180mm Vs 160mm

[66 triumph daytona]

Is the jump from 160mm to 180mm rotors worth it in braking performance?Im considering a 180mm front.

 

[mattr]

Depends on the brake, what sort of rider you are and what sort of riding you do.

I'm on 180Fr/160Rr for everything just for compatibility, except the new tyres on my bigger bike won't fit into the XC frame anymore.

So i'll probably be going 160Fr/140Rr on the XC bike, as for most XC stuff 160 is big enough.

 

[Harryburgundy]

As above...you may need to check if your fork is compatible with 180mm rotors

 

[mattr]

Can't think of many/any forks that will do 160 that won't do 180. Can think of a couple that might not go down that small though.

 

[02gf74]

Re:

Have to say i dont notice the difference .
brake lever/calliper and disc holiness make a bigger difference.

Have tried various pads and cant say ond is better than anothef.

 

[highlandsflyer]

Re:

Given like for like quality I would opt for the bigger size. Makes sense in regards to better heat dissipation, modulation, wear, etc. The only downside I can imagine is slightly closer proximity to things that might wack it. 1cm ain't much though.

 

[John J]

180 v 160 makes a massive difference in my experience to the total braking power.
I have 160's f&r on my main xc bike and my son has 180 160 on his. The difference is really noticeable when I ride his set up

 

[highlandsflyer]

Re:

In what way is the difference felt?

I guess I have been jumping on different machines all my life and find it hard to notice I am squeezing harder or such just like that, but that is more to do with mechanical performance than pure rotor size.

I have a huge floating 203mm vented rotors with the setup on the Prince Albert.

That is a lot more braking than I will ever have traction to use.

What for?

I see the point of bigger discs on front, but I am sure a 140mm vented disc would give me all the braking I need, with less weight.

 

[02gf74]

Re:

140 front? I am not aware of there being a fork/adapter/ calliper combo for 140 discs.

 

[John J]

Re: Re:

In what way is the difference felt?

It stops quicker. I'm not being fasicious, and I certainly accept the points made about feel, limitations of tyre grip etc.
It's a fair comparison in my case, both bikes are fitted with m-760 xt brakes, and the bigger front disc one just stops quicker.