Mechanical Disc Brakes

gdcfc1

Are mechanical disc brakes to be avoided or ok? Appreciate hydraulic is the way to go but on a Fixie inc fixie/singlespeed (Fixie Peacemaker) I am seeing a mech front brake. Any guidance on their function and robustness to last?

ugo.santalucia

They are good, very good if set up correctly. TRP spyre is possibly the best mechanical and TRP HyRD is the best semi/hydraulic

pilot_pete

My winter bike ( a Felt F65X cross bike) came with BB5s. If set up correctly they work just fine. Set up is a little fiddly, but not really a problem. They have one adjustable pad and the one which moves as you pull the lever, in effect bending the disc slightly so that it makes contact with the adjustable (adjusted to leave a mm or so gap, then fixed in that place) pad. Unless you set the caliper in the correct position and fine tune the adjustable pad correctly you can get a bit of a 'tinkering' noise.

The BB7 version has both pads adjustable but as Ugo says, the Spire TRP has a 'stirrup' arm which pulls both pads into contact with the disc when applied, i.e. neither pad is fixed, which I also think makes them probably the best on the market. Just bought my wife a Defy which has the Spires and although I have not ridden them, they certainly look and feel better to operate with her 105 levers...

PP

mrb123

I've got a pair of the TRP Spyres on my winter bike.

In dry conditions I wouldn't rate them over and above rim brakes for stopping power but they're obviously better in the wet, although they do squeal pretty badly in wet and dirty conditions.

I certainly wouldn't say they are to be avoided. Thus far they have worked well for me and been pretty much zero maintenance.

drummer_boy

Upgraded the factory fit BB7s to HyRds on my crossbike (which I alsouse for club rides).

As other posters say in the dry the difference is marginakl, but in the wet it is dramatic.

Cable disks, whilst not as good as hydraulic disks are a big step up from rim brakes, in all but dry weather.

The Tryp Spyres are very good.

vrsmatt

Got TRP Spyres on my Giant Defy

I'd say the initial bite isn't as good as my 6700 Ultegra rim brakes in the dry but (especially braking off the hoods) but once into the lever travel (especially on the drops) then they are at least as good in the dry, in the wet they are significantly better, which is the point after all.

Anonymous

I would avoid them personally and just get full hydraulic if its an option.

Sure you can faff about 'setting them up'/regularly adjusting them (if not self adjusting), and sure they are nearly as good as rim in the dry and a bit better in the wet (when you are probably going slower anyway), but why bother if you can have full hydraulic?

If its a cost issue then just get what you can afford (prices will tumble and stock drop bar bikes with full hydro will be the norm (as with MTB) soon), but don't try to pretend cable disc are any better than they actually are.

The feel and modulation (if thats the right word) are equally as important as power IMO.

Anonymous

VRSMatt wrote:

in the wet they are significantly better, which is the point after all.

Are they?
Is it?

What have we been doing all these years without them?

If they are significantly better, the full hydro are even more so.
Is everyone really out racing around in the rain making the most of this advantage?

The only thing mechanical discs are good for over rim is that you avoid grinding cr4p into the rim in bad conditions.

If you want disc, you want hydro. Its just a cost thing at the end of the day.
If hydro cost the same, 99% of people would go for hydro.

seanorawe

Carbonator wrote:

VRSMatt wrote:

in the wet they are significantly better, which is the point after all.

Are they?
Is it?

What have we been doing all these years without them?

If they are significantly better, the full hydro are even more so.
Is everyone really out racing around in the rain making the most of this advantage?

The only thing mechanical discs are good for over rim is that you avoid grinding cr4p into the rim in bad conditions.

If you want disc, you want hydro. Its just a cost thing at the end of the day.
If hydro cost the same, 99% of people would go for hydro.

I find them better in the wet also. Obviously rim brakes work in the wet, but I found discs to have much better stopping power, and where im from, it rarely stops raining. However, in the wet they are very loud.

I have mechanical BB7, and I would have went hydraulic, but my budget didnt stretch that far. They are a bit fiddly getting them set up perfectly, but when you do, they are great.

Anonymous

seanorawe wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

VRSMatt wrote:

in the wet they are significantly better, which is the point after all.

Are they?
Is it?

What have we been doing all these years without them?

If they are significantly better, the full hydro are even more so.
Is everyone really out racing around in the rain making the most of this advantage?

The only thing mechanical discs are good for over rim is that you avoid grinding cr4p into the rim in bad conditions.

If you want disc, you want hydro. Its just a cost thing at the end of the day.
If hydro cost the same, 99% of people would go for hydro.

I find them better in the wet also. Obviously rim brakes work in the wet, but I found discs to have much better stopping power, and where im from, it rarely stops raining. However, in the wet they are very loud.

I have mechanical BB7, and I would have went hydraulic, but my budget didnt stretch that far. They are a bit fiddly getting them set up perfectly, but when you do, they are great.

So 100% agreeing with me then

I guess performance is subjective, but some mechanical discs are shockingly bad IME.
No one has mentioned 'bedding in' yet 8)

It also depends which rim brakes you are comparing the mech disc to.
Guessing a lot of people buying mech disc will have had something like Tektros with standard pads, rather than 5800/6800 with upgraded pads.

bendertherobot

Carbonator wrote:

I would avoid them personally and just get full hydraulic if its an option.

Sure you can faff about 'setting them up'/regularly adjusting them (if not self adjusting), and sure they are nearly as good as rim in the dry and a bit better in the wet (when you are probably going slower anyway), but why bother if you can have full hydraulic?

If its a cost issue then just get what you can afford (prices will tumble and stock drop bar bikes with full hydro will be the norm (as with MTB) soon), but don't try to pretend cable disc are any better than they actually are.

The feel and modulation (if thats the right word) are equally as important as power IMO.

It's mainly the cost issue. If you're speccing something from scratch paying more for a brifter is easier to swallow. But going from, say, a pair of 105 already installed (and worth £100) and adding 2 Spyres at £120 is easy to swallow.

Of course, that RS685 thing before Xmas was a steal. If it's just the case of £150 for shifters, brakes and rotors then it's a no brainer. But it's still proving difficult to source a pair of 685 for under 300 notes. Of course, you could go for RS505's, (the 105 model) but, bizarrely they still appear to be more expensive than the 685. And just about the ugliest design ever committed to manufacturing.

Then there's SRAM. The cheaper alternative. And stupidly expensive.

Anonymous

The OP (and most people) are looking at stock bikes when making this choice though arnt they?

I upgraded from mech to HY-RD's and wish I had not bothered TBH.
Should have just bitten the bullet and gone full hydro, or sold the bike and got a new one (which I still may do)!

SRAM would be my choice for a CX bike. The top two are very powerful/nice to use.

bendertherobot

Carbonator wrote:

The OP (and most people) are looking at stock bikes when making this choice though arnt they?

I upgraded from mech to HY-RD's and wish I had not bothered TBH.
Should have just bitten the bullet and gone full hydro, or sold the bike and got a new one (which I still may do)!

SRAM would be my choice for a CX bike. The top two are very powerful/nice to use.

I'm sure he is. But these things morph into a more general discussion.

gdcfc1

bendertherobot wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

The OP (and most people) are looking at stock bikes when making this choice though arnt they?

I upgraded from mech to HY-RD's and wish I had not bothered TBH.
Should have just bitten the bullet and gone full hydro, or sold the bike and got a new one (which I still may do)!

SRAM would be my choice for a CX bike. The top two are very powerful/nice to use.

I'm sure he is. But these things morph into a more general discussion.

Hi all and thanks. Yes, this is for stock bike set up and sold as is. No one here has said to stay away so that is good. would hope will come set up in the first instance..... So then it is down to maintenance. How often do they go out of true? Seems like a question that begs the "depends on your riding and how you treat it" answers but thought I'd ask....

vrsmatt

Carbonator wrote:

VRSMatt wrote:

in the wet they are significantly better, which is the point after all.

Are they? YES
Is it? Yes, for me it is, I do lots of wet miles on hilly terrain, I have much more confidence on discs

What have we been doing all these years without them? Having less performance, just like other things like cars, mountain bikes, computers, kettles etc. Things move on and things get better

If they are significantly better, the full hydro are even more so. Nobody is saying they aren't, I certainly wasnt
Is everyone really out racing around in the rain making the most of this advantage? Anybody who uses them will be enjoying the advantage, as for making the most of it, who out there extracts 100% performance from anything

The only thing mechanical discs are good for over rim is that you avoid grinding cr4p into the rim in bad conditions. And the fact they perform better in the wet than rim brakes and equally well in the dry in the case of Spyres, for me at least, and I wont be wearing out my rims meaning a change of expensive wheels

If you want disc, you want hydro. Its just a cost thing at the end of the day.so what if its cost, are we deriding riders with a budget? Some of the mech systems work well and are worth it. I would love a £9k bike with all the trimmings but hey, guess what, I have a budget like most folks and like to choose what I can get with my cash.
If hydro cost the same, 99% of people would go for hydro Im sure most people would, Im not sure this a thread about is mech better than hydro? Its a thread about is mech worth it? On a new bike specced with them then yes it is. As an aside, if I was doing an expedition I'd prefer them to hydro, purely as theyd be easier to work on out in the field should the worst happen .

Anonymous

Wow, angry man defending his mech discs lol.

Well, the OP and others can read what everyone has said and make up their own mind.
I think your angry red ranting has done more harm than good for mech discs personally.

As is usually the case in situations like this, what you have said has conflicting bits and wild exaggerations to try to justify what you have.
As is also usually the case, you chose to ignore some of my points which do not suit your argument.

When are you departing on this expedition then?
Will it be on a steel bike so that its easier to get re-welded by a guy in a hut too?

I am quite sure that over the next year or so a lot of people will go for mech discs and wish (perhaps secretly) that they had gone for full hydro.
I am only trying to help

vrsmatt

Carbonator wrote:

Wow, angry man defending his mech discs lol.

Well, the OP and others can read what everyone has said and make up their own mind.
I think your angry red ranting has done more harm than good for mech discs personally.

As is usually the case in situations like this, what you have said has conflicting bits and wild exaggerations to try to justify what you have.
As is also usually the case, you chose to ignore some of my points which do not suit your argument.

When are you departing on this expedition then?
Will it be on a steel bike so that its easier to get re-welded too?

I am quite sure that over the next year or so a lot of people will go for mech discs and wish (perhaps secretly) that they had gone for full hydro.
I am only trying to help

No anger in my post ? Just answering your questions, it's not me who appears to be ranting about hydros because you couldn't set up your mech hydros properly. I'm only trying to help ;-) I have simply provided answered to your somewhat blinkered points about hydros that nobody asked about.

Before you come back saying I'm biased I've got three bikes currently with discs, two cable, one hyro and two bikes with rim, one tektro and one 6700 Ultegra, I've been riding 25 years plus and am an able mechanic.

vrsmatt

Carbonator wrote:

Wow, angry man defending his mech discs lol.

Well, the OP and others can read what everyone has said and make up their own mind.
I think your angry red ranting has done more harm than good for mech discs personally.

As is usually the case in situations like this, what you have said has conflicting bits and wild exaggerations to try to justify what you have.
As is also usually the case, you chose to ignore some of my points which do not suit your argument.

When are you departing on this expedition then?
Will it be on a steel bike so that its easier to get re-welded by a guy in a hut too?

I am quite sure that over the next year or so a lot of people will go for mech discs and wish (perhaps secretly) that they had gone for full hydro.
I am only trying to help

I can't say I ignored any point, or made any wild claims, feel free to point them out. As for an expedition, I'm not planning it, but does that mean others don't? I'm not sure if your point, my point about repairs is very valid maybe not in the uk, but bikes are global ;-)

Anonymous

Not sure why you assume the mech I had, and HY-RD it became were/are not set up properly.
That and the 'bedding in' rubbish (yes, I know they bed in, but its not like they become super brakes) are always rolled out when people say they are not that great.

I think its just that hydro are so much better in more ways than one, and make mech seem a bit pointless by comparison.

Luckily I only have one non full hydro disc bike (of the 3 disc and 4 rim). Once bitten, twice shy. It will never (expedition aside) happen again.
Stopping a bike from the hub via a cable with the power of your hand is a no no for me from now on.

Exaggeration? 9k!

vrsmatt

Carbonator wrote:

Not sure why you assume the mech I had, and HY-RD it became were/are not set up properly.
That and the 'bedding in' rubbish (yes, I know they bed in, but its not like they become super brakes) are always rolled out when people say they are not that great.

I think its just that hydro are so much better in more ways than one, and make mech seem a bit pointless by comparison.

Luckily I only have one non full hydro disc bike (of the 3 disc and 4 rim). Once bitten, twice shy. It will never (expedition aside) happen again.
Stopping a bike from the hub via a cable with the power of your hand is a no no for me from now on.

Exaggeration? 9k!

Nobody claimed hydro weren't better, op asked if he should avoid mech, in my opinion the trp and only the trp are at least the equal of rim brakes when used off the drops and get into the lever travel, as said initial bite is less, as for feel, if you use the correct compression less cable housing then I'm not sure how hyro gives a better feel than a mech set up.

The point is hydros are at least twice the price of a trp set up but that's not to say they don't have a place on the road, if you feel that strongly I suggest a mech v's hydro thread to get your issues out.

I regularly ride with a friends of whom one has cycled the world and one has a £9k Dogma which I covet, neither are out of the ordinary. If you don't think people spend that sort of cash I suggest a Sunday morning up box hill will dispel you of that notion, lol

gdcfc1

VRSMatt wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Not sure why you assume the mech I had, and HY-RD it became were/are not set up properly.
That and the 'bedding in' rubbish (yes, I know they bed in, but its not like they become super brakes) are always rolled out when people say they are not that great.

I think its just that hydro are so much better in more ways than one, and make mech seem a bit pointless by comparison.

Luckily I only have one non full hydro disc bike (of the 3 disc and 4 rim). Once bitten, twice shy. It will never (expedition aside) happen again.
Stopping a bike from the hub via a cable with the power of your hand is a no no for me from now on.

Exaggeration? 9k!

Nobody claimed hydro weren't better, op asked if he should avoid mech, in my opinion the trp and only the trp are at least the equal of rim brakes when used off the drops and get into the lever travel, as said initial bite is less, as for feel, if you use the correct compression less cable housing then I'm not sure how hyro gives a better feel than a mech set up.

The point is hydros are at least twice the price of a trp set up but that's not to say they don't have a place on the road, if you feel that strongly I suggest a mech v's hydro thread to get your issues out.

I regularly ride with a friends of whom one has cycled the world and one has a £9k Dogma which I covet, neither are out of the ordinary. If you don't think people spend that sort of cash I suggest a Sunday morning up box hill will dispel you of that notion, lol

Yes, OP here and sorry I got you all so hot and bothered. As noted, I just wondered if I should avoid the fixie with front mech disc brake. Rear, by the way, is rim. So, simple answer seems to be that it is good and no need to avoid the bike for that reason.

ovi

Im 95kg and have bb7 brakes and they work fine on gravel or tarmac in wet conditions if this helps. I don't see much point in upgrading them anytime soon.

awavey

Ive got TRP Spyres on my road bike, there were fitted as is, so not really a choice of mech over hydraulic, though my absorbed experience from colleagues who had hydraulic who seemed to be for ever battling leaks and returning to manufacturers, maybe steered me more towards mech as a starting point.

but are they any good ? depends, have to admit I didnt think they were that good the other week when I grabbed a handful of front brake lever and nothing happened :shock: yeah they dont self adjust and the only warning is slight degradation of brake feel, but eventually you run out of pad material biting the disc and then no matter how hard you squeeze the lever nothing happens.

although seemingly couple of turns of adjustment and I should be back in business as the pads look okay, its just trying to work out how much adjustment is having any effect.

and when I first got them it did feel like the disc was warped as it tended to dragged a bit and they squealed in the wet and made a horrid modulating grinding noise. so never really felt theyve been set up perfectly all the time, they seem a bit fiddly if Im honest but Im willing to accept thats down to user error

but vs rim brakes though, yeah they absolutely stop quicker, I feel I have more confidence in them and therefore the bike as a whole being able to stop from faster speeds than I would with just rim brakes, so I wouldnt people off them, Id just say they need a bit more fettling than rim brakes to work perfectly.

Anonymous

awavey wrote:

Ive got TRP Spyres on my road bike, there were fitted as is, so not really a choice of mech over hydraulic, though my absorbed experience from colleagues who had hydraulic who seemed to be for ever battling leaks and returning to manufacturers, maybe steered me more towards mech as a starting point.

Wow, just wow! 'Battling leaks'!

I have never experienced this (apart from my daughter knocking the reservoir cap off (so physical damage to a silly cheap design)) in years of having hydraulic, and knowing a lot of people that have it too.

How many colleagues? 2? 3? Your workplace must be cursed!
What bikes were they? decent ones?

Don't let them ever get Di2 as they may be in the tiny minority that have issues with that too.

You got a bum steer if their experiences had any influence on your decision.
Hydraulic is super reliable, and expeditions aside, the only real/main barrier is cost.

vrsmatt

Love the way you keep quoting expeditions lol, I've had hydro brakes for 20 years in one form or another on cycles and believe me they will eventually 'leak' or ingest air and will need a bleed or a service, also people crash or snag their bike on other stuff moving round the garage, locking it up in a bike park etc

I guess if you just ride on smooth sunny Tarmac once a week in the summer then the nuances of daily life with a bike passes you by

I happily ride hydro brake on my mtb and would on the road too, but I am prepared to accept the fact there are downsides to every product. You're still banging the hyro drum on a thread not about hydro brakes though, do you need showing how to start your own hyro v's mech thread? Just trying to help ;-)

Anonymous

Sorry VRS, I will shut up about it now 8)
It was just that expeditions are so irrelevant to this thread/most peoples use that I felt it was worth reiterating.

I love the way you think/assume I not only cannot set up/have set up mech disc/HY-RD's, but now pootle around whilst using them!

Why bring up maintenance and servicing like it is odd or negative?

Of course the hoses etc. are vulnerable ("moving around the garage"??!), but its by no means a reason not to buy.
Surely the more extreme and non minimal tarmac pootling you do, the more you would want/need hydro?

vrsmatt

Id use hydro happily up to a point but then I'd have to think carefully

An example of an experience that would affect my decision

I use an MTB regularly, last year I had a days riding planned, I had some box fresh shimano brakes with only 4 days use and the rest of the bike was in perfect order.
I drove 3 hours to Bike Park Wales with my pals and on the 2nd run of the day pulled the back brake lever to the bar

Potentially that could have ruined a days riding and wasted a lot of time, effort and money, had it been a solo ride in Snowdonia or another exposed place I could have had more difficulty than being at a bike park and getting back to the van and my toolkit

On a road bike - I imagine that happening on a long solo ride in bad weather and its unpleasant, and a risk I can mitigate
Mechanicals can happen to anyone at any time, but if you can mitigate them then why wouldn't you if planning rides where you could be exposed

Road discs just haven't been around long enough to state with certainty how 'reliable' they are. Despite what forum users report, unless they did the pre prod testing for the manufacturer

So currently, the more extreme the ride planned the less I'd want hydro on the road bike at present.

Anonymous

Well we agree on road hydro then
Just that I would rather have high end rim, rather than mech disc until I trust/want hydro (not that I could get another bike now even if I did).

I will probably get them on a winter road bike first anyway, and the reliability would not be an issue for me on that.
I would alway prefer the performance over rim/mech disc for the slim chance of loosing one brake on a ride which I would still get home from.

Are you saying you would have a mech disc MTB in Snowdonia?
That sounds mad to me.
Maybe try new kit out for more than 4 days before trusting it?

Thats like saying you would have a rigid fork rather than risking a suspension problem isn't it?

vrsmatt

Carbonator wrote:

Well we agree on road hydro then
Just that I would rather have high end rim, rather than mech disc until I trust/want hydro (not that I could get another bike now even if I did).

I will probably get them on a winter road bike first anyway, and the reliability would not be an issue for me on that.
I would alway prefer the performance over rim/mech disc for the slim chance of loosing one brake on a ride which I would still get home from.

Are you saying you would have a mech disc MTB in Snowdonia?
That sounds mad to me.
Maybe try new kit out for more than 4 days before trusting it?

Thats like saying you would have a rigid fork rather than risking a suspension problem isn't it?

Are you mad? I've already said I think hydro perform better than mechanical at braking, why on earth do you keep banging away at that point, it doesn't prove anything about mech brakes does it. You really must sort out your issues on another thread, and probably research glazing, bedding in and setup whilst your at it. Just trying to help


This thread is about avoiding mech or not and I wouldn't avoid a trp Spyre as IMO it's at least as good as a rim brake in the dry and far better in the wet

And having had hydro discs for 20 years I would say that using a new set on my mtb when I already own the same set on another bike (especially as they are shimano zee) is no more risk than anything else on the mtb that's time proven tech, the seals on the suspension or in the seat post could blow or leak at any time also, these are also items I'd think twice about using on a tour, expedition or ride where failure could leave me exposed, forks are not an issue as I could easily ride out of somewhere on blown forks if mine blew as the have a mechanical lockout ;-)

Anonymous

Enjoy your mechanical disc braked bikes guys

They will be few and far between soon.
Only on the real cheap stuff, just like MTB.

(sound of door closing).

The Rookie

We still have 3 sets of 2006 Shimano hydraulic brakes (MTB obviously) a a set of 2004's as well, all work very well.....

Les reliable than cable? not at all!