Trp Spykes vs bb7

[M_Chavez]

@Betsy - that is very odd, especially if it's hydraulic.
I arrived at the conclusion that road bikes have resisted disks for a very long time, so there was no money in developing road-pull calipers (7mm of cable pull instead of ~15mm MTB if memory serves me right), and when disks started appearing on road bikes, all the money went into hydraulics anyway, so a decent 7mm pull calliper has never been developed.
For purely road bike purposes there's the added issue of slick tyres locking up too fast if the brakes are too strong, so perhaps some designer though went into making the MTB design a bit lighter-touch...

But what you describe on your MTB hydros is pretty much what I've been getting with my mechanical road brakes. The banshee squeal in the wet is particularly annoying.

I my case, the cost of new RL520 levers is a lot lower than building a new wheelset, so I might give them a go, but I am tempted to eventually stick a set of weinmanns into a carbon fibre gravel bike (just for the looks if not for the braking power!).

 

[Woz]

I've got a pair of chinese mechanically-actuated hydraulic disk calipers. But they are for MTB pull.
What can possibly go wrong?! The chances of both failing at the same time are close to zero.

Interesting.

Are those like the TRP HY/RD then? I understood the TRP HY/RD are only for road brifters.

 

[Woz]

I have refitted the bike with mechanical spykes now and tomorrow I will take it for a spin and report back about whether or not I can brake. I'm using my favourite chinese levers so my hopes are VERY high.

Keep us posted.

Would be good to hear about how good and how quick they bed in. In theory the bedding in process should be quicker than the BB7s.

 

[M_Chavez]

Are those like the TRP HY/RD then? I understood the TRP HY/RD are only for road brifters.

Yep. And they were sold to me as road calipers, but they are definitely not road, as I wasn't getting enough cable travel with brifters.
For the sake of £30 a pair that I paid for them, I decided to keep them. Ztto. Look well-made and are lighter than spyres.

 

[Woz]

Yep. And they were sold to me as road calipers, but they are definitely not road, as I wasn't getting enough cable travel with brifters.
For the sake of £30 a pair that I paid for them, I decided to keep them. Ztto. Look well-made and are lighter than spyres.

Thanks. If it helps, I'm pretty sure Shimano in the 105 range did (or do) a mechanical disk brake; I have no idea if they are any good, but like you say road went quickly to hydros.

What get's me with this thread, several of us have struggled to the point of sacking it all off after making all the investments in frames. wheels, rotors, levers, calipers, pads and endless hours faffing about in the workshop and on the road / trails.

EDIT: May be worth looking into:
https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/c...3&type=gallery&gallery=1&embedded_slideshow=1
https://www.nashbar.com/shimano-brr571-front-road-disc-brake-caliper-black-ebrr517furl/p304621

 

[Mickeyspinn]

May I gate crash? I've limited experience of discs... Have two bikes with them... ones an ebike and sees a lot of 35mph and very quickly it's got Clarks cheapest full hydraulic and they have been fit forget and faultless not bad for £40 or thereabouts...second bike I love riding but it's mechanical and single piston so relies upon disc flex......I hardly ride it because I never know when it's going to squeal like a banshee and I like my bikes to be silent! Now my hands don't like modern brifters...they're too fat for my hands and never seem to feel right....so what mechanical or cable operated hydraulic caliper will work that's twin moving piston on old style aero levers?

 

[Woz]

Just finished reading this which I think gives a good picture:

https://www.biketour-global.de/en/2...rakes-myan-overview-what-im-riding-right-now/

When you say old style aero levers, like from Campag, Shimano and Dia-Compe from the 90s when downtube shifters were the norm?

 

[M_Chavez]

Mickey - I think part of the problem is that it seems there's no rhyme or reason to why some disks don't work, so it's impossible to diagnose the problem.
The aforementioned MTB Hayes caliper was an entry level model back in the days, only has a single-piston adjusting mechanism and it relies on disk flex; it has seen 20 years of hard use, it's rusty, worn out but it still works. BB7 "road" or TRP spyres should in theory work with your levers.
Mechanically the two are probably as good as it gets, but in practice the road cable pull just does not seem to produce good results with them...

 

[M_Chavez]

@Woz I'm definitely done with road disks. The MTB combo might work.

For hard offroading, especially for riding through deep wet mud, I see the benefit in MTB disks. For road, I fail to see any benefit at all. For "gravel" I haven't decided yet, but most modern frames come with disk mounts, so I guess it has been decided for me. Unless I get a custom frame welded for me or I bastardise my carbon frameset.

I guess we keep trying because of the marketing hype. And fomo - all the cool kids are using them. And just to try new things. I don't want to be a sad progress-denying bugger and like to keep an open mind. Hell, on a good day I'll even entertain the idea that the Earth is round, and it's not just a conspiracy to make the poor poorer and the rich richer, with photos doctored in a CIA basement, just like the moon landing.

 

[Woz]

^ It's a pain.

I'm fairly open too, but when the complete system somehow doesn't perform as expected then I get on my "All progress is not good" hobby horse and the world comes crashing down. It's pretty safe to say the industry as decided for us.