disc brakes

milanino-branca

Hi all
I am building a Hybrid for myself…….my question is Hydraulic vs Mechanical disc brakes? What are the +/-
I will be using the bike for mainly commuting / pleasure rides with cafe and cake breaks
Cheers

Chunkers1980

Hydro.

No Sweat

Ultimately hydraulic disc brakes can give the most power and modulation (control and 'feel'), however, If you want brakes mostly for use on the road, either sort would give ample power - and newer cable models are giving improved modulation.
It will partly come down to how happy you feel about building-up and servicing hydraulic vs. cable systems. The skills / techniques required for cable systems are really not very different from those needed for cable-pulled rim brakes, whereas the hydraulic systems obviously involve fluids and will normally (depending on frame fittings) require disassembly and then re-assembling and bleeding during installation and subsequent servicing. It is worth noting that cable systems will need more TLC as there are more exposed moving parts, although this difference is less pronounced for mostly road use.

The Rookie

Depends on budget, as useable mechanicals can be had quite cheap, I have some old super lightweight mechanical discs on my commuter, keep them adjusted and they are fine, but will never feel as good as hydraulic but feel and progression are less critical on the road than on an MTB. Most cable are heavier than most hydraulic as well.

gt-arrowhead

I have used both, and from my experience i can say this:

Hydraulic feel fantastic, way way better than the mechanicals
You have to squeeze harder to get a really powerful bite from the mechanicals
Hydraulics are more likely to be a pain in the arse when / if they go wrong
Mechanicals are easier to maintain
Hydraulics are alot more expensive.

I think if you are going for disc brakes, mechanical would be the way to go for a road bike. The extra advantages arent going to be so important for the road.

I personally would go for V brakes on a road bike though. V brakes are better than the mechanical disc brakes i have used.

dusk

You can get decent Hydraulic discs for so cheap now that I can't see any real benefit to mechanical

Kowalski675

dusk wrote:

You can get decent Hydraulic discs for so cheap now that I can't see any real benefit to mechanical

+1 Mecahnicals are toss. Sod all power, sod all feel, and the constant adjustment is a pain in the ass.

supersonic

Some mechanics out power budget hydros. Depends on the models and levers.

Kowalski675

The Tektro Ios on my Kraken are pants. Need two fingers, have wooden feel and needed adjusting after every ride. You'd have to design a very poor hydraulic brake (or fit pads made of mahogany or bakelite) to have it oupterformed by a mechanical one.

supersonic

Or maybe it's just that mechanical, they are not all the same.

Kowalski675

supersonic wrote:

Or maybe it's just that mechanical, they are not all the same.

No, but they are an inherently inferior design to hydraulic brakes. If any mechanical disc brake outperforms a hydraulic one then the designer of the hydraulic (and/or the company accountants) needs taking outside and shooting. I don't recall seeing many cars using cable operated brakes recently (and no, I don't mean the handbrake, before some smartass says that, lol)...

supersonic

Bikes don't weigh 1000kg. Fact is a good design can and does work well and can have advantages depending on the user and usage. Some have good power, adjustability and easy maintenance.

Kowalski675

supersonic wrote:

Bikes don't weigh 1000kg.

That's completely irrelevant to the point that cable brakes are an inherently inferior design.

Chunkers1980

They are not inferior in design in the fact that they work with some rim brake canti/v/u components which are on bike the world over.

The Rookie

Kowalski675 wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Bikes don't weigh 1000kg.

That's completely irrelevant to the point that cable brakes are an inherently inferior design.

Bake force is related to lever force and mechanical advantage, some cable discs are just as good as cheap (or rather cheaply built) Hydros' the only difference is that mechanical need frequant adjustment to keep the mechanical advantage as the wear adversley effects it. My commuter needs them adjusting (about a 1 minute job) about every 200-250 miles which is hardly a chore.

Ouija

Mechanicals can vary wildly compared to hydros, which tend to be a little more consistent. It all depends on the mechanicals used, the setup and cabling etc.

I've had mechanicals that have you squeezing the lever for all it's worth with very little result, no matter how much tweaking or fettling you do with them. I've got some mtn BB7's on a hybrid at the moment that feel like they're going to somersault you over the handlebars at the slightest touch of the levers and have been that way for over the last year and four or five thousand miles of use. The road BB7's i had on that bike before (with a different set of brake levers) were ok but not in the same league as the new ones.Got a couple of BB5's on some bikes that vary from 'so so' to acceptable, some clarks mechanicals which seem to vary wildly depending on the rotor used and have gone through Tektros and Quads before that which were all universally pants.

As stated, with mechanical you can go from one extreme to the other. The few forays into hydros (admittedly not as extensive) have always given more consistent braking (though my current BB7's would still outbrake some Clarks Skeletals i had, but the Skeletals had better modulation). They have a more 'fit and forget' appeal to them and are generally easier to maintain (until you have to bleed them).

Giraffoto

Shimano Deore hydraulics - and don't fiddle with them. Exactly 96% of hydraulic disk brake problems are caused by people trying to bleed them when they don't need it. (this figure is made up, but that doesn't mean it's wrong)

Cheaper than the admittedly excellent Avid BB7, as powerful as you'll ever need.

supersonic

Kowalski675 wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Bikes don't weigh 1000kg.

That's completely irrelevant to the point that cable brakes are an inherently inferior design.

I was highlighting the fact that mentioning cars is completely irrelevant.

Chunkers1980

It's gonna happen. Like all arguments on the net lead to Nazi analogies ala Godwin's law. We should have our own - Kowalski's law - every post leads to motorbikes or cars.

Kowalski675

Chunkers1980 wrote:

It's gonna happen. Like all arguments on the net lead to Nazi analogies ala Goodwin's law. We should have our own - Kowalski's law - every post leads to motorbikes or cars.

Whatever.

Clank

Chunkers1980 wrote:

It's gonna happen. Like all arguments on the net lead to Nazi analogies ala Godwin's law. We should have our own - Kowalski's law - every post leads to motorbikes or cars.

...and with Kowalski saying 'whatever'.

You forgot to add that bit!

cooldad

Clank wrote:

Chunkers1980 wrote:

It's gonna happen. Like all arguments on the net lead to Nazi analogies ala Godwin's law. We should have our own - Kowalski's law - every post leads to motorbikes or cars.

...and with Kowalski saying 'whatever'.

You forgot to add that bit!

You forgot the 'lol' as well.

Kowalski675

It was the only reply that his pathetic little post warranted.

Lol.

The Rookie

Please clarify what reply we should use when you type in one of your many pathetic little posts please, just so we know.

Kowalski675

Yawn. Do stop being a tit, and let the grown-ups talk, eh.

The Rookie

I would but you keep adding posts when I want a grown up to........ rating that as one of your PLP's.

97th choice

Kowalski675 wrote:

Yawn. Do stop being a tit, and let the grown-ups talk, eh.

Ahh, so to be a grown up do you have to do one or all of the following?

Post like an incontinent
Insert random pictures of your own bike/motorbikes/cats
Try and make the subject of every topic yourself
Not be funny, ever, lol.

The Rookie

LOL

BLah blah motorbike blah blah bitch ex blah blah my bike blah blah.....

I think I'm getting this adult posting malarky now

Giraffoto

I may be drifting off topic here, but I believe the question that started this amazing thread - about the best type of brake for a hybrid, if you recall - was, and will probably continue to be, the OP's last post.

Kowalski675

97th choice wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

Yawn. Do stop being a tit, and let the grown-ups talk, eh.

Ahh, so to be a grown up do you have to do one or all of the following?

Post like an incontinent
Insert random pictures of your own bike/motorbikes/cats
Try and make the subject of every topic yourself
Not be funny, ever, lol.

No, you can just be a tedious, unfunny tosser like yourself instead...

Kowalski675

The Rookie wrote:

LOL

BLah blah motorbike blah blah ***** ex blah blah my bike blah blah.....

I think I'm getting this adult posting malarky now

Blah blah weight weenie this, weight weenie that, saved 30 grammes today, here's a pic of me in dodgy gay lycra again, have I said I know everything at least fifteen times today? blah blah blah

Ooh look, I'm getting the hang of it too now...