Discs are in...its now official.

theotherjake

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/about/article/20171114-about-bc-news-British-Cycling-to-allow-use-of-disc-brakes-in-domestic-road-and-circuit-competition-from-2018-0

cgfw201

about 2 years overdue but good to see.

cgfw201

about 2 years overdue but good to see.

imposter2.0

Earlier than I expected - I thought they'd announce it in 2018, but allow it in 2019. I'm off out now to buy a disc race machine for next season. Oh wait - no I'm not...

w00dster

I'm still contemplating a new bike for next season. I have a Trek Domane ALR (9.2kgs) with disc brakes and a Trek Domane SL5 (9kgs) with disc brakes....
Do I just make these lighter or go and buy a new bike? Choices choices. I was going to get an Emonda ALR Pro, but I'm actually contemplating spending some money on the Domane ALR.

Good decision though and was unexpected. I thought it would have been the 2019 season as well.

Matthewfalle

w00dster wrote:

I'm still contemplating a new bike for next season. I have a Trek Domane ALR (9.2kgs) with disc brakes and a Trek Domane SL5 (9kgs) with disc brakes....
Do I just make these lighter or go and buy a new bike? Choices choices. I was going to get an Emonda ALR Pro, but I'm actually contemplating spending some money on the Domane ALR.

Good decision though and was unexpected. I thought it would have been the 2019 season as well.

New bike obvs otherwise you're just chucking money at something it isn't and ending up with neither a sheep or a cow.

imposter2.0

oxoman wrote:

Suspect they're will be a glut of rim braked bikes going cheap because everyone will want discs.

w00dster

I'm not sure there will be that much of a move to disc brakes in the racing community. Most of the guys I race with / against, are more than happy on their lightweight or aero rim brake bike. I think in the future once the bikes get a bit lighter then people may want disc brakes for racing on.
Apart from in the wet weather crits, I can't really think of a time in the UK where disc brakes for racing will offer any benefit. Not intending to start a disc / rim brake discussion. Just saying I can't think of a Cat 2/3/4 race I've been in where the down hills are sufficient to warrant disc brakes. Certainly my local races and the one's I enter slightly further afield have no real steep downhills with hairpins etc.

For racing purposes I personally prefer lightweight and aero. I'm weak mentally so knowing I have got every extra watt I can helps. Yep I know its not about the bike, aero has little or next to no advantage in a crit or in a peloton, and I know that lightweight bikes on flattish courses offer very little - but I'm really that mentally weak!

But all that said, its still a very good move from BC and it does open up racing to people who may have moved to disc brakes over the last couple of years. I may do the winter / spring crit series on my disc brake bike and see how I get on.

joey54321

I don't think its so much about the advantage for racing per sa.

I do a lot of road racing and there have been a few very wet and wild races where discs would have been nice. However, what this does allow me to do is buy a disc bike for my racing AND all my other riding. My next road bike (though I am not planning one any time soon) will 100% be a disc bike. With myy last bike I bought ~2 years ago, I was in two minds, but went rim brakes as I wanted to be able to race it.

w00dster

Good point Joey.
I was just thinking that a lot of people have two bikes (at least). So we use our summer / faster bike for racing on and our disc brake bike would then become the winter series race bike.
Obviously for those who only have the one bike then that's a story and I wouldn't really be able to say what I would go for - I'm fickle - I love my disc brake bikes but I can't really think of too many times where the rim brake bike let me down braking wise either.

imposter2.0

Apparently, the word is LVRC will not be following BC's lead on this issue. Discs still not permitted in their events..

cycleclinic

Damm now I have an excuse for another bike.

whatleytom

Imposter wrote:

Apparently, the word is LVRC will not be following BC's lead on this issue. Discs still not permitted in their events..

Interesting, can't help but think it's still a bit premature. Especially given how few of the pro peloton remained on discs after the initial novelty and some of the crashes. Wonder if the bike industry applied any pressure to try and force the decision through.

imposter2.0

I agree - to me, this has happened around 12 months earlier than i was expecting. Also, an announcement less than two months before the start of 2018 seems a little odd. On the other hand, it makes no practical difference to the racing itself, so I guess it doesn't really matter either way...

whatleytom

As a 2nd cat I certainly won't be rushing in the next 5 years to be buying anything to race on with discs, bar a cx bike. Across all the races I've done in the last three years, I can't think of a single time where a disc brake would have been of greater benefit than a rim brake.

cycleclinic

like the above I should really wait till I wreck the look before buying a disc brake road bike. I dont really need one but if you are buying a new race bike it might as well be a disc brake bike.

Beatmaker

The rather late nature of the announcement is pretty frustrating. I've just sold a disc frame and bought a rim brake frame to race on next season, two weeks later I find I could have raced my old bike next season.

whatleytom

Be glad it wasn't as bad as the u-turn CTT made mid season on the 3cm rule.