Less force needed to brake using disc brakes?

3wheeler

A friend has arthritis in their hands/thumbs so pulling the brake lever can cause pain, particularly on any hilly area where you need to brake more. Can anyone who uses disc brakes tell me whether the force you apply at the lever is less than rim brakes?

Any opinions about rim brakes being better than discs are welcome elsewhere

cooldad

Decent hydraulic discs, a lot less.

Old Magura hydraulic rim brakes are another possible option.

I've never used mechanical discs so can't comment on those.

shirley_basso

Hydraulic discs much, much less than rim brakes.

lesfirth

Agreed. One thing to note is that road disc brakes have 160mm or 140mm rotors. I have not used 160 rotors but I would expect them to take less effort.

lettingthedaysgoby

Yep, 160mm rotors and hydro discs can bring a bike to a controllable, rapid stop with just one finger.




(awaits legions of rim brake fans to say they can do the same :roll: )

joey54321

lettingthedaysgoby wrote:

(awaits legions of rim brake fans to say they can do the same :roll: )

They're all at home doing single finger exercise to prove how easily they can stop with a single finger too.

3wheeler

Thanks - just what I wanted to hear.

Is Shimano 105/RS505 worth getting? (seems fairly common on new disc-based road bikes)

shirley_basso

Can you wait out for R7000? Looks much nicer without the massive reservoir in the top of the shifter. Otherwise, functionally, they are fine.

peat

Yeah, the bulbous 105 reservoirs are no easy on the eye, but offer a very comfortable hand position option .

plowmar

Whether rim or disc I prefer to brake gradualy feeling if I have to brake suddenly that I have not done it correctly.
As I have , as I am sure we all do, have different style brakes on different bikes then the efficiency does not matter as you are stuck with the one you have.

kajjal

I would also get them to test ride the bike to see if the levers suit the hand position they need. Generally this is not a problem but just in case. In my experience disc brakes take a lot less effort to use and give more predictable braking once you are used to the increased power compared to rim brakes.

thistle_

Shirley Basso wrote:

Can you wait out for R7000? Looks much nicer without the massive reservoir in the top of the shifter. Otherwise, functionally, they are fine.

I'd be interested to see what changes they have made with the new shifters/levers.

I have the R5800 (105) shifters with BR505 / BR785 calipers. The inner gear wire routing on the shifter is terrible IMO - it comes in from the back and wraps around the front of the reservoir in a tight bend.
Rear shifting was poor after about a month of use. The PTFE coated cable had shredded its coating around the bend and was jamming up. I have swapped it for a plan stainless cable and it's fine now, but the tight bend just looks wrong compared to older shifters which had a more direct path for the gear cable.
You also have to unscrew the front of the lever to change the cable - older levers you could do without any tools (and without losing any of the tiny screws).

This is only the 2nd or 3rd? incarnation of the shifters, so I expect these things to be improved as time goes on.

The brakes work great. Only niggle with the calipers is that when you hit a pothole, the pads move and start rubbing on the rotor. There's no pressure so it doesn't slow you down but it makes a really annoying grinding noise. I haven't noticed this happening on MTB brakes that I have used - maybe when I replace the pads it will sort itself out.

lakesluddite

Don't discount Sram hydro levers and calipers. I have Rival hydro on my winter bike, and the levers seem far more ergonomic than the Shimano.

hopkinb

LakesLuddite wrote:

Don't discount Sram hydro levers and calipers. I have Rival hydro on my winter bike, and the levers seem far more ergonomic than the Shimano.

Fugly though, and I say that as someone with the same brakes & levers.

mamil314

Go italian for h.r. Geigerness!
https://bikerumor.com/wp-content/upload ... inside.jpg

iron-clover

I have mechanical Spyre and Promax Render disk brakes on my CX/ commuter and they take a little less force to come to a stop, but it's not that much less than good rim brakes.

I've tried hydraulic Ultegra on a test bike, and yes, that took a lot less force at the levers to come to a stop.

Tiesetrotter

thistle (MBNW) wrote:

Shirley Basso wrote:

Can you wait out for R7000? Looks much nicer without the massive reservoir in the top of the shifter. Otherwise, functionally, they are fine.

I'd be interested to see what changes they have made with the new shifters/levers.

I have the R5800 (105) shifters with BR505 / BR785 calipers. The inner gear wire routing on the shifter is terrible IMO - it comes in from the back and wraps around the front of the reservoir in a tight bend.
Rear shifting was poor after about a month of use. The PTFE coated cable had shredded its coating around the bend and was jamming up. I have swapped it for a plan stainless cable and it's fine now, but the tight bend just looks wrong compared to older shifters which had a more direct path for the gear cable.
You also have to unscrew the front of the lever to change the cable - older levers you could do without any tools (and without losing any of the tiny screws).

This is only the 2nd or 3rd? incarnation of the shifters, so I expect these things to be improved as time goes on.

The brakes work great. Only niggle with the calipers is that when you hit a pothole, the pads move and start rubbing on the rotor. There's no pressure so it doesn't slow you down but it makes a really annoying grinding noise. I haven't noticed this happening on MTB brakes that I have used - maybe when I replace the pads it will sort itself out.

Agreed. I have the first generation Hydro Ultegra on my bike. They are an engineering and design abomination. They are the definition of the worst STI levers ever made.
1. The hoods are badly designed with a square design made for over-sized lego men hands
2. The lever action for gear changing is stiff and oversized especially the outer lever. Although the change that way is good and crisp for the one or two changes you can make.
3. The down-shift lever is very spongy, inaccurate and you have to throw it across a ridiculously long way and then release it for a gear change. By the time it has activated the rear derailleur it'd almost be quicker to get off the bike and do it manually. So don't attempt to change the front and rear mech together otherwise you end spinning the pedals like a madman. Also the shift is the most agricultural of any system I have ever tried ...... it's schwing the lever, click, release......... wait........ kerklunk.
4. The callipers are very prone to rubbing as above. It is nothing excessive but very annoying.
5. Breaking is very good and I think the modulation is very good. Once you have got the hang of it you can feather the brakes far better than any rim brake I have tried.
6. Indexing is not good. The hoods eat cables and it is forever getting its knickers in a twist. I have gone through three rear derailleur cables because as above the internal routing is just plain daft and again a design abomination.
7. The front mech is very precise in change. But again the throw to go up is very stiff. Obviously going down is just a flick to release the cable and the change is flawless.

So DON'T by the early versions. Just to put my mind at rest I have now tried all three main versions of the groupsets (well not the new C
ampy12, just the H0).
1. Latest Shimano now has the smallest neatest hood (what a turn around), but the rear derailleur change, is still not the best very klunky and ridiculously slow. The breaking is superb. Obviously, it is also the easiest to get bits and spares
2. The Campy has the best gear change in terms of speed and ease of use. There is no stiffness and the levers and buttons are instant. The breaks felt a bit more spongey. They claim it is more modulation ..... but personally, I preferred the Shimano which is so direct.
3. The SRAM has pretty massive hoods, but at least they are hand shaped. The change is solid direct and works. But obviously, both of the others have multiple gear change options of some sort. Breaking was superb.

If I had dodgey hands I'd plump for Campagnolo in manual. But it's a bit confusing as I have no idea what they are doing with their ranges and pricing is not comparable:
Ultegra - £840
Force - £900
Potenza H0 - £1,150

Then there is Di2 which when I tried it you could programme to do anything and had immaculate gear changing. That is £1,300. So the poor Ultegra changing goes out the window as does any stiffness of lever. Now they have the best hoods, IMHO, I think it has to be the best option.