Weight/Lightness VS Discs
benterz222
Posts: 14
Hi all.
I'm in the market for a new road bike, and can't decide between going for a bike that's as light as possible but with mechanical gears and brakes. Or to futureproof myself and go for a bike with discs and electronic shifting, yet a couple of kilos heavier.
Would be interested to hear other people's thoughts.
I'm in the market for a new road bike, and can't decide between going for a bike that's as light as possible but with mechanical gears and brakes. Or to futureproof myself and go for a bike with discs and electronic shifting, yet a couple of kilos heavier.
Would be interested to hear other people's thoughts.
0
Posts
Get the one you want or the one that fits your needs better
What do you have now ? What do you like or dislike about it ?
b.1998/Boswell & Percy again..??
I've been considering the Giant TCR disc and the Canyon Ultimate CF SLX Disc. Both weigh in at around 7.8kg. Quite keen on electronic shifting, but not convinced on the need for disc brakes.
Test rode a Giant Propel recently, and was astounded at the difference between that and my Boardman in terms of speed, power and general ride. Felt so much nicer.
Thus far I thought he'd confined his activities to Road General for some reason.
Anyway, to disc or not to disc. I'd say not, for the time being, because the standard is still evolving, there's still a significant weight penalty (about a kilo to a kilo-and-half all in across frameset, wheelset and braking system - assuming you're being spendy) and well set up rim brakes are more than powerful enough to lock your wheels. Hell, I can lock up both ends of my 1986 ALAN, and that's using Deltas (and Challenge Strada 25c tubs before someone blames the tyres...)
Eventually I suspect disc will become the only option, but I'd say there's another 3-5 years of evolution needed yet, once the pro peloton adopt them, before they're the obvious choice for a road bike.
On the other hand, if you're slack at maintenance and cleaning, not bothered about half-a-kilo of weight (that's the penalty at the not-spendy end) or lack confidence in your braking technique, I'd go disc and stop worrying.
Only because they're obviously becoming a 'thing' for a reason, and having ridden MTB's with discs for years, I know that you can achieve greater feel, control and reliability on large/wet descents with discs. Having said that, I've never had any MAJOR issues with my Shimano 105 brakes. They're a bit ropey on large descents, but nothing dangerous.
I have no idea what this b. 1998 thing means!?
Thanks for the reply. I agree with your points and feel there will be more development of discs to come, with new versions coming out every year.
I'm pretty strict with cleaning/maintenance, although not HUGELY bothered about an extra kilo of weight.
Marin Nail Trail
Cotic Solaris
< 72kg's, calipers.
I'm putting on my helmet and i'm preparing to duck and run, don't worry.
He is a never ending troll with multiple usernames asking questions that he knows will get people's knickers in a twist, they might start off reasonably ok then after a few more posts it's obvious he's trolling but people can't help themselves and it descends into madness rapidly. For some reason it seemed like your first post was worded deliberately to start one of many hundred debates about disc brakes on here, apologies!
I personally wouldn't go for discs specifically over rim unless they are hydraulic, and then I would look more carefully about the rest of the spec/weight. One of my bikes has mechanical discs, they are fine but not really an improvement. If you were just deciding between a TCR disc and a Propel I'd say there are much more important things to consider between the two than disc/no disc. I think I'm right in saying you'd have to decide if you wan't aero or not. Those Propels do look lovely in the flesh which is far more important than discs after all
Ah right ok, thanks for clearing that up. It's a sorry state of affairs when you can't even post a genuine question on a bike forum without people assuming you're "trolling"... :?
Anyway, I agree the Propel's look great, and that's something I'm aware of - as who doesn't want their kit to look good when you're dropping big money on it.
But there are other 'annoyances' with the Propel I've heard about, plus it seems they may bring a new one out later this year (source: Giant employees).
I like the idea of discs, just not sure how essential they are on a road bike. If the bike weighed the same with discs, I'd go for them... it's just the weight thing. If I'm spending a lot of money on a road bike, I want it to be as light as possible.
Although I'd ben keen to try it out, I don't think I will be. Why aren't discs allowed for competition?
Sage advice. 'Orses for courses.
I weigh less than 65kg, live in East Anglia, and because all my riding is for leisure and on quiet country roads, I hardly ever brake. When I do, I'm perfectly happy with rim brakes. I like their simplicity. I'm not worried about weight.
If I was buying a new bike tomorrow I'd want a decent frame and wheels, and a middle of the range mechanical groupset with rim brakes.
If I was a big bloke doing lots of hard braking or start stop commuting in the wet I'd probably want discs.
They almost certainly will be, once safety concerns are addressed and standards are agreed...and once the UCI and NGBs come up with some kind of roll-out plan...
On the road none of these is the case, and so rim brakes are fine. I will also say that I have yet to find a disc system with properly adjustable lever feel - I like "Porsche" brakes, in other words almost no lever travel before there is a braking effect, and disc systems always seem to have a lot of dead travel (and are much harder to adjust in this regard).
Just picking up on that point (and don't get me wrong), I always set the calipers up so that they pinch the rims simultaneously. Never had a wheel out of true due to braking.
This man ^ has both experience of Alpine descents and both types of brakes, this is sound wisdom. However, you may be a confident, experienced descender whilst there are others who will be tapping and feathering constantly or over braking. Discs may compensate for a lack of bike handling skills? I don't know 'cos I have never ridden a bike with discs and I am a fairly confident descender.
Liar:
Rumbled! OK, usually I do! - The perils of life on a forum...
For the record, I also have a traditional road bike with Ultegra calipers. I wouldn't hesitate to take this down a French mountain, in fact I did in 2015 down the Tourmalet, however it wasn't nearly the fun I had last year.
For riding in this country, there are only a handful of hills that you could get the most out of disc brakes, however they can be an advantage on any descent, especially in the wet.
Just my two cents from a user of both.
But the coaster brake on my first BMX was absolutely fine, so I would get one of those.
Disc brake standard has evolved by the way. Flat mount is here to stay and so is quick relase or 100x12mm or 100x15mm for the front and a end cap change deal with that quickly. For rear the q/r and 142x12mm is hear to stay and again end cap axle changes swap between those easily enough.
While 964cup may like brakes with no dead travel like porchase i find such brakes have poor modulation and either pull your face off or your not braking. The shimano r785 is the other extreme where there is a lot of lever travel but this is because an mtb caliper has been used with a long lever blade. The result is alot of lever travel before lock but in that travel you have an increasing ammount of braking till you get lock. I'd rather have the latter than have no dead travel which also means lower mechanical leverage i.e tiny lever movement equals lots of pad movement and low braking torque per N of lever force applied. The reverse of hydraulic disc brakes which means more lever travel and less pad movement but the braking torque applied is much higher. But because you have better control of braking torque applied. I prefer the latter.
Also if the alpine decents you do where in the rain then rim brakes would be lacking.
I ride rim brake bikes alot in the wet and dry and in the wet i am more cautious with rim brakes and if in a group i am very cautious indeed.
My experience is similar
'Off road' ?! Wrong forum.
i mean, in the wet, its not stopping/slowing down i ever worry about, its those skinny tires running out of grip on polished tar, thats the only concern.
Now uk shitty wet roads? discs because of the rim wear.