Lets talk brakes..

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When you can get the current Deore hydro discs for £50 a pair there's really no need for V's. They're easy to set up, get through pads no quicker then V's, are fit and forget as much as V's and out perform V's in every way.

V's might give you all the power you need but hydro discs are better. The move to discs was a genuine improvement in an industry hell bent reinventing the wheel.

In the same way, while hydro discs cost so little there's not much point in cable discs.
 
davidj":1hihqrgo said:
Statistics from 60 years ago are hard to find but in 1960 the average speed for the TdF was 37.2kmh and in 2014 it was 39.5kmh, some of the doping years in between recorded average speeds in excess of 40kmh though.

It appears to me at the Elite level the only significant gains are achieved through technology. At my level, I am no faster than my counterpart from 60 years ago, I am sure of that :).

You would imply that there has been no gain through sport science in the past 50 years...unlikely considering the developments in athlete speed in non-technical sports such as running.

Finally, to assume doping is a relatively recent phenomenon is naive. Ever heard of Tom Simpson or Pot Belge? Fausto Coppi's remarks about the subject are revealing. Remember it wasn't specifically illegal in the earlier tours either.
 
Re: Re:

brocklanders023":tv5ponwi said:
When you can get the current Deore hydro discs for £50 a pair there's really no need for V's. They're easy to set up, get through pads no quicker then V's, are fit and forget as much as V's and out perform V's in every way.
.

You need wheels with disc hubs, probs £100 on top and possibly new shifters if old one wherer sti units.

Only reason not to convert to disc if frame and to lesser extent front fork do no have disc mounts.
 
Amazon. £ 39.99 . amazing.
SHIMANO BR-BL-M355 Hydraulic Disc Brake Set Front and Rear
 
And the same.. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... prod119956

I have a set of these on my commuter, which I also take off-road and they are unbelievable. Literally.
Power, modulation , much better than any V-brake.
I also run BB5 cable discs on another bike & they are easy to set up, and powerful if you're using levers with the right amount of pull & strength; and if you use washers to correctly space the caliper from the disc. Anyone who can't set up a BB5 and gets rub/squeal probably can't set up any kind of brake.

I also run Maguras on 3 of my MTB's, v's on another and the rest are all hydraulic disc.
The Maguras are a pain in the ass anytime you need to change a wheel, remove a wheel (to put in a car etc) and you do need to remember to 'clean' your rims before you need to stop when in the mud.
Aside form that, there's no greater stopping power to be had from BB5s or M355s than Maguras, but they won't 'realign' themselves if you crash, and it's a lot easier to change pads and pop wheels in/out using discs than with any other kind of brake, V's, canti's, Maguras, u-brakes, anything.

I also use Magura Louise discs, Deore discs, Hope and Hygia on other bikes, all hydraulic discs and nothing is even close in terms of pure stopping ability. You might not think that you 'need' it, but those times when you're in trouble (be it a pedestrian walks out into the road, a van pulls out right into your path, you realise the path stops, anything) when you really need to haul up, hydraulic discs are the business; you never need to worry about mud very often, better performance in rain, no worries about wearing through your wheel rims!! and unbeatable modulation & grip in slow situations.
Not everything with discs is about high speed - their control and modulation is so far above any V-brake or canti that if you're slowly manoeuvering between trees, trying to hop round rocks, anything slow-speed where maximum control is required, discs are much better, I find, than V's - especially if you're on a slope edge or going down a steep gulley, anything like that. There's no reason these days, if your bike can hack it, not to go disc.
 
Re:

Disc vs V?

On my older bikes I run V brakes, simple, cheap, reliable. Non disc frames.

On my modern bikes I run shimano discs. I ride fast and steep trails, a set of good discs is amazing when pushing personal limits. That and the new frames don't take V-brakes.... I do have more issues, not many, mostly pad contamination over time. The stopping power of the new-ish shimano stuff is insane.

So I would say you will enjoy a good set of discs, you'll hate the cost of pads and any issues will make you pissy.

I think you'll also like the new bikes :)
 
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An amazing number of new bikes do still come with V-brakes, but we're talking the lower end of the market here, a friend recently bought a Carrera "Parva" which came with V-brakes, although it's aimed more at city riding than out and out off-road stuff. Personally I think V's are a better option than the godawful cheap cable discs that some cheaper bikes come with these days.
It's certainly more "fashionable" to have discs instead of V's these days.

I have a modern bike with SLX discs, a retro with Magura HS22's, and another retro with Avid V's.
In the dry the hydro discs are best, closely followed by the Magura and V brakes.
In the wet the discs are leagues aread, and the Magura's quite a bit better than the V's.
One point to note is that the hydro discs require less effort in your hands and forearms to use, yet still outbrake the other two.

If you have disc mounts on frame/fork, and need new brakes then fit hydro discs, it's a no-brainer really. Otherwise just continue with whatever you are using.
 
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Well I got a good price on a set of new Avid BB7 & HS1 rotors, £26 for the pair delivered so I couldn't refuse.

Neither of my bikes have disc tabs on the rear, and only one has them one the front. I am about to place my order for some XT hubs and Mavic Rims to build myself a set of wheels with a disc front hub, none disc rear hub and matching rim brake rims.

If all goes well I will upgrade the forks on the other bike and build another set of wheels.
 
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I run xt or xtr vs and im happy with them although i run deore discs on my 2007 fsr because of no canti studs on the forks :roll:
I ran hope discs bitd and the biggest improvement i found was in modulation , power is no use if it just locks the wheel , i found with the disc set up you could keep the wheel at the point of locking with one finger .

Paul
 
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