New bike - would you choose disc or rim brake ?
- Thread starter foz
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about 250g heavier for disc
chambo34
Retro Guru
I prefer rim brakes, lighter, better looking...however I accept that discs work better in the wet and that my next bike will be disc as after a day riding in the Peak District the arthritis in my right hand is very painful and I know I'd need to use less pressure on the levers, I'll probably also have to go Di 2 also as moving the gear shifter also aggravates it too...the joys of getting older
My steel bike comes in disc and non-disc. Seems like the actual penalty might be as high as 1.25 pounds. Thats my ultegra stuffs, not the 'spensive dura-chee. The hoses weigh more and you can see from my pic the disc dropouts are pretty ornate.
I'd expect for a fancier modern disc on a carbon frame the weight is still under the uci limit.
Gotta say the braking is just superb. One finger, no stress at all. And on my old bike I literally couldn't slow down on the hill to my house.
dorset boy
Senior Retro Guru
Came up behind someone today on a disc braked road bike,as we went round a tight bend a car appeared and we both had to brake hard to miss it.
I noted that we both skidded and stopped in the same distance otherwise i would have gone into the back of him so no difference between my rim brakes and his.The best bit is when i was going to overtake i saw a large puddle ahead so as not to splash him i stayed back,as we exited the puddle both his discs were making a noise like crunchy gravel and fingernails on a chalk board
. So i said to him "Oh the joy of discs", and rode on, he had pulled over to sort his problem ! My bike 14 speed Raleigh 531.
I noted that we both skidded and stopped in the same distance otherwise i would have gone into the back of him so no difference between my rim brakes and his.The best bit is when i was going to overtake i saw a large puddle ahead so as not to splash him i stayed back,as we exited the puddle both his discs were making a noise like crunchy gravel and fingernails on a chalk board
. So i said to him "Oh the joy of discs", and rode on, he had pulled over to sort his problem ! My bike 14 speed Raleigh 531.Maybe try discs some time?Came up behind someone today on a disc braked road bike,as we went round a tight bend a car appeared and we both had to brake hard to miss it.
I noted that we both skidded and stopped in the same distance otherwise i would have gone into the back of him so no difference between my rim brakes and his.The best bit is when i was going to overtake i saw a large puddle ahead so as not to splash him i stayed back,as we exited the puddle both his discs were making a noise like crunchy gravel and fingernails on a chalk board
Incomprehensible to me that anyone would knock them. Hydro disc are standard on mtb for well over 10 years. They are beloved because mtb spend significant time braking in bad conditions. The hydro discs are simply better than rim brakes in modulation, power and reliability.
On mtb i use 180/160 rotors and they get hot. on road im ecstatic with 140/140, they handle big passes rain or shine. Future is here.
You can skate with bad brakes on a road bike. I never got hurt with them in more than 35 years, but my cramped frozen hands never pretended they were good enough.
Lets not forget: replacing rims because of worn brake tracks every 3-4 years of commuting is not a positive feature.
Only arguments i see against hydro discs are cost and weight. If you have a choice i think its a no brainer.
dorset boy
Senior Retro Guru
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fettler
Senior Retro Guru
Would disc rims be lighter than those with an unnecessary heavy disposable brake track to be worn away? A disc rim only has to support the tyre but lots of extra erodable metal is included on a brake track. Just wondering if the extra weight is more static rather than than revolving mass? Personally I wouldn't go back to rim brakes on a roadie unless it was for a cheap winter hack.
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