Early Friday Thread: direction the bike industry is going

2

Comments

  • timothyw
    timothyw Posts: 2,482
    Can i chip in with Direct Mount Calipers....

    They are superb having been forced to use them on my commute for the last few weeks while the K2 goes in for an overhaul.
    Ah yes, that's one of the Btwins with the weird chainstay rear-brake placement - any issues with that yet?

    There's something I rather like about a lot of the mid to higher end Decathlon bikes, I should imagine I'll end up with one sooner or later. Perhaps the combination of Frenchness and cheapness?
  • rubertoe
    rubertoe Posts: 3,994
    Can i chip in with Direct Mount Calipers....
    Ah yes, that's one of the Btwins with the weird chainstay rear-brake placement - any issues with that yet?

    The only issue is with the rear, the Front is pretty standard, but the rear isnt, But i havent had to do to much with it yet other than a slight adjustment.

    The breaking over normal calipers is certainly noticible.

    You cant beat Frenchness and Cheapness. I like it and am certainly sold on Decathlon as a company,
    "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

    PX Kaffenback 2 = Work Horse
    B-Twin Alur 700 = Sundays and Hills
  • stuaff
    stuaff Posts: 1,736
    Calipers are 100% fine. As are 19mm tyres and chromoly.
    Discs are still better for stopping. 25mm tyres are still better for going.
    Why did you just buy a carbon bike?
    ^This. I applaud your efforts to reject all these newfangled improvements, DDD. I look forward to seeing you do the RL100 on a vintage bike with the most uncomfortable saddle you can find, cork brake pads (do remember multiple sets of spares), bolt release wheels, single speed (OK, you can have two gears, just remember you'll have to unbolt and flip the rear wheel round, none of this QR rubbish).....
    You seem to have decided speed and comfort are two distinct issues. They're not. Pro peloton's moved to 25mm tyres, and of the many friends and acquaintances who've just completed their qualifying rides for Paris-Brest-Paris- that's a minimum of 200, 300, 400 & 600km audaxes since February, for the 1200km main event- pretty much all of them are running 25mm or wider, and none of them would follow your line of thought. If it beats you up in 20 miles, it's going to hurt like hell after 120, and you aren't going to make it to 750.....
    Oh yes, Steve Abraham- you may have heard of him, if you haven't you should have- 25mm tubeless tyres, disc brakes. And he's done a lot more miles than any of us.....
    Dahon Speed Pro TT; Trek Portland
    Viner Magnifica '08 ; Condor Squadra
    LeJOG in aid of the Royal British Legion. Please sponsor me at http://www.bmycharity.com/stuaffleck2011
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Oh yes, Steve Abraham- you may have heard of him, if you haven't you should have- 25mm tubeless tyres, disc brakes. And he's done a lot more miles than any of us.....
    Given DDD's pooing himself at the prospect of riding 100 miles in a single day, in 2 months time, I very much doubt he's heard of Steve Abraham...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • MrSweary
    MrSweary Posts: 1,699
    Personally I will be buying a Mason Definition as soon as I can convince (by fair means or foul) the wife that i MUST have it to prevent the imminent collapse of western civilisation.

    Yes, I know it's made out of this new fangled stuff called ALU-minium and has DISK brakes (whatever they are) and space for 28mm rubbery bits but I JUST DONT CARE BECAUSE IT IS BEAUTIFUL.
    Kinesis Racelite 4s disc
    Kona Paddy Wagon
    Canyon Roadlite Al 7.0 - reborn as single speed!
    Felt Z85 - mangled by taxi.
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    There has always been innovation in cycling. Somethings stick, some don't. Osymetic chainrings, greg66's clipless system (poggios I think). Even stuff that does work sometimes doesn't catch on.

    Form, style, cost, complexity all have a part to play. There is a time and a place for disc brakes, I've never needed them on my commute and I don't need them on my best bike, why? It has never and probably will never be ridden in conditions that demand such a braking system. Who takes their best road bike out in anything but optimal conditions?
    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
  • dhope
    dhope Posts: 6,699
    Who takes their best road bike out in anything but optimal conditions?
    People that ride a lot more than you?

    But yes. If you're only riding in sunshine for a few weeks a year then you'll not need disc brakes. You'll likely not wear through the rims before you buy a new bike and the performance in changeable conditions wont be applicable.
    Rose Xeon CW Disc
    CAAD12 Disc
    Condor Tempo
  • surrey_commuter
    surrey_commuter Posts: 18,866
    There has always been innovation in cycling. Somethings stick, some don't. Osymetic chainrings, greg66's clipless system (poggios I think). Even stuff that does work sometimes doesn't catch on.

    Form, style, cost, complexity all have a part to play. There is a time and a place for disc brakes, I've never needed them on my commute and I don't need them on my best bike, why? It has never and probably will never be ridden in conditions that demand such a braking system. Who takes their best road bike out in anything but optimal conditions?

    that is because you are on a train :roll:
  • MrSweary
    MrSweary Posts: 1,699
    Well, I'm not yet rich enough to have a summer bike. I use one for everything (mostly commuting at the mo admittedly). I'm a year round commuter and coming down CP Park Hill on a dark, rainy winters night with idiots in cars pulling their usual stunts has convinced me that disc brakes would be a very good idea.
    Kinesis Racelite 4s disc
    Kona Paddy Wagon
    Canyon Roadlite Al 7.0 - reborn as single speed!
    Felt Z85 - mangled by taxi.
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    Who takes their best road bike out in anything but optimal conditions?
    People that ride a lot more than you?

    But yes. If you're only riding in sunshine for a few weeks a year then you'll not need disc brakes. You'll likely not wear through the rims before you buy a new bike and the performance in changeable conditions wont be applicable.


    How often must you brake to make rim wear an issue? I'm still rocking Fulcrum Racing 5s I got with my Kharma 4-5 years ago. I swapped them out and put them on my commuter when I was commuting 20 and then 10 miles everyday throughout the year - they're the same wheels I did a few sportives on etc. I've still got them, they're coming to the end of their life. They've outlasted a car I bought at the same time.

    Seriously, braking and rim wear was never really that big an issue. A new vogue has arrived and people have latched on to it.

    It's why we have pointless hybrids or just like the time when everyone went single speed, bought Charge Plugs and wore the hump hiviz rucksack cover.
    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
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Who takes their best road bike out in anything but optimal conditions?
    Most people. When I was riding in the Alps last year and it started snowing, I cursed my lack of forethought in failing to arrange a support van with a quiver of bikes, and carried on riding. I'm guessing you'd have packed the ride in at that point and tried to call a taxi?
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    Well, I'm not yet rich enough to have a summer bike. I use one for everything (mostly commuting at the mo admittedly). I'm a year round commuter and coming down CP Park Hill on a dark, rainy winters night with idiots in cars pulling their usual stunts has convinced me that disc brakes would be a very good idea.
    But I've done all that with a disc brake bike and road bike, anticipation is the first rule of braking, positioning second and then braking technique third.
    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
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    Who takes their best road bike out in anything but optimal conditions?
    Most people. When I was riding in the Alps last year and it started snowing, I cursed my lack of forethought in failing to arrange a support van with a quiver of bikes, and carried on riding. I'm guessing you'd have packed the ride in at that point and tried to call a taxi?
    . No I ride to the conditions
    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
  • The most important thing about having disc brakes on a bike (that's ridden in all weather) is that you don't get covered in black brake crap when you get a puncture.

    I rest my case.
  • cookeeemonster
    cookeeemonster Posts: 1,991
    Hydraulic disc brakes are utterly stunning and have utterly transformed my experience of wet weather riding on my commute (with full length mudguards its a zero issue now).

    Wider tyres (35mm at present) has made the ride a hell of a lot plusher and my commute is no slower than ever before.

    Don't give a funk what some idiot in terrible looking skin tight clothing thinks of the looks (i.e. 99% of road cyclists - sorry we mostly don't look great...and I aint taking bike fashion advice from you ;))
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Who takes their best road bike out in anything but optimal conditions?
    Most people. When I was riding in the Alps last year and it started snowing, I cursed my lack of forethought in failing to arrange a support van with a quiver of bikes, and carried on riding. I'm guessing you'd have packed the ride in at that point and tried to call a taxi?
    . No I ride to the conditions
    Sorry, you're going to have to explain that to me. You mean you wouldn't take your best bike to the Alps in case the weather was less than optimal while you were there? Or do you mean you'd call the cab?
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    They've outlasted a car I bought at the same time.
    I bought a barbeque a few years ago, which doesn't seem to have lasted as long as my washing machine. Sorry, I digressed. What was you point?
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • imatfaal
    imatfaal Posts: 2,716
    Who takes their best road bike out in anything but optimal conditions?
    People that ride a lot more than you?

    But yes. If you're only riding in sunshine for a few weeks a year then you'll not need disc brakes. You'll likely not wear through the rims before you buy a new bike and the performance in changeable conditions wont be applicable.


    How often must you brake to make rim wear an issue? I'm still rocking Fulcrum Racing 5s I got with my Kharma 4-5 years ago. I swapped them out and put them on my commuter when I was commuting 20 and then 10 miles everyday throughout the year - they're the same wheels I did a few sportives on etc. I've still got them, they're coming to the end of their life. They've outlasted a car I bought at the same time.

    Seriously, braking and rim wear was never really that big an issue.. [snipped].

    wheel.jpg?w=449&h=599
  • Ben6899
    Ben6899 Posts: 9,686
    As per the OP

    That Giant bike looks sh1t. Agreed.
    Disc brakes have no place on a bike, irrespective of performance. Agreed.
    Tyres should be 23mm and 120PSI. Not agreed.
    Ben

    Bikes: Donhou DSS4 Custom | Condor Italia RC | Gios Megalite | Dolan Preffisio | Giant Bowery '76
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ben_h_ppcc/
    Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/143173475@N05/
  • dhope
    dhope Posts: 6,699
    Who takes their best road bike out in anything but optimal conditions?
    People that ride a lot more than you?

    But yes. If you're only riding in sunshine for a few weeks a year then you'll not need disc brakes. You'll likely not wear through the rims before you buy a new bike and the performance in changeable conditions wont be applicable.


    How often must you brake to make rim wear an issue? I'm still rocking Fulcrum Racing 5s I got with my Kharma 4-5 years ago. I swapped them out and put them on my commuter when I was commuting 20 and then 10 miles everyday throughout the year - they're the same wheels I did a few sportives on etc. I've still got them, they're coming to the end of their life. They've outlasted a car I bought at the same time.

    Seriously, braking and rim wear was never really that big an issue. A new vogue has arrived and people have latched on to it.

    It's why we have pointless hybrids or just like the time when everyone went single speed, bought Charge Plugs and wore the hump hiviz rucksack cover.

    The Fulcrum 5's have served you well. They've been 100% fine. Just like the calipers.

    If you didn't have the wear then they'd continue to serve you. That's better. Just like the disc brakes.

    Nobody is saying that rim brakes are suddenly unfit for purpose.
    Discs are, objectively, better performing when you wish to use the bike in less than perfect conditions.

    You say you ride to the conditions. Of course you do. I do. TGOTB does. Everyone does.
    If you had cork brake pads you'd ride to the conditions too and brake earlier. If you had disc brakes you'd ride to the conditions and be able to brake slightly later in certain conditions.

    It's the old DDD "I don't use them myself therefor I can't see why anyone would need to use them" argument.
    Rose Xeon CW Disc
    CAAD12 Disc
    Condor Tempo
  • davis
    davis Posts: 2,506
    I want disc brakes, hydro calipers, 8 speed cassette, and 25-32c tyres, with a square taper bottom bracket.

    There. I've said it.
    Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    Dhope, I do worry about one thing. People, without the skill to do so, braking far to late because they think disc brakes will save them.
    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
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Dhope, I do worry about one thing. People, without the skill to do so, braking far to late because they think disc brakes will save them.
    I don't understand this. The variation in braking performance even between bikes with calipers and different pad compounds is huge. You might aswell ban the latest greatest Swissstop pads, on the grounds that people will fit them and then wipe themselves out on the first corner they get to. In fact, you could use the same reasoning to argue that alloy rims are dangerous and we should all go back to using chromed steel ones.
    I rather suspect that, in the real World, people reassess their bike's braking performance continuously as conditions change, and as they switch between bikes. Any difference in performance between braking systems will be accommodated by this continuous reassessment.
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • dhope
    dhope Posts: 6,699
    Dhope, I do worry about one thing. People, without the skill to do so, braking far to late because they think disc brakes will save them.
    But that concern existed when people moved on from cork brakes.
    Anyone that assumes the bike will save them is an idiot. Improved kit allow people to push harder but still within their own comfort/ability.
    It's a very strange logic that says people shouldn't have better technology because they might use it.
    Rose Xeon CW Disc
    CAAD12 Disc
    Condor Tempo
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    I want disc brakes, hydro calipers, 8 speed cassette, and 25-32c tyres, with a square taper bottom bracket.
    You can do this. In fact there's probably someone, somewhere, with exactly this setup on their CX bike. Assuming you want 8-speed brifters, you'll need either a TRP Parabox (recommended, I have three) or a Hope V-Twin.
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • rubertoe
    rubertoe Posts: 3,994
    I am thinking of converting my Kaffenback to Hydros and a flat bar.....
    "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

    PX Kaffenback 2 = Work Horse
    B-Twin Alur 700 = Sundays and Hills
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,252
    Dhope, I do worry about one thing. People, without the skill to do so, braking far to late because they think disc brakes will save them.
    It's not just about braking late through choice when you're riding in traffic though.
    Menthel is sat at home with a couple of cracked vertebrae and other injuries from when a van pulled out on him. This is what he had to say on the first page of this:
    Personally, after my off I am thinking of replacing my Italia with something disc braked as long drop brakes are a bit shite. The standard drop brakes on my Aprire are so much better than I don't think that I need discs on that.
    I'm not saying discs would have saved him from having the accident, nobody knows that, but he might have scrubbed off a bit more speed in that particular emergency. I suspect he's been thinking about that a lot recently so his opinion is probably valid.
  • davis
    davis Posts: 2,506
    I want disc brakes, hydro calipers, 8 speed cassette, and 25-32c tyres, with a square taper bottom bracket.
    You can do this. In fact there's probably someone, somewhere, with exactly this setup on their CX bike. Assuming you want 8-speed brifters, you'll need either a TRP Parabox (recommended, I have three) or a Hope V-Twin.

    Genuinely? I can do this?! :D

    I've got an Equilibrium frameset which is crying out for something sensible, utilitarian, and just functional. Ok, the (unknown to me) Parabox isn't very pretty, but I was thinking I needed to get the Shimano RS685s, which would've pushed me to 11-speed chains which would evaporate and cost a fortune to replace every 3 miles.

    Yay. Really did not know this was possible. Thanks TGOTB!

    (now to decide if I can tolerate the looks on an otherwise beautiful frame!)
    Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.
  • rubertoe
    rubertoe Posts: 3,994
    I want disc brakes, hydro calipers, 8 speed cassette, and 25-32c tyres, with a square taper bottom bracket.
    You can do this. In fact there's probably someone, somewhere, with exactly this setup on their CX bike. Assuming you want 8-speed brifters, you'll need either a TRP Parabox (recommended, I have three) or a Hope V-Twin.

    Genuinely? I can do this?! :D

    I've got an Equilibrium frameset which is crying out for something sensible, utilitarian, and just functional. Ok, the (unknown to me) Parabox isn't very pretty, but I was thinking I needed to get the Shimano RS685s, which would've pushed me to 11-speed chains which would evaporate and cost a fortune to replace every 3 miles.

    Yay. Really did not know this was possible. Thanks TGOTB!

    (now to decide if I can tolerate the looks on an otherwise beautiful frame!)

    What about Hylex and bar end shifters? - oldskool meets newskool
    "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

    PX Kaffenback 2 = Work Horse
    B-Twin Alur 700 = Sundays and Hills
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    They are a bit of a faff to set up, but once done they should stay set up forever. I think they've stopped making them, but used Paraboxes and V-Twins both pop up on EBay and the UK Cyclocross Forum from time to time.

    There's also the TRP Hy/RD, but in my view that loses a lot of the advantages of hydraulics.
    Pannier, 120rpm.