Disc brakes?

ted-on-tour
ted-on-tour Posts: 225
edited December 2016 in Road buying advice
Hi all,

I've been away from cycling for a couple of years now, partly due to kind of falling out of love with the bike and partly due to moving within walking distance of work so no need for the commute.

I'm now looking at bikes again and there seems to be a lot more bikes equipped with disc brakes. A couple of years ago I seem to remember there being a bit of a discussion on the subject.

I was just wondering what folks views were regarding them? Who prefers them? I was tempted to shy away from them on a new bike as I would probably look to upgrade the wheelset in a few months and I'm guessing I'll be a bit limited with disc brakes.

Sorry if you guys are tired of this subject, I'm just a bit hesitant to pull the trigger.

Thanks.
Pain is a momentary lapse of character.
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Comments

  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,275
    You can upgrade your wheels just as well... you just need wheels for disc brakes of which there are plenty these days. In fact it makes more sense to upgrade with disc brakes, as you don't grind your rims with pads, so they last longer

    Hydraulic disc brakes are better than mechanical rim calipers. Mechanical disc brakes are on pair with rim brakes or worse in dry conditions. In the wet, any disc brake is better than a rim brake
    left the forum March 2023
  • kajjal
    kajjal Posts: 3,380
    In general hydraulic disc brakes work better than rim brakes but especially in the wet, if you are heavier and on looser surfaces.

    Gcn do a good comparison on youtube.
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    ted-on-tour wrote:
    Who prefers them?

    This could be a tricky one to answer
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I'm happy with my rim brakes. They just work. No need to get used to new technology.

    I think I've only just ever worn out one rim anyway.
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 8,749
    ted-on-tour wrote:
    I was just wondering what folks views were regarding them? Who prefers them?

    If I ever get the bast**d things to work properly I'll let you know.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • NeXXus
    NeXXus Posts: 854
    Wouldn't go back to rim brakes.... They truly are awful
    And the people bowed and prayed, to the neon god they made.
  • Man Of Lard
    Man Of Lard Posts: 903
    NeXXus wrote:
    Wouldn't go back to rim brakes.... They truly are awful
    Amen to that.
  • w00dster
    w00dster Posts: 880
    Personal preference is that I wouldn't bother with Mechanical Disc, however Hydraulic do make sense for a winter bike / one do it all bike.
    I had Trp Spyre Mech Disc Brakes, whislt they worked in the wet better than rim brakes, they are still no match compared with hydraulic.

    Like most on here, I've ridden rim brakes in winter for years, I still will even though I have hydraulic, but I pick and chose the rides on rim brakes (scary descents will be done with hydraulic) - flatter fast rides on my rim brake bike.

    Rim brakes aren't awful in my experience, even in winter, they do the job, but disc brakes outperform rim brakes without question.
  • fat daddy
    fat daddy Posts: 2,605
    Disc brakes do brake better in every circumstance in my opinion

    My only annoyance with them is they can squeal and honk like a animal in pain when wet :| .. which to be honest has caused me a few near misses as I have been trying to avoid the squeal by barely touching them, or dragging them to long to clear them of crap and water.

    Yes you can stop it by cleaning your rotors and roating the pads for an hour at 180c and sprinking the fairy dust on them .. but ultimately, 2 miles in wet city roads and they are re-contaminated and squeal again

    Probably work fine if you are a fair weather rider with the odd occasional shower ... but then so do rim brakes.


    I personally wouldn't let the brakes decide what bike I bought, for a road bike either type are absolutely fine and work admirably ..... now mountain bikes ? .... disc all the way, no contest
  • cookeeemonster
    cookeeemonster Posts: 1,991
    fat daddy wrote:
    Disc brakes do brake better in every circumstance in my opinion

    My only annoyance with them is they can squeal and honk like a animal in pain when wet :| .. which to be honest has caused me a few near misses as I have been trying to avoid the squeal by barely touching them, or dragging them to long to clear them of crap and water.

    Yes you can stop it by cleaning your rotors and roating the pads for an hour at 180c and sprinking the fairy dust on them .. but ultimately, 2 miles in wet city roads and they are re-contaminated and squeal again

    Probably work fine if you are a fair weather rider with the odd occasional shower ... but then so do rim brakes.


    I personally wouldn't let the brakes decide what bike I bought, for a road bike either type are absolutely fine and work admirably ..... now mountain bikes ? .... disc all the way, no contest

    Can't help thinking something is wrong with your brakes, my hydraulic brakes are nothing like that even 12,000 miles later.
  • fat daddy
    fat daddy Posts: 2,605
    CookeeeMonster wrote:
    Can't help thinking something is wrong with your brakes, my hydraulic brakes are nothing like that even 12,000 miles later.

    I have a Santacruise superlight on hope, Meta Commencal on Avid and Boardman on specialized .... they are all the same :?

    The mountain bikes fair the best, with a nice load of abuse of mud, rivers, dirt and dust they are fine .... but any amount of riding in the city reduces them to a dying pig squeal within miles if its wet

    I can only assume grease of the road contaminates them

    the boardman that I commute on every day in the city ... that squeeks permanenety int he wet now
  • meesterbond
    meesterbond Posts: 1,240
    My winter / CX bike has Shimano Hydros on it and I have a similar experience to fat daddy... they do brake better in certain circumstances but regularly end up squealing like a banshee...

    Summer bikes, I'll stick with rim brakes thank you... for the winter discs make things a little more predictable.
  • lakesluddite
    lakesluddite Posts: 1,337
    fat daddy wrote:
    CookeeeMonster wrote:
    Can't help thinking something is wrong with your brakes, my hydraulic brakes are nothing like that even 12,000 miles later.

    I have a Santacruise superlight on hope, Meta Commencal on Avid and Boardman on specialized .... they are all the same :?

    The mountain bikes fair the best, with a nice load of abuse of mud, rivers, dirt and dust they are fine .... but any amount of riding in the city reduces them to a dying pig squeal within miles if its wet

    I can only assume grease of the road contaminates them

    the boardman that I commute on every day in the city ... that squeeks permanenety int he wet now

    Mine too - horrendous noise, especially embarrassing when commuting through quiet country villages at 6.30-7.30am! I still would choose hydro over rim though, especially in the wet.
  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    Has anyone tried Coppaslip on the back of the pad to try to counter this squealing?
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • bendertherobot
    bendertherobot Posts: 11,684
    Not yet. Last week's CX race in the snow/mud/slush was an absolute cacophony. Even my excellent R685's were squealing.
    My blog: http://www.roubaixcycling.cc (kit reviews and other musings)
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  • Thigh_burn
    Thigh_burn Posts: 489
    I came back to riding after many years away and being a heavy sod, decided to go with discs.

    I absolutely bloody lovely them. I recently tried a rim braked bike and was freaked out that I didn't seem to be stopping.

    But it's horses for courses and clearly rim brakes have suited generations of cyclists.

    Nonetheless, I'm looking at n+1 and despite being lighter than I was I am looking at disc versions of carbon road bikes. I might get shot by the velominati, but they make me feel confident and I never worry whether or not to take the bike out.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I can honestly say I've never had a problem stopping on my rim brakes.

    I see so many people complaining of problems setting up discs or getting squeals from them that it doesn't make me want a set.
  • iron-clover
    iron-clover Posts: 737
    There aren't any major drawbacks to disks now- they're tried and tested and as already said there are nice wheels available. However there are very few second hand bargain wheels to be had, but hey ho.

    I have the old school mechanical disks which are a real pain to keep adjusting- I would go for TRP syres or HY-RD if you have to have cable operated disks (they are a lot cheaper) but hydraulics will be much easier in the long run- I look forward to the groupsets becoming cheap enough to put them on my cross bike.

    The only downside to Hydraulics is that you can't adjust the bite point of the brakes, but if you've only just got back into it you'll get used to it and it shouldn't bother you.
  • pilot_pete
    pilot_pete Posts: 2,120
    iron-clover wrote:
    The only downside to Hydraulics is that you can't adjust the bite point of the brakes, but if you've only just got back into it you'll get used to it and it shouldn't bother you.

    Depends which levers you have. I have Shimano RS785 and you can adjust them...

    PP
  • hnefi
    hnefi Posts: 15
    If you are going to go disc brakes, go hydraulic. I was caught on the boundary of this price point 3 months ago when I bought a winter/training/commuting bike, and ended up going cheaper and getting mechanical TRP Spyres, which I am not happy with. After the winter is over I'll be upgrading to hydro for sure. I will say that they are better than any rim brake bike I've ever used in wet conditions, which makes them really suitable for commuters and winter training.
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    cougie wrote:
    I'm happy with my rim brakes. They just work. No need to get used to new technology.

    I think I've only just ever worn out one rim anyway.

    Cannot disagree.

    Rim wear is overstated.
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    cougie wrote:
    I'm happy with my rim brakes. They just work. No need to get used to new technology.

    I think I've only just ever worn out one rim anyway.

    Cannot disagree.

    Rim wear is overstated.

    Me too; most of my riding is on familiar, gently undulating rural lanes, so I don't do much braking. Despite riding them all year round I have a pair of RS10s which are just over 9 years old and the rim wear dimples are still just about visible on the front. The brake blocks were similarly only partly worn when I replaced them.

    If I was doing year round commuting on filthy roads with lots of stops / starts it would probably be a different story
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Been an avid mountain biker since I first got a Raleigh Lizard MTB - rim brakes and no suspension !! Then moved onto suspension with mechanical discs then finally to all singing / dancing suspension / hydraulic disc brakes - Awesome braking power !!

    This summer decided to bite the bullet amd tried out a mates lightweight rim braked road bike and nearly sh*t myself going down from
    The cow and calf at Ilkley - slightly raining and thought I wouldn't stop !!

    So got myself a carbon fibre Giant road bike with hydraulic Shimano brakes ---- bloody awesome !! Lightweight (ish) and with stopping power for both sunny and wet days

    Would definitely recommend for those who have wives that don't understand. N+1 !!
  • kajjal
    kajjal Posts: 3,380
    DALESMAN999 wrote:
    Been an avid mountain biker since I first got a Raleigh Lizard MTB - rim brakes and no suspension !! Then moved onto suspension with mechanical discs then finally to all singing / dancing suspension / hydraulic disc brakes - Awesome braking power !!

    This summer decided to bite the bullet amd tried out a mates lightweight rim braked road bike and nearly sh*t myself going down from
    The cow and calf at Ilkley - slightly raining and thought I wouldn't stop !!

    So got myself a carbon fibre Giant road bike with hydraulic Shimano brakes ---- bloody awesome !! Lightweight (ish) and with stopping power for both sunny and wet days

    Would definitely recommend for those who have wives that don't understand. N+1 !!

    Did exactly the same approaching a sharp corner at 30mph, how i got round in one piece i don't know. The next day went out on my disc braked mountain bike, braked hard and nearly impaled myself on the stem. The difference is very noticeable.
  • fenix
    fenix Posts: 5,437
    And yet presumably there isn't a pile of rim braked bikes stacked up at the corner ?

    I think the appropriate braking for each system (and indeed the efficiency of your personal system) is what is needed here. I see plenty of stories here of people complaining about discs not stopping them - whereas my rim brakes just work straight from set up. No talk of glazing, or contamination, or cleaning fluid, or air in the system. It's simple technology.
  • homers_double
    homers_double Posts: 8,054
    Each to their own really and I suspect I'll be requoting myself several times over for the next five or so years.

    Discs are good, whether you need or want them is for you to decide. I decided I did and there you go.

    They are bloody awesome by the way...
    Advocate of disc brakes.
  • cookeeemonster
    cookeeemonster Posts: 1,991
    Fenix wrote:
    And yet presumably there isn't a pile of rim braked bikes stacked up at the corner ?

    I think the appropriate braking for each system (and indeed the efficiency of your personal system) is what is needed here. I see plenty of stories here of people complaining about discs not stopping them - whereas my rim brakes just work straight from set up. No talk of glazing, or contamination, or cleaning fluid, or air in the system. It's simple technology.

    I've heard plenty of stories of rim surfaces being contaminated - I'd say it's more likely to happen than on discs, but neither is that common
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Didn't cars and motorcycles start off with drum brakes them some bright sparks invented disc brakes but were poo pooed by the establishment as a fad and too complicated.... so where are all the drum brakes now hmmmm?

    Local bike shop mechanic told me that some big teams were testing disc braked bikes.

    Would they be more acceptable if the UCI allowed them ??
    If the big guns started running discs would rim brakes become a thing of the past ??
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,275
    DALESMAN999 wrote:
    If the big guns started running discs would rim brakes become a thing of the past ??

    Basically yes... you'd only see folks in sandals riding them within 5 years
    left the forum March 2023
  • gspice1980
    gspice1980 Posts: 1
    Ive got shimano R684 hydraulic discs on my Trek Domane 4.5 2015 and they are absolutely brilliant. You obviously have to accept the weight penalty and a bit of noise in the wet, but the feel of the brakes is perfect.

    Granted I'm not convinced there is ultimately more stopping power than rim brakes due to the limitation of the tyre grip, however the modulation allows for full use of available grip before skidding.

    Also, being able to bring the bike comfortably to a stop from the hoods with one finger is great. Definitely not a necessity but I would not buy a bike without them now.

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