Road bikes with disc brakes

[marge602]

So, the other day i recieved a bike shop summer catalogue through the post. I'd only bought one item from the shop in question, but it's always nice to have something new and bike-related to flick through occasionally. Until i happened upon this abomination, that is.

Quite apart from it being called an Eastway, which sounds like something you'd get from Sports Direct for about £80, this must be the least attractive modern road bike i've ever seen. From an engineering point of view, i can only regard cable discs on a road bike as a solution searching for a problem.

For example, look how overbuilt the tips of the forks have to be. They look like the forks on our tandem. Then, at the rear dropout area, an extra brace has had to be added to prevent the non drive side seatstay from snapping. Obviously the wheels have to be stronger and therefore heavier to be able to transfer the braking forces outwards from the hubs to the rims and tyres.

I may be coming across as a complete curmudgeon, unable to appreciate anything that isn't finely lugged and brazed out of high-quality steel, but i have more modern bikes than retros, and my flagship bike is a Giant TCR Advanced, which is about as far from lugged and brazed steel as it's possible to get.

However, this thing, for me, is a pointless step in the wrong direction. Just because discs work well on MTB's and are now UCI sanctioned for use on CX bikes doesn't make it right. Added to which, the Eastway whatever-it's-actually-called costs just shy of 2 grand. I can think of plenty of other ways to spend that.

Regards

Marge

 

[Woz]

Is there mud guard eyelets? :?

 

[Matt_wood55]

I like the disc brake look....

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater

This is a link to a bike, nothing dodgy.

 

[willhouse]

I've replied on this to multiple threads, but disc brakes on daily used bikes makes alot of sense.

No rim wear
Less rotational mass
Consistent braking performance wet or dry
Easier to maintain and set
Longer life to pads
Etc...

I'll not be going back to rim brakes on my daily. Obviously my best bike is on rim brakes and will stay that way.

House Bikes Test Ride by outHOUSEpics, on Flickr

Don't knock it till you've tried it...

 

[Matt_wood55]

I've replied on this to multiple threads, but disc brakes on daily used bikes makes alot of sense.

No rim wear
Less rotational mass
Consistent braking performance wet or dry
Easier to maintain and set
Longer life to pads
Etc...

I'll not be going back to rim brakes on my daily. Obviously my best bike is on rim brakes and will stay that way.

House Bikes Test Ride by outHOUSEpics, on Flickr

Don't knock it till you've tried it...

I think it's the way forward, lots of positives as you say.

 

[cchris2lou]

i have disc on my cylo cross , which is used 50/50 road off road .

love it .

 

[vivelesalpes]

It's been debated on here and other forums a lot. If you think about it though a standard brake set up is nothing more than a whopping great disc brake in the crudest sense.

I think they will become more and more mainstream though. Spesh now offer them as an option on both the Roubaix and Secteur models.

 

[David B]

I've replied on this to multiple threads, but disc brakes on daily used bikes makes alot of sense.

No rim wear
Less rotational mass
Consistent braking performance wet or dry
Easier to maintain and set
Longer life to pads
Etc...

I'll not be going back to rim brakes on my daily. Obviously my best bike is on rim brakes and will stay that way.

House Bikes Test Ride by outHOUSEpics, on Flickr

Don't knock it till you've tried it...

That road sign takes me back a bit to undergraduate days at the University of Sheffield....although I was OK at it beforehand, my time there was when I properly learnt to be a climber, mainly 'cause there wasn't much choice!

David

 

[daccordimark]

I've replied on this to multiple threads, but disc brakes on daily used bikes makes alot of sense.

No rim wear - This I like the idea of - no horrible grey sludge all over the bike after wet rides
Less rotational mass - How much lighter are disc specific road rims going to be and will they more than compensate for the increased total mass of the bike?
Consistent braking performance wet or dry - Sounds good - could be interesting in group rides though when a rider in front on discs leaves braking much later because their brakes are so good!
Easier to maintain and set - Really? I find my dual-pivot brakes a doddle to set and virtually maintenance free - just turn the adjuster once in a while as the pads wear and change the pads when they're worn out .
Longer life to pads - This I like if they're not loads more expensive
Etc...

Don't knock it till you've tried it...

Despite what may seem like a negative stance I am thinking of something like a Genesis Croix-de-Fer for my next commuting bike as the off-road capabilities appeal to me.

Oh, and as for the Eastway bike it just looks all wrong.

Mark.

 

[Jonny69]

I don't like them but I know plenty of people who moan about the braking performance of their carbon wheels, particularly in the wet. I think discs solve most of their problems. Another thing is there's a minimum weight limit on UCI bikes, which is heavier than a lot of top-end bikes actually add up to. The pro teams load the bikes up with toys to make them up to the minimum weight, so I doubt a few extra grammes from the brakes will matter.