School me on road disc brake bikes

meanredspider

160mm rotors are, TBH, a waste of time on the rear. I have 140mm on the rear of my Volagi and they lock very easily. I hardly ever use the rear brake anyway. On the front I have 160 and HyRd and, having tried lots of mechanical brakes, the HyRd is by far the best - better than the BB7s I've been using for the last couple of years on the V. No point in putting one on the back though for the road. The weight transfer under braking is almost instantaneous as the bike is so stiff - the rear wheel therefore can't do much braking. I've never needed to change a rear disc either.

bendertherobot

The TRP HY RD are excellent. More modulation than the BB7. They don't have more power though.

But they are much easier to set up, no faffing with dialling in etc.

I don't know how Avid continue to justify charging what they do for BB7

ugo.santalucia

bendertherobot wrote:

The TRP HY RD are excellent. More modulation than the BB7. They don't have more power though.

But they are much easier to set up, no faffing with dialling in etc.

I don't know how Avid continue to justify charging what they do for BB7

Which one would you rather have coming down the Zoncolan?

bendertherobot

ugo.santalucia wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

The TRP HY RD are excellent. More modulation than the BB7. They don't have more power though.

But they are much easier to set up, no faffing with dialling in etc.

I don't know how Avid continue to justify charging what they do for BB7

Which one would you rather have coming down the Zoncolan?

The Spyre?

andygo

I've never owned a bike with discs before so have nothing to compare them to....but can say that TRP Spyres work v well, wet or dry. They're also very easy to set up.

The only issue I've had is that the caliper body was v close to spokes (1mm) on my front fork (Croix de Fer).
Mine came with 160mm rotors front and back but included fixing brackets for 160mm and 180mm rotors. I managed to increase the gap by using the 180mm fixing bracket (upside down) to push the caliper further away from front axle. Using a 180mm rotor would also resolve the problem - I may upgrade one day....but check your fork clearance to make sure you can use one that big.

DM222

Have you considered the Planet X Kaffenback or Whyte Dorset?

passout

I like the look of the Kinesis decade tripster but if I were buying a new disc road bike tomorrow it would be a whyte suffolk. http://www.whytebikes.com/2014/product. ... 6&xSec=163

Stevo_666

If you're pepared to consider German mail order then this could be a good choice. A couple of hundred more than your first three options but it has carbon forks, carbon seat post and decent Shimano 105 level transmission:

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/bike/rose-xeon-dx-2000-2014/aid:670185

When I replace my commuter hack, it will be most likely with something like this, though I'll probably fork out for hydraulic disc brakes - my current commuter has these and they are great.

JayDeePee

It's now Oct / Nov 2014, ... I needed a commuter, and gravel grinder bike. I looked, I found the Cannondale CAADX 105. Great bike, great price, I bought. However, I did read a review or two that said the accompanying brakes were garbage, Promax Render R disc calipers. I laughed, thinking: okay, but just how bad could they be?....

That night, I took my bike for a spin on my street. WOW !!! the only thing that could be worse is no brakes !!!

Warning: do not use these brakes, hand them back and buy a hybrid caliper. I bought the TRP Hy/Rd calipers, a bit of money, but they work very very well in all weather.

Don't think you'll ever stop in time with those Promax things. I won't even sell them (remember, they're brand new); I couldn't tell somebody they're worth anything.

andy9964

My CAADX (Tiagra - same brakes) stops just fine. Not had an issue with them in around 600 miles

boblo

The Promax's just need bedding in. I have them on a CAADX and they were dire for the first few miles until I'd stopped a few times. They are fine now. It's received wisdom in MTB circles that new pads need bedding in to work properly. I also have BB7's on another bike and Promax's are their equal.

jok5

I have had my CAADX 105 for 6 months and it's never missed a beat. Great well put together bike. This time of year it's always dirty... Quick muck off and a hose down and it's good to go. Breaks are great, bike is very quick and it's very comfy... I've just put a deposit down on the synapse carbon ultegra disc because I love the caadx so much.

cycleclinic

noice can also be a sign of contamination. For example dot4 on pads can make then sound awful. Not that dot4 gets anywhere a mechanical brake set but other contaminents may.

Ali G

so the overall verdict on them is a good one...? I'm replacing my Boardman team Carbon that was stolen a month ago and being philosophical about it upgrading/getting exactly what (I think) I want!

Disc brakes have really caught my eye especially as I do most of my riding in the Alps. I'd like a carbon bike with minimum 105 and disc brakes. Or ultegra if no disc brakes I guess but I think its worth putting the dosh into the discs right now? Would you guys agree?

What I will be able to afford I think I'm going to have to get cable discs rather than hydraulic. I'm guessing in a year or two I'll be able to upgrade to hydraulics though as I did on my mtb a few years ago?

cycleclinic

I have nearly finshed my equilibrium disc. I have out tektro Hy-RD on them with the jagwire compressionless casings. Took it for a short ride (no gear cables fitted at present) and its awesome. The brake simply work. It is dry at present but its wet weather performance I want.

Go for disc you won't regret it. If the braking is not up to scratch it will be a set up issue which any good mechanic can rectify. Also if the calipers are not tektro spyre or HY-RD then change them at the earliest oppurtunity. If you can afford Shimano R785 caliper or the RS685 then these are superb.

letap73

thecycleclinic wrote:

I have nearly finshed my equilibrium disc. I have out tektro Hy-RD on them with the jagwire compressionless casings. Took it for a short ride (no gear cables fitted at present) and its awesome. The brake simply work. It is dry at present but its wet weather performance I want.

Go for disc you won't regret it. If the braking is not up to scratch it will be a set up issue which any good mechanic can rectify. Also if the calipers are not tektro spyre or HY-RD then change them at the earliest oppurtunity. If you can afford Shimano R785 caliper or the RS685 then these are superb.

What's your opinion on the Hayes CX expert used on last years Croix de fer?

They seem pretty good to me, are the above suggestions so much better?

cycleclinic

Hayes brakes are like BB7's or BB5's they work well enough but not a patch on the tektro's. set up and on going maintance is more fiddley and the braking is not a good. There is a reason why the tektro's cost more. They are better in every way. Also they use a commonly available shimano pad which most shops will stock. HAve you noticed Genesis are using tektro disc brakes now, They think they are better too, the one thing they are no is cheaper.

letap73

thecycleclinic wrote:

Hayes brakes are like BB7's or BB5's they work well enough but not a patch on the tektro's. set up and on going maintance is more fiddley and the braking is not a good. There is a reason why the tektro's cost more. They are better in every way. Also they use a commonly available shimano pad which most shops will stock. HAve you noticed Genesis are using tektro disc brakes now, They think they are better too, the one thing they are no is cheaper.

I have just looked at the Genesis 2015 models and you are right. For the time being I am happy with the Hayes brakes but I have no idea how to adjust them - I would be grateful for any pointers/internet links which give me an indication on how to adjust them.

comsense

letap73 wrote:

thecycleclinic wrote:

I would be grateful for any pointers/internet links which give me an indication on how to adjust them.

http://www.cxmagazine.com/mechanical-mo ... rake-setup

I had no experience with Discs. I read this carefully last year and was able to get both Promax and BB7's set up right.

ugo.santalucia

letap73 wrote:

thecycleclinic wrote:

Hayes brakes are like BB7's or BB5's they work well enough but not a patch on the tektro's. set up and on going maintance is more fiddley and the braking is not a good. There is a reason why the tektro's cost more. They are better in every way. Also they use a commonly available shimano pad which most shops will stock. HAve you noticed Genesis are using tektro disc brakes now, They think they are better too, the one thing they are no is cheaper.

I have just looked at the Genesis 2015 models and you are right. For the time being I am happy with the Hayes brakes but I have no idea how to adjust them - I would be grateful for any pointers/internet links which give me an indication on how to adjust them.

There is a 5 mm allen Key insert for the inner pad and there is a cable barrel adjuster which moves the outer pad. As for caliper positioning, like any other caliper... undo the bolts, squeeze the brake lever and tighten the bolts while you squeeze.
The Hayes are truly excellent brakes and whoever says the opposite is talking bollox

letap73

Thanks Ugo + Comsense, really appreciate the advice.