Disc or not?

1356

Comments

  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    Veronese68 wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    I know... but we have to be honest here... look at the cyclocross section of this forum... there is you and another guy... the rest of the world buy cross bikes to show them on the forum and to ride them through the local woods when it's not too muddy and never race them... Nys and Stybar use cantis and so should you... :wink:
    :oops:
    Talking of which I should get out for another ride with you, assuming my legs and lungs can stand it.

    I'm going tubeless this weekend... it's a big step for a denier... :mrgreen:
    left the forum March 2023
  • gbsahne001
    gbsahne001 Posts: 1,973
    cough...http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/arti ... ing-40535/
    Winter Hack
    Everyday Commuter
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,692
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Veronese68 wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    I know... but we have to be honest here... look at the cyclocross section of this forum... there is you and another guy... the rest of the world buy cross bikes to show them on the forum and to ride them through the local woods when it's not too muddy and never race them... Nys and Stybar use cantis and so should you... :wink:
    :oops:
    Talking of which I should get out for another ride with you, assuming my legs and lungs can stand it.

    I'm going tubeless this weekend... it's a big step for a denier... :mrgreen:
    Oooh, I look forward to hearing how you get on.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    I know... but we have to be honest here... look at the cyclocross section of this forum... there is you and another guy... the rest of the world buy cross bikes to show them on the forum and to ride them through the local woods when it's not too muddy and never race them... Nys and Stybar use cantis and so should you... :wink:
    Ah, but Sven and Zdenek are good enough to ride your average cross course with minimal use of the brakes, and have an almost unlimited supply of replacement carbon rims. I'm not, and I don't :-)

    I wish more of those people on the cyclocross section would come and have a go at cyclocross. I guarantee they'd find it way more friendly, more enjoyable and less intimidating than they think. 5-year-old kids do it, it can't be that hard!
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    TGOTB wrote:
    I wish more of those people on the cyclocross section would come and have a go at cyclocross. I guarantee they'd find it way more friendly, more enjoyable and less intimidating than they think. 5-year-old kids do it, it can't be that hard!

    What stops me is having to drive there to do a few laps on a muddy track, then spend the rest of the day doing laundry and washing the bike... if it was gravel or hard pack I probably would, but I'm not one for the mud really... I just don't enjoy it
    left the forum March 2023
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    What stops me is having to drive there to do a few laps on a muddy track, then spend the rest of the day doing laundry and washing the bike... if it was gravel or hard pack I probably would, but I'm not one for the mud really... I just don't enjoy it
    London Summer CX Series? Races in Bromley and Herne Hill (though there was rumour of another venue this year), so you can ride there after work. Because it's Summer, your bike and kit should stay pretty clean...

    Edit: Apologies to the OP for going waaaaaaaaaaaaay off topic...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 60,604
    gbsahne wrote:
    cough...http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/arti ... ing-40535/
    Fewer excuses now :)
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Veronese68 wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    I know... but we have to be honest here... look at the cyclocross section of this forum... there is you and another guy... the rest of the world buy cross bikes to show them on the forum and to ride them through the local woods when it's not too muddy and never race them... Nys and Stybar use cantis and so should you... :wink:
    :oops:
    Talking of which I should get out for another ride with you, assuming my legs and lungs can stand it.

    I'm going tubeless this weekend... it's a big step for a denier... :mrgreen:

    on the stans 340?
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    itboffin wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Veronese68 wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    I know... but we have to be honest here... look at the cyclocross section of this forum... there is you and another guy... the rest of the world buy cross bikes to show them on the forum and to ride them through the local woods when it's not too muddy and never race them... Nys and Stybar use cantis and so should you... :wink:
    :oops:
    Talking of which I should get out for another ride with you, assuming my legs and lungs can stand it.

    I'm going tubeless this weekend... it's a big step for a denier... :mrgreen:

    on the stans 340?

    Yep... front is now tubeless, tomorrow I'll do the rear... the high speed track pumping to get the pressure build up is hard work... :shock:
    left the forum March 2023
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    cool i'm really interested to know how that goes/feels I have the same rims on my R5 and i've been meaning to give it a go. trouble is the veloflex tyres are so amazing i think it would be hard to improve.
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • timothyw
    timothyw Posts: 2,482
    Stevo 666 wrote:
    gbsahne wrote:
    cough...http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/arti ... ing-40535/
    Fewer excuses now :)
    Exciting. 105 mechanical with hydraulic disks ought just hit the sweet spot, hopefully some interesting bikes coming out in the next year!
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    Discs are about the only reason I'd ever want to buy an entirely new 'good' bike. But certainly if I was looking for a commuter bike then I'd want discs and clearance for wide tyres, which points to CX again.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    itboffin wrote:
    cool i'm really interested to know how that goes/feels I have the same rims on my R5 and i've been meaning to give it a go. trouble is the veloflex tyres are so amazing i think it would be hard to improve.

    Well, the idea is to use the same tyres, but tubeless... I am not interested in buying tubeless specific tyres... if it works well with normal tyres, fine, otherwise I won't bother... there aren't enough decent tubeless tyres on the market to make it worth it.
    So far so good... both tyres are now tubeless, still need to ride the bike though... :lol:
    left the forum March 2023
  • jonny_trousers
    jonny_trousers Posts: 3,588
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Jonny_Trousers wrote:
    When quality road bike hydraulic disc set-ups are available at a reasonable price. Until then, rim brakes suit my needs just fine.

    People seem to think hydraulics will do miracles. IME a mechanical system is more than adequate and is easier to service. Hydraulics have a couple of interesting features, like the alignment of the pads, the alleged better modulation and increased force applied to the pads per froce applied to the lever, but you don't need any of that

    1) Pads adjustment is a weekly or fortnightly activity, just like pumping up your tyres, it only requires a few seconds
    2) I find modulation on mechanical discs excellent
    3) The force applied with the cable is already pretty good, making it better means also swapping to bigger tyres with more grip.

    What is really needed is a road lever with better leverage, which pulls more cable!

    I'd only want road bike discs for gadget value. I like riding a light bike and even in the most panicked moments I've never felt I've needed greater stopping power, given the places I ride.
  • essex-commuter
    essex-commuter Posts: 2,188
    I've pulled the plug on the Kinesis rim brake build.

    Think I'm going to covert the CX to Campag and try it with an Ambrosio cassette. Meanwhile I'll get a new wheel built with a Campag disc hub.

    Looks like Winstanlet do a Hope hub already with the Campag freehub? Would this fit the bill techies? Assuming it's 135.

    http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... o_Rear_Hub
  • essex-commuter
    essex-commuter Posts: 2,188
    Interestingly (well to me), if you use the Condor bike builder, you can build a CX bike with Campag. When I phoned to ask if the wheels were available separately they said it looks like the bike builder has a flaw as they don't think they can fit a Campag freehub on the wheels they specify!
  • wgwarburton
    wgwarburton Posts: 1,863
    gbsahne wrote:
    cough...http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/arti ... ing-40535/

    No UK pricing but $550 for the levers and $700 for lever+caliper bundle in the US.

    On a commuter-bike? It'd be a bit of a downer if you dropped it on a patch of diesel and trashed one.

    Cheers,
    W.
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    Presumably its only 11 speed too, so you would need to change the whole groupset to match?
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    Not sure about Shimano hydraulic levers... I am dubious they might have designed them so that they only work with their calipers and their calipers only fit their own discs, which only fit Shimano hubs... I want to wait until I see there is full compatibility between brands, to avoid ending up in a spiral of pointless upgrades with no real choice.
    left the forum March 2023
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    Not sure about Shimano hydraulic levers... I am dubious they might have designed them so that they only work with their calipers and their calipers only fit their own discs, which only fit Shimano hubs... I want to wait until I see there is full compatibility between brands, to avoid ending up in a spiral of pointless upgrades with no real choice.
    left the forum March 2023
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    Jonny_Trousers wrote:
    I'd only want road bike discs for gadget value. I like riding a light bike and even in the most panicked moments I've never felt I've needed greater stopping power, given the places I ride.

    If I did a lot of big hills then I'd consider discs - trying to come slowly down a twisty >13% descent made the rims very hot ...
  • vermin
    vermin Posts: 1,739
    Does the disc brake advantage apply only to clydesdale types, whose brakes have to work much harder due to greater momentum? Perhaps I've been lucky not to have experienced any of the problems that discs supposedly overcome.
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Not sure about Shimano hydraulic levers... I am dubious they might have designed them so that they only work with their calipers and their calipers only fit their own discs, which only fit Shimano hubs... I want to wait until I see there is full compatibility between brands, to avoid ending up in a spiral of pointless upgrades with no real choice.
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Not sure about Shimano hydraulic levers... I am dubious they might have designed them so that they only work with their calipers and their calipers only fit their own discs, which only fit Shimano hubs... I want to wait until I see there is full compatibility between brands, to avoid ending up in a spiral of pointless upgrades with no real choice.
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Not sure about Shimano hydraulic levers... I am dubious they might have designed them so that they only work with their calipers and their calipers only fit their own discs, which only fit Shimano hubs... I want to wait until I see there is full compatibility between brands, to avoid ending up in a spiral of pointless upgrades with no real choice.

    So... you're REALLY not sure then? :wink:
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • UndercoverElephant
    UndercoverElephant Posts: 5,796
    vermin wrote:
    Does the disc brake advantage apply only to clydesdale types, whose brakes have to work much harder due to greater momentum? Perhaps I've been lucky not to have experienced any of the problems that discs supposedly overcome.

    The only disk brakes I have are the hydraulic ones on my MTB. The main advantage is the modulation of the brakes, they just feel better - there's no locking up as you can feel exactly how hard you're applying them. Rim brakes do seem to have that nothing happening, nothing happening - squeeze a little harder - wheels locked. There's no rubbing of the brakes whatsoever and they always perform exactly the same whatever the conditions.
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Not sure about Shimano hydraulic levers... I am dubious they might have designed them so that they only work with their calipers and their calipers only fit their own discs, which only fit Shimano hubs... I want to wait until I see there is full compatibility between brands, to avoid ending up in a spiral of pointless upgrades with no real choice.

    That's not true, no matter how many times you say it. Shimano callipers work with other brand rotors, and they also make rotors that have 6-bolt fixings to fit standard hubs. The levers may not work with other-brand callipers, though.
    Sun - Rain - Snow
  • jds_1981
    jds_1981 Posts: 1,858
    vermin wrote:
    Does the disc brake advantage apply only to clydesdale types, whose brakes have to work much harder due to greater momentum? Perhaps I've been lucky not to have experienced any of the problems that discs supposedly overcome.
    I'm 70 kg and find my rim brakes don't work as well in the wet and don't like having to buy new tyres because or worn rims.
    On the other hand, my road bike is currently waiting a service due to the brake cable now sticking on both the front and rear brakes. Not been using my cx bike long enough to know if this will be an issue, I suspect not though as the cable isn't near the wet spot for road usage.
    FCN 9 || FCN 5
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    essex-commuter wrote:
    So, if you were building a new drop bar bike for commuting would you definitely go down the disc route or are you more than happy to use rim brakes?

    I'm having a dilemma :D
    Nothing is sacred any more.

    I'll make this simple, when I see this

    Wilier-Izoard-side-hi.jpg

    I think this:

    Lizzie+Armitstead+Team+Great+Britain+gold+8AfaYSzprX2l.jpg
    Yeah baby!

    When I see this:

    volagi-endurance-road-bike-with-disc-brakes01.jpg

    I think this:

    braces-colored.jpg

    Not all improvements are attractive and a bicycle, a road bike, still wants to look beautiful.

    Don't f*ck it up.
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • EKE_38BPM
    EKE_38BPM Posts: 5,821
    When I see this:
    Brake_calipers_carbon.jpg
    I think this:
    Sinclair_ZX81_Setup_PhotoManipped.jpg

    When I see this:
    RBA+1.jpg
    I think this:
    DWaveComponentLargeTitled.jpg

    Get with the program, grandad.
    FCN 3: Raleigh Record Ace fixie-to be resurrected sometime in the future
    FCN 4: Planet X Schmaffenschmack 2- workhorse
    FCN 9: B Twin Vitamin - winter commuter/loan bike for trainees

    I'm hungry. I'm always hungry!
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    DDD has a very good point.

    If you want to hang your bike on the wall and look at it, get rim brakes.

    If (God forbid) you're more interested in actually riding the dang thing, get whatever will work best for the sort of riding you want to do.

    Sheesh!
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    I am surprised somebody is so last century... did MTBikes look better without discs?

    Once you get used to see road bikes with discs, they will become the benchmark... people do like deep carbon rims, which were seen as an abomination and laughed at 20 years ago... get real!
    left the forum March 2023
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 60,604
    One day we will look back and laugh at how we used to try to stop by squeezing little rubber blocks against the wheel rims. Old mountain bikers look back fondly on the the 'good old days' when braking was a hit and miss job :)
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]

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