bursting their tyres
due to overheated rims. Not.

I would be interested to know how discs perform under such circumstances. Surely it must be an
improvement.

Lookyhere

..to be replaced by their screams as they slide off over the edge of some Col or other on early morning dew

how about the "exciting" prospect as those that have std brakes crash into the back of those that have disc's ?

and the current frames cant run disk brakes, so im guessing it could be a long time before it reaches amateur riders?

ben@31

For decades they cycled without disc brakes and it wasn't a problem.

Are disc brakes just another new fad to get even more money out of consumers? Aka "You must buy this as you don't have one". Just like changing the paintwork on the frame every year.

solosuperia

Although I concur with the statement "its just a fashion thing" about lots of things about modern cycling. I do believe disc brakes are an improvement.
I used to get that feeling tanking down a steep hill "I'm not going to stop" with disk brakes don't get that feeling wet or dry. Worth any weight or whatever penalties, find changing a wheel less fuss, just seems to slot straight in.
From some of the previous comments I kinda suspect the contributor has no real time experience of using disc brakes.

desweller

ben@31 wrote:

For decades they cycled without disc brakes and it wasn't a problem.

Saying that bike brakes have been fault free for decades is, frankly, bollox.

Don't you remember steel rims? They certainly were a problem. Especially in the wet.

Now instead we have wheels with rims so soft you have to rebuild them every couple of years. That sounds like a pretty stupid problem to me.

My next touring frame will have disc bosses on it.

Hoopdriver

DesWeller wrote:

ben@31 wrote:

For decades they cycled without disc brakes and it wasn't a problem.

Saying that bike brakes have been fault free for decades is, frankly, bollox.

Don't you remember steel rims? They certainly were a problem. Especially in the wet.

Now instead we have wheels with rims so soft you have to rebuild them every couple of years. That sounds like a pretty stupid problem to me.

My next touring frame will have disc bosses on it.

He didn't say they were fault free. He said bicycles had been using rim brakes for decades without there being a problem - the word problem being used in the broad sense in that this was not a big safety issue for the overwhelming majority of riders and that is true.

If you are buying rims so soft you need to rebuild your wheels that often perhaps you should shop around. I ride about 10,000 mikes a year using rim brakes and have no such problem at all.

That said, I am ntrigued by discs and wouldn't mind trying them on a tourer myself.

Daz555

The only problem for the peloton is the potential for disc burns in some of the big pile ups. Swapping wheels etc will be of little concern.

BelgianBeerGeek

They will probably be aimed more at the amateur roadie than the pro-peloton. You will get (potentially) better braking with wheel longevity. Yes if you take the wheel out it takes a few more seconds to fit a disc hub and a little more care.

The pro-peloton may go this way eventually. But does SurBrad care if he trashes several wheels, or bikes for that matter, every ride. Nope, because he ain't paying for them.

ddraver

...lord, this again?

Hoopdriver

ddraver wrote:

...lord, this again?

Nobody made you click the link...

goonz

Frankly, I can't wait.

ddraver

Hoopdriver wrote:

ddraver wrote:

...lord, this again?

Nobody made you click the link...

Hairy Muff....

sniff-the-breeze

I have one!! one of those colnago ones. quite simply it is superb!
There will be lots of nay sayers and luddites, but try it. it is worth it!

Sniff

goonz

sniff-the-breeze wrote:

I have one!! one of those colnago ones. quite simply it is superb!
There will be lots of nay sayers and luddites, but try it. it is worth it!

Sniff

Can I try yours?

sniff-the-breeze

goonz,

They have one at sigma!

I am sure it's closer for you. Besides, i am too busy polishing mine!
Sniff

thegreatdivide

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

They will probably be aimed more at the amateur roadie than the pro-peloton. You will get (potentially) better braking with wheel longevity. Yes if you take the wheel out it takes a few more seconds to fit a disc hub and a little more care.

The pro-peloton may go this way eventually. But does SurBrad care if he trashes several wheels, or bikes for that matter, every ride. Nope, because he ain't paying for them.

This.

AchillesLeftKnee

I would never go back to rims on a mountain bike, ever.

The road debate, however, annoys me a bit because there seems to be a bit of confusion between "good quality, properly bled, well maintained, disc brakes that are, for the time being at least, not rubbing" and straight up "disc brakes". IMHO, the two are very different animals, and whilst it's hard to knock the former on anything but price, the latter are not without their issues. Either way, I suspect the whole debate will get a lot more entertaining once manufacturers start turning out enough mid and lower price models for the road workshop forum to start picking up brake related posts of the sort found in the MTB workshop forum.

smoggysteve

One thing will drive the change above anything else in the cycling world - Safety.

Edit: Next thing to consider is, if you have better brakes, you can descend faster and more confidently knowing you can brake harder and later than your rivals. Especially in the wet. This could prove decisive in the mountainous stages of the grand tours.

morstar

Can't wait myself. Most of my riding is on hilly terrain and therefore riding downhill is a significant part of my riding.
I consider myself a competent descender but anything that can improve safety in what is a risky process can only be a bonus in my mind.

thegreatdivide

I've never once gone downhill and thought 'I wish I had disc brakes'.

ddraver

That's because you ve never gone downhill with disk brakes

thegreatdivide

ddraver wrote:

That's because you ve never gone downhill with disk brakes

I've got them on my MTB. They both slow me down.

smoggysteve

thegreatdivide wrote:

I've never once gone downhill and thought 'I wish I had disc brakes'.

If you are in a race and everyone has rim brakes, you are all on an even par. If a guy I was racing was able to descend faster than me and stop later fully knowing he is not going to cream in at the bottom where as I would have to start braking a lot earlier , the other guy has already gone. Cycling is a very competitive sport and people will use anything that gives them any sort of advantage. Look how many doping cases there are. It's all to do with trying to win, be faster, push harder.

Drfabulous0

cyd190468 wrote:

Drfabulous0 wrote:

This is coming, the momentum is gathering in a big way. Extra weight is no problem, modern top end bikes are so far below the UCI weight limit that the pros are putting chains down the seatpost. If you struggle to fit the rear wheel in you must be drunk (and a bike with hydraulic brakes should really not be upside down). You are wrong about the shims, disc brakes are self adjusting.

So why do xc mountain bike racers spend time shimming the discs on their spare wheels so they don't rub? Oh and mtb hydraulics are designed so they can be inverted. if bled correctly there shouldn't be any air in the system.

Well in a race you obviously need to ensure that the rotor is going to be in the correct place to fit in between the pads so you don't have to mess with the caliper, but a bit of rub is not a problem, it won't slow you under working load and the noise will quickly go away as the pads resettle so .1mm is just silly. The more obvious solution is to use identical hubs.

As for the upside down thing I am well aware of the theory but I have worked on hundreds of mountain bikes where being turned upside down has had unpredictable effects on the brakes, and seen a couple where is has led to outright failure. But what do I know? My 20 odd years experience in the bike trade is clearly insignificant in the face of your superior wisdom.

15 years from now all road bikes will have disc brakes, this isn't because of any real or perceived advantage but because the trade is going to push it like hell so we all have to get new bikes, like threadless headsets, 700c wheels, 8 speed, 9speed, 10 speed, 11 speed, compact chainsets etc etc.

ddraver

thegreatdivide wrote:

ddraver wrote:

That's because you ve never gone downhill with disk brakes

I've got them on my MTB. They both slow me down.

The two are not the same though are they - descending a road on an MTB feels totally different to a road bike...

bdu98252

I have a boardman CX with mechanical disk brakes and a SRAM Apex group set. It is the best bike I have every used for day to day riding. It cannot compete with my Trek Madone 5.9 however for 50 mile plus sunday riding however this bike does cost a lot more and it is expensive to have to replace wheels because you have worn the rims out. It is not easy to cycle around Cumbria without using your brakes.

Stevo_666

I reckon disc brakes will spead through road bike ranges gradually, it looks like quite a few people still need convincing. There are already a few decent offerings out there and the German direct sellers like Rose have started to get their teeth into disc braked roadies now, so things will start to pick up IMO.

It's not so much stopping power, it's the bad weather capability, fade resistance and ease of modulation - the only real argument against I can see is the weight. For most mere mortals the extra few hundered grammes shouldn't make any real difference. On racebikes I can see the point about the weight, but techological advances will bring that down and in the not too distant future we'll all be wondering why we used little blocks of rubber pressing against the wheel rim to stop a bike

pliptrot

Surely the limit here is the adhesion of the tyres? Campagnolo stopped making dual pivot rear calipers because a single pivot was enough - anything more would lock up the wheel. I suspect the additional power available from disc brakes cannot be used, which makes the whole thing a bit pointless. Modern (wire-on) rims from you-know-who are so hard as to be brittle, and premature failures are common. So, on that basis, discs may solve a problem that poor design and materials have caused.

imposter2.0

pliptrot wrote:

Surely the limit here is the adhesion of the tyres? Campagnolo stopped making dual pivot rear calipers because a single pivot was enough - anything more would lock up the wheel. I suspect the additional power available from disc brakes cannot be used, which makes the whole thing a bit pointless. Modern (wire-on) rims from you-know-who are so hard as to be brittle, and premature failures are common. So, on that basis, discs may solve a problem that poor design and materials have caused.

As above. Grip is currently the main limiter in braking performance on a bicycle. Given that calipers can already lock up a wheel - even in the wet - then disks are an unnecessary complication. Probably still happen though...