Disc, discs, everywhere

mpatts

This is not a 'rim vs disc' thread*

I've been cycling a lot in the nice weather, and I'd say that the majority of bikes around here are of the disc braked variety - which means they are mostly new, certainly no more than a few years old.

This - and I'm not sure why - somewhat surprised me. I wonder what the average age of bikes on the road is? Or would it indicate a load of new cyclists?

No bad thing, no judgement, just thought it was interesting.

Oh, and I was feeling generally smug with my new rare 'best bike' (a cinelli nemo tig), and within the first 20km on Sunday I saw another one. In the same colour.

*I'll end it here, discs are better, rim brakes are lighter

brundonbianchi

It’s a mixture of things. Lots of new cyclists, lots of people upgrading their bikes. A lot of high end bikes don’t come with rim brakes as an option anymore. I don’t like disc brakes on road bikes, but mine came with them, so that’s that. It helps with resale value as well.

imposter2.0

brundonbianchi said:

I don’t like disc brakes on road bikes, but mine came with them, so that’s that.

"I don't like disc brakes on road bikes, so I spent £12k on a new road bike with disc brakes.."

mpatts

to be clear, I was using the volume of disc braked bikes and an age indicator, nothing else!

fenix

Probably people new to cycling then. I think rim brakes still have the edge with club riders ?

First.Aspect

I'm always amazed at how often people in my club replace bikes. Some literally can't afford it, but get new ones anyway.

My "new" bike is 5 years old now. I'm riding a 15 year old one at the moment.

Feels just as slow with me on it as anything else.

mrb123

imposter2.0 said:

brundonbianchi said:

I don’t like disc brakes on road bikes, but mine came with them, so that’s that.

"I don't like disc brakes on road bikes, so I spent £12k on a new road bike with disc brakes.."

That is the wrong size...

mpatts

First.Aspect said:

I'm always amazed at how often people in my club replace bikes. Some literally can't afford it, but get new ones anyway.

My "new" bike is 5 years old now. I'm riding a 15 year old one at the moment.

Feels just as slow with me on it as anything else.

My 'new' bike is a mish mash, 5 year old wheels, 5 year old gruppo, new(well, a year old) frame.

First.Aspect

mrb123 said:

imposter2.0 said:

brundonbianchi said:

I don’t like disc brakes on road bikes, but mine came with them, so that’s that.

"I don't like disc brakes on road bikes, so I spent £12k on a new road bike with disc brakes.."

That is the wrong size...

Some people automatically assume that someone who can afford something expensive is necessarily stupid. I've never quite understood that (Joey from that Essex programme and Katie price being obvious exceptions.)

shortfall

Love these threads 😂

mpatts

I really wish I'd titled it "New bikes, everywhere"

brundonbianchi

mrb123 said:

That is the wrong size...

No it isn’t, what in god’s name makes you think that?

brundonbianchi

mpatts said:

I really wish I'd titled it "New bikes, everywhere"

You could have had the best of both worlds, and titled it new bikes with disc brakes everywhere.

brundonbianchi

First.Aspect said:

Some people automatically assume that someone who can afford something expensive is necessarily stupid. I've never quite understood that (Joey from that Essex programme and Katie price being obvious exceptions.)

Quite right. Also “expensive” really is a subjective term. Some people will wince at the thought of spending more than a few hundred quid on bike stuff, but quite happily spend over 100 grand on a timepiece ( watch ) for example. Where as I would wince at the thought of spending more than a couple of hundred on a watch, but really don’t have any issues with spending lots on decent cycling kit. It’s horses for courses, and different people prioritise different things I guess.

edward.s

I see lots of new cyclists out and about, which is awesome. If even 1% of them end up being regular cyclists for years to come then that is great.

I think Disc brakes are seen as a bit of a selling point these days so lots of new cyclists will choose them as they are 'modern', and companies will make those bikes. So yes, to actually consider your original question, Disc probably does = newer bikes and there are lots of new cyclists around so lots of new bikes.

I suspect the average age of bikes has dropped during Covid due to the numbers of new bikes sold. In the average club I suspect the effect would be less, among new cyclists the effect would be more.

pblakeney

First.Aspect said:

I'm always amazed at how often people in my club replace bikes. Some literally can't afford it, but get new ones anyway.

My "new" bike is 5 years old now. I'm riding a 15 year old one at the moment.

Feels just as slow with me on it as anything else.

My "new" bike is 9 years old, and my "best" bike 12 years old.
It's nice being different.

imposter2.0

brundonbianchi said:

mrb123 said:

That is the wrong size...

No it isn’t, what in god’s name makes you think that?

....the pictures....

shortfall

brundonbianchi said:

First.Aspect said:

Some people automatically assume that someone who can afford something expensive is necessarily stupid. I've never quite understood that (Joey from that Essex programme and Katie price being obvious exceptions.)

Quite right. Also “expensive” really is a subjective term. Some people will wince at the thought of spending more than a few hundred quid on bike stuff, but quite happily spend over 100 grand on a timepiece ( watch ) for example. Where as I would wince at the thought of spending more than a couple of hundred on a watch, but really don’t have any issues with spending lots on decent cycling kit. It’s horses for courses, and different people prioritise different things I guess.

Thanks for clarifying what a timepiece is.

kingstongraham

brundonbianchi said:

First.Aspect said:

Some people automatically assume that someone who can afford something expensive is necessarily stupid. I've never quite understood that (Joey from that Essex programme and Katie price being obvious exceptions.)

Quite right. Also “expensive” really is a subjective term. Some people will wince at the thought of spending more than a few hundred quid on bike stuff, but quite happily spend over 100 grand on a timepiece ( watch ) for example. Where as I would wince at the thought of spending more than a couple of hundred on a watch, but really don’t have any issues with spending lots on decent cycling kit. It’s horses for courses, and different people prioritise different things I guess.

I think if someone can spend £100,000+ on a watch and if they are into cycling, they are more than likely not going for a Carrera Virtuoso.

imposter2.0

shortfall said:

brundonbianchi said:

First.Aspect said:

Some people automatically assume that someone who can afford something expensive is necessarily stupid. I've never quite understood that (Joey from that Essex programme and Katie price being obvious exceptions.)

Quite right. Also “expensive” really is a subjective term. Some people will wince at the thought of spending more than a few hundred quid on bike stuff, but quite happily spend over 100 grand on a timepiece ( watch ) for example. Where as I would wince at the thought of spending more than a couple of hundred on a watch, but really don’t have any issues with spending lots on decent cycling kit. It’s horses for courses, and different people prioritise different things I guess.

Thanks for clarifying what a timepiece is.

I've always wondered what was meant by a 'timepiece'. Turns out it means 'watch'. Fascinating stuff. I honestly don't know where we'd all be without the insight of people like 'brundonbtwin'...

brundonbianchi

edward.s said:

I see lots of new cyclists out and about, which is awesome. If even 1% of them end up being regular cyclists for years to come then that is great.


I think Disc brakes are seen as a bit of a selling point these days .

If you have a disc braked bike
and exactly the same bike, except for the braking system, and frame differences to accommodate the disc brakes, the disc braked model will almost certainly sell better than the rim braked version. Simple market forces will mean that most manufacturers will start to favour disc braked models. Which will almost certainly leave rim braked versions becoming far more difficult to find, at least as far as ‘off the shelf’ bikes, from established manufacturers are concerned. That’s progress, and economics I guess.

webboo

brundonbianchi said:

edward.s said:

I see lots of new cyclists out and about, which is awesome. If even 1% of them end up being regular cyclists for years to come then that is great.


I think Disc brakes are seen as a bit of a selling point these days .

If you have a disc braked bike
and exactly the same bike, except for the braking system, and frame differences to accommodate the disc brakes, the disc braked model will almost certainly sell better than the rim braked version. Simple market forces will mean that most manufacturers will start to favour disc braked models. Which will almost certainly leave rim braked versions becoming far more difficult to find, at least as far as ‘off the shelf’ bikes, from established manufacturers are concerned. That’s progress, and economics I guess.

Can you write that again as it appears to be in gobbledegook.

imposter2.0

brundonbianchi said:

edward.s said:

I see lots of new cyclists out and about, which is awesome. If even 1% of them end up being regular cyclists for years to come then that is great.


I think Disc brakes are seen as a bit of a selling point these days .

If you have a disc braked bike
and exactly the same bike, except for the braking system, and frame differences to accommodate the disc brakes, the disc braked model will almost certainly sell better than the rim braked version. Simple market forces will mean that most manufacturers will start to favour disc braked models. Which will almost certainly leave rim braked versions becoming far more difficult to find, at least as far as ‘off the shelf’ bikes, from established manufacturers are concerned. That’s progress, and economics I guess.

That's random bullshit, I guess...

brundonbianchi

shortfall said:

Thanks for clarifying what a timepiece is.

The ‘timepiece’ comment was tongue in cheek, I should have mentioned ‘wrist time’ too. As it’s all about giving your ‘timepiece’ ‘wrist time’, not ‘wearing’ a ‘watch’ ( so I’m told).

imposter2.0

brundonbianchi said:

shortfall said:

Thanks for clarifying what a timepiece is.

The ‘timepiece’ comment was tongue in cheek, I should have mentioned ‘wrist time’ too. As it’s all about giving your ‘timepiece’ ‘wrist time’, not ‘wearing’ a ‘watch’ ( so I’m told).

I imagine you're something of an expert on 'wrist time'....

brundonbianchi

imposter2.0 said:

....the pictures....

Oh please do elaborate. I’m pretty sure ( having put a fair few miles on it now ) it’s spot on, fit wise. That’s one of the many great things about that bike. Bianchi ( and Pinarello) have loads of incremental sizes, that a lot of manufacturers don’t do. I’m 5 ft 11 with a 32 inch inseam, which makes it an absolute pain finding this sort of bike that fits properly, off the shelf . For example, the Spesh Venge has a choice of 54cm and 56cm at the ‘Medium’ size. I looked at the geometry sheets, tried them both, and with the stems / bars / seatposts they came with, the 54 was too small, the 56 was too large, not by a huge amount, but I’d rather not have to start messing around with component swaps, if I’m paying that much. Now, the Bianchi has a 53, 55, and 57cm frame choice at ‘Medium’ albeit the frame is more ‘compact’. Looking at the stack and reach figures quoted by Bianchi, the 55cm seemed as though it would be spot on, with the supplied components. Low and behold, it is. There’s another added bonus, as well. I can fine tune the stem height, without having to muck about with the steerer, and bars / stem. The integrated Vision Metron ACR bars and stem and the headset are very cleverly designed. The spacers are split, so you just release the bars, and pull the spacers off, without having to decable and lift the unit off or cut the steerer. It’s very clever, ( the embedded video here explains it ).

https://shop.visiontechusa.com/en/handlebars/road/metron-5d-acr-integrated

and means I can constantly adjust, depending on what sort of ride I’m doing. There’s a maximum seat post marker as well, so there’s no risk of over extending the seat post ( which is at the maximum, but that’s what I need). So no, it’s not the wrong size at all.

imposter2.0

Seat post and stem both at maximum extension suggests otherwise...

First.Aspect

When I first took up cycling I got lots of helpful unsolicited advice, such as point my seat up and tip the shifters down, get tubulars, get a longer stem, that sort of thing.

I'm so glad I ignored it.

pblakeney

brundonbianchi said:

I’m 5 ft 11 with a 32 inch inseam, which makes it an absolute pain finding this sort of bike that fits properly...

You do realise that these are distinctly average dimensions?

First.Aspect

pblakeney said:

brundonbianchi said:

I’m 5 ft 11 with a 32 inch inseam, which makes it an absolute pain finding this sort of bike that fits properly...

You do realise that these are distinctly average dimensions?

Think that's a "suits you sir" measurement rather than a "which khakis should I get at Gap" measurement.

orraloon

Has the heat gotten to y'all? This thread would have been pinned on the 'all kicking off in popcorn watch' had the our childish website mods not 'barred' it.