Disc brakes v Rim brakes - Food for Thought

[M-Power]

Re:

I must confess to being too cynical maybe. Cycle industry marketing is so advanced, similar to the golf industry. There again promoting cycling and increasimg the size of the bike market ‘pie’ is a good thing. Im just a ‘if it aint really broke why fix it type’. I just love early bicycles too, so well made but they are unaffordable.

 

[The History Man]

Fully loaded 29” tourer with me on it in the rain. Brecons off road downhill etc. Discs have it.

Otherwise it just requires a recalibrated stopping distance/braking point depending on which type you’re relying on.

This seems to come up every few months with the same old chestnuts.

 

[Gaddmeister]

Re:

I used to argue this case. I started on canti's and moved to V's eventually and saw no real benefit. Depends on pads imho. Then....I bought a 2005 stumpy with xt disc brakes. Bloomin awesome! Seriously awesome. Went back and rode my canti braked stumpy and laughed. People always tried to sway me away from V's and I always defended them, but no more.

 

[hamster]

What I find totally baffling and have yet to have a reasonable explanation for is discs on road bikes.

Ok, carbon rims are difficult to manufacture for rim brake use so I can possibly see why there but...??

If I were cynical, I could say that it was just a big marketing ploy so companies can sell a shitload of new bikes

If I were cynical.

So good you aren't cynical. Road discs - brought to you by the Shimano marketing department, the same people who brought us:
Low pro cantis
Metric chain pitches
Dyna Drive pedals
Low-normal mechs

And a whole shedload of other unwanted and pointless pseudo innovations.

 

[Zzxxyy]

Got canti, v-brakes and discs.

For my use, v-brakes, specifically avid ultimate levers and either xtr or avid ultimate v-brakes are best. Ceramic pads and rims. Wet or dry conditions - no problem. Also, when I take my bike on the plane, I worry much less about hydro hoses and air/fluid leaks.

 

[mattr]

But i can see why the 29er makers wanted disc. The large heavy wheel just needs the extra stopping power.

A small light wheel needs less force/energy to stop it.

I'd like to see your working........

FWIW a 29er is better suited to rim brakes, as the rim has a larger diameter.......

 

[Kell]

When I used to ride my old mountain bikes in anger, I don't think I ever found myself in a position where I had not enough brakes.

Not enough grip to slow down, yes, because then you just lock up the wheels - although I buy the arguments about bent wheels etc.

Ironically, I think disc brakes are better on road, where you do (normally) have more grip. While my road bike has rim brakes still, my old commuter had mechanical discs. And even these were w-a-a-a-a-a-y better than rim brakes when conditions got shitty. By which I mean a combination of torrential rain and the greasy, horrible sludge that gets caked over everything on your bike when riding in London in all weathers.

It's a real 'ohfuckohfuckohfuck' moment when you grab your brakes and nothing happens when a bus suddenly pulls out in front of you.

I've found that degreasing my rims does help for about 2-3 days though.

 

[petitpal]

Thinking about this - some of the arguments on here are actually more related to hydraulic disks, rather than cable operated. So maybe a better question would be: what's the difference between cable operated disks and cable operated rim brakes vs the difference between hydraulic disks and hydraulic rim brakes (Maguras, etc).

I'm assuming that Maguras would have the same advantages as hydraulic disks - consistently minimal input for maximum power?

 

[Kell]

Re:

Well, I did have an old Pro-flex with hydraulic rim brakes and they were very sensitive to buckles or otherwise out of shape rims.

People do slate cable discs, but in my experience (as mentioned above), they're better than cable rim brakes in the wet.

 

[mattr]

Anything cable operated is really really sensitive to set up.

I've seen many cable disc mtbs in the sort of £500-750 price range with outers that are so spongy you can easily bottom the levers before you get any significant braking force.
A set of decent compressionless outers and decent inners transforms them.

But it has exactly the same benefit for (cable) rim brakes.