Commuter bike - disc yes or no?

dinyull

I have been commuting a couple of days a week (apr-oct) for the past few years, but recently started commuting mon-fri and will be continuing through the winter this year.

Current bike is a planet x London road, shod with trp spyre mechanical discs, but in the past used to commute on a rim braked road bike.

Bought the London road in the sale earlier this year, and because I was between sizes went smaller to match my previous bike setup (longer stem etc). I had a bit of toe overlap prior to mudguards, but now I've fitted some it's become a problem.

Simple solution would be to replace the frame with something bigger, however I've been pretty uninspired with the disc brakes so thinking of selling the whole thing on and replacing with something cheaper like a caad8 to use as a commuter and winter trainer.

I had an accident last year when I couldn't stop in time on rim brakes n the wet, so that was a factor in the disc bike.

Just wanting opinions of those year round commuters on disc brakes -are they an essential piece of winter commuting kit?

fat daddy

I dunno about essential ...... my daily commute has discs, they work, they always brake HARD .... this morning in he wet they squealed like a dying pig though.

the only real advantage I have found in disk over rim is when its crappy weather, gritty roads, wet, icy sludge, salt and all of that stuff ..... you don't scratch all your rims apart with gritty brake pads ..... so fo me it would be an asthetics thing, I would either have rim brakes, but have winter and summer wheels .. something bad ass in the winter like RS010s .. or go discs

Application wise though, as much as disks work better in the wet, I don't feel I need that power as I am going that much slower due to crap weather, poor visibility, slower traffic, really slow other cyclists, being scared of white lines so braking very early etc etc etc

Man Of Lard

I would not commute on a bike with rim brakes at any time of year... The only pain it has ever been was the "day of the deluge" when I consumed the last 1.5-2.0mm of the originally supplied resin pads (down to the backing plate) in under 10 miles. Since then, the pads were changed for sintered and no repeat.

asprilla

Discs don't brake harder; you can lock your wheel pretty easily with disc brakes or rim brakes. What discs do give you is more consistency, since they bite the same and you can modulate your braking in the same way regardless of weather condition. There are few surprises.

Of course discs aren't going to magically improve friction between tyre and road, so they don't make stopping the same all year round, but they are better.

I had three emergency stops this morning (an extreme rarity) and I'm glad I was on my hydro-disc bike.

I've never been a fan of mechanical discs, but hydraulics are from a different planet.

The Rookie

Discs for me on my commuter (PX LR as it happens and yes I get toe overlap to the mudguard on my large due to my clown shoes - 11), I like the much better more instant braking of discs, I'm on mechanicals and yes they do need frequent tweaking to keep at their best but if I do they have more power than the rest of the bike (grip or lifting the back wheel) can use.

For power get Avid BB (5 or 7), heavy and clumpy but they do work very well.

arthur_scrimshaw

My last two commuter bikes have been disk.

Here are my reasons :

More consistent braking in the wet - less delay.
Rims are not eaten away by grit impacted shoes. Disk pads (unless using organic pads - why would you?) last much longer than equivalent rim shoes.
Fixing punctures is less painful and much much cleaner.

The Rookie

Not convinced by this 'organic don't last long', I've changed my front pads once, and my rears not at all in over 6,500 miles.

Also organic pads give better initial bite than metallic.

arthur_scrimshaw

The Rookie wrote:

Not convinced by this 'organic don't last long', I've changed my front pads once, and my rears not at all in over 6,500 miles.

Also organic pads give better initial bite than metallic.

Maybe it's just cheap superstar ones I used then.

craker

Well in 7 years of commuting 5 days a week I've never felt that I was missing having them. I've accepted it as inevitable that in future I'll be riding a disk equipped bike as that just seems to be the way things are going. My experiences with hydro disks on my MTB haven't been the revelation I had hoped, it's hard to see how much pad is left and they're fiddly to change. At the moment they squeal so badly I don't want to ride the thing.

graeme_s-2

The Rookie wrote:

Discs for me on my commuter (PX LR as it happens and yes I get toe overlap to the mudguard on my large due to my clown shoes - 11)

Large framed LR, mudguards and size 12 shoes here. Also have toe overlap, but after catching my foot while making a tight turn once after I fitted the guards it hasn't been a problem.

kajjal

If you get good quality disc brakes, preferably hydro the give you more power, control and consistency over braking. If properly setup they are only noisy in prolonged rain but work fine. For commuting good brakes are important.

kajjal

craker wrote:

Well in 7 years of commuting 5 days a week I've never felt that I was missing having them. I've accepted it as inevitable that in future I'll be riding a disk equipped bike as that just seems to be the way things are going. My experiences with hydro disks on my MTB haven't been the revelation I had hoped, it's hard to see how much pad is left and they're fiddly to change. At the moment they squeal so badly I don't want to ride the thing.

Squealing often means they are contaminated with oil or similar. Best solution is clean rotor with disk brake cleaner until kitchen roll stays clean, then remove old pads and clean the calliper first with a little cleaner and then with soapy water and dry. Fit new pads and this should be fine depending on the brakes you have. You can try cleaning the old pads in the same way as the rotor first before fitting new pads as this may work.

redvee

Another LR owner, two in fact. One set-up as a single speed with HyRds and the other with BB5s. The singlespeed is used 99% of the time in all weathers and the brakes aren't quiet in the rain but I know that when I grab the lever they'll stop me.

iPete

Another option... Sell it all and get a new build with hybrid or full hydraulic discs.

I only have one disc (because fixie), a hybrid Juin Tech r1 and it's brilliant, I no longer cringe at the sound of winter grit destroying rims and it's nice to know the brakes going to work on those cold & wet commutes.

roger_merriman

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

Not convinced by this 'organic don't last long', I've changed my front pads once, and my rears not at all in over 6,500 miles.

Also organic pads give better initial bite than metallic.

Maybe it's just cheap superstar ones I used then.

I think usage has more bearing.

I've yet to need to replace the pads on the commute old MTB, 4,500 miles, on tow paths/tracks/roads.

The FS MTB can be down to bare metal in a few rides.

greenamex2

Last week I would have said no.
After Saturday it would be a resounding yes.

I have beem commuting for 3 weeks on a hydraulic disc equipped CX bike (12 miles each way on a variety of surfaces). Didn't quite realise how much I had got used to them until I did a ride at the weekend on my V brake equipped MTB. The V brakes just lacked control on the limit of the surface compared to the discs.

Got back home and started looking at replacements for the MTB. And told my daughter her next bike is also having discs.

awavey

Im not sold on discs fully yet, stopping distance in the wet on a commute I dont think is that different because you wont be pushing it along as much,and the only difference I get from swapping between mechanical disc brakes and rim brakes in terms of stopping power between my bikes, is because I know the rim brakes are horribly rubbish on my other bike, when I hired a bike in the summer the rim brakes were superb and actually far better than the disc setup Ive got, which just sounds like grinding metal

so I think the only real advantage in the winter is you wont be grinding away the rims and ending up with that build up of crud on the rims.

kajjal

Like anything else lower quality cable disc brakes that are poorly setup don't work very well. Well setup hydraulic disc brakes are a lot better, when I switched to my 105 brakes on my old road bike it felt like someone had stolen my brakes. You could feel the cables stretching, the lack of power and they felt very wooden compared to hydraulic discs.

Pufftmw

I changed my front end to hydro disk and am glad I did - much more consistent stopping in all conditions and they work if you have to grab a handful in the rain.

roger_merriman

Kajjal wrote:

Like anything else lower quality cable disc brakes that are poorly setup don't work very well. Well setup hydraulic disc brakes are a lot better, when I switched to my 105 brakes on my old road bike it felt like someone had stolen my brakes. You could feel the cables stretching, the lack of power and they felt very wooden compared to hydraulic discs.

This.

I have two MTB's one older one that is my town/commute bike now and a newer FS for hills and woods.

both have full Hydro disks, But the older bike has cheaper model. they work fine but they don't have either the modulation or the power that the slightly more expensive brakes on the newer bike has.

-=mike=-

Definite yes, mainly due to reliable stopping in wet weather, upgraded bikes from cantilever to hydro disc.
No question which is better.

The Rookie

Comparing any real brake to Canti's is always a lop sided comparison!

-=mike=-

The Rookie wrote:

Comparing any real brake to Canti's is always a lop sided comparison!

Agreed, its stretch to even call Cantis brakes!

The Rookie

Which is why I didnt!

"Canti brakes" is an Oxymoron!

prawny

Another disc convert here.

Always knew I would be, it was just a matter of time until a could get a half decent disc equipped drop bar bike for the pittance I like to pay for my bikes. The Saracen was £400 with cheap tektro brakes and Tiagra 10 speed, I've got through 2 chains, 1 cassette and a set of front pads in 5500 miles. I wouldn't go back to rim brakes for a commuter, I was getting through a set of pads every 6-8 weeks on my previous bike in the winter.

awavey

just to be contrary on the whole discs work better in the wet thing, out yesterday with discs on the bike, braking seemed fine to begin with in the dry, but then it rained and next time I went for the front brake there was no braking happening at all, and accompanied with the most appalling metal on metal screeching, I expected to see gigantic gouges in the discs after the noise it was making it was that bad, in the end I was rear braking gingerley only for the rest of the way home. checked both the pads and disc when I got home and they still look ok (it was only serviced a month ago too and I know they checked the brakes were ok), and now dried out seem to be working ok again.

So I dont know if they picked up some contamination off the road thats dried or dropped off,or what was happening

but to me thats one of the big downsides of discs, rim brakes you look down instantly can see your brake blocks are working or in working condition, with discs, and I accept this maybe a failing of mechanical systems only, you might check them before you set off, but I feel now I dont know when I pull the lever how much braking force Im going to get.

mamil314

redvee wrote:

Another LR owner, two in fact. One set-up as a single speed with HyRds and the other with BB5s. The singlespeed is used 99% of the time in all weathers and the brakes aren't quiet in the rain but I know that when I grab the lever they'll stop me.

Can i ask how you implemented read disc brake on a SS? I thought rear axle on a Fixie and SS would frequently slip and require adjustment