What do you think of Shimano ditching rim brakes in 105 and higher?

[Splatter Paint]

I seem to have had a better disc experience than most. My budget Shimano RS505 series (105 ish level) offer monstrous amounts of power, superb modulation and aside from being fugly (and heavy) they really are superb.

Top end bikes pretty much all run carbon rims, the use of a friction brake on something made with baked glue always seemed like madness to me. So using disc brakes instead does make more sense.

As a market proportion, how many people with DA or Ultegra budget really want rim brakes? Not many I’d wager.

 

[benjabbi]

You don't touch the brakes.
And even if you did bleeding them is little more than 15 mins.

Err, in a lot of cases these days the brake hose runs through the top headset bearing and because there's not really anywhere for excess cable to go in the frame and the hose fittings don't fit through the holes in the bars you have to chop them to remove, then the hose is too short and needs replacing which involves rethreading it through frame/bars etc. Not just a bleed. Quite often this involves removing the Crank/BB to get at it. It does take hours instead of minutes because you have to pretty much dismantle the entire bike to do it. It's a pain but is the way things have gone.

 

[jim haseltine]

Top end bikes pretty much all run carbon rims, the use of a friction brake on something made with baked glue always seemed like madness to me. So using disc brakes instead does make more sense.

Using composite materials for rims has always seemed like a mad idea to me, but yes, carbon rims and rim brakes isn't a good idea.
As for alloy rims, how often do the brake tracks wear out? If it hadn't been for a spoke ferrule giving up a couple of years ago I'd still be riding a pair of Mavic rims that I built up in 1999.

 

[minor_LEGEND]

I;m a bit late to reply here, but this move by the component manufacturers to turn their backs on rim brakes is terrible. People with these bikes have had the values stripped on their bikes, also the availability of high quality replacement parts will be almost unavailable. Already high end wheelsets are a thing of the past (off the shelf anyway). I have a carbon road bike from 2016 that suits my style of riding, perfect geometry etc & I just don't have any desire to replace it, being rim brake specific it's been quite frustrating to know I can't replace it with new groupsets going forward.

 

[pigman]

No. They still have market share. People are still using them. I have two rim brake bikes. I'd still buy a rim brake frame for road, new. But it would probably have to be custom now thanks to people like you.

Unlike, for example, the commodore 64 computer.

Thanks to people like me
What the hell does that mean?

 

[Takingabreak]

What a wonderful rim brake kind of day today has become, my latest ebay purchase of NOS R600 long reach calipers have just been delivered.

Must admit that the pads seem a bit crunchy and might need to be replaced with some swiss stops.

 

[Russell]

And I suspect that new side pull calipers will be available to purchase for decades to come.

Storm in a tea cup.

 

[minor_LEGEND]

And I suspect that new side pull calipers will be available to purchase for decades to come.

Storm in a tea cup.

But if someone wants decent quality items to suit a high quality custom frame, the options are running out. No decent, up to date rim brake compatible groupsets, no high quality off the shelf wheelsets etc.

 

[benjabbi]

But if someone wants decent quality items to suit a high quality custom frame, the options are running out. No decent, up to date rim brake compatible groupsets, no high quality off the shelf wheelsets etc.

So you'll have to do what we all do with retro bikes already, track down old compatible stuff, can't really see the problem to be honest.

 

[Russell]

High quality items will be available for decades. Go have a look on eBay, there are still NOS brake sets available from the 90s and earlier.

I find it hard to believe that anyone building a new custom frame is going to spec anything other than disc brakes.