British Cycling allow the use of disc brakes in road racing
Discussion
okgo said:
The hate is that its stupid that they'll allow one bloke to have brakes that could stop a 40lb downhill bike in 6 feet on a road bike with 23mm tyres when the guy behind him may have half the braking power. People grabbing a handful of brake and s
tting themselves in races isn't uncommon, usually the only thing that saves folks is that everyone has similar stopping power give or take.
This is the only sensible reason for there to be a disc ban. I'd go as far to say even if everyone had discs it may still be an issue as a panic grab of brake lever on a disc braked bike will stop you or cause you to wash out so rapidly that the guy behind you would need lightening reflexs to also grab his in time and stop.tting themselves in races isn't uncommon, usually the only thing that saves folks is that everyone has similar stopping power give or take. TheFungle said:
Have you ridden disc brakes?
st riders be st riders no matter what system they have.
Yes. I've had numerous bikes with disc brakes, Hope Mini/M4 was my chosen combo back in the day, ones where they were welcome, namely bikes that weighed a lot with big tyres designed for jumping off ss
t riders be st riders no matter what system they have.t. Road bikes generally are not them, IMO.Herman Toothrot said:
okgo said:
The hate is that its stupid that they'll allow one bloke to have brakes that could stop a 40lb downhill bike in 6 feet on a road bike with 23mm tyres when the guy behind him may have half the braking power. People grabbing a handful of brake and stting themselves in races isn't uncommon, usually the only thing that saves folks is that everyone has similar stopping power give or take.
This is the only sensible reason for there to be a disc ban. I'd go as far to say even if everyone had discs it may still be an issue as a panic grab of brake lever on a disc braked bike will stop you or cause you to wash out so rapidly that the guy behind you would need lightening reflexs to also grab his in time and stop.tting themselves in races isn't uncommon, usually the only thing that saves folks is that everyone has similar stopping power give or take. E65Ross said:
I hit the car.... I was riding along, car pulled out in front of me as it didn't see me, I hit their drivers side door. I'd have stopped in time with discs.
I wasn't experiencing brake fade, just very poor braking ability and I couldn't lock the wheels up. There was a lot of grit/grime on the rims so braking performance was st.
It's very rare to have to do an emergency stop. But it'd be nice to know that when I do need to, I've got better stopping ability under me. I don't see the hate towards them?
They are better at slowing you down in an emergency situation. They cause less rim wear. I can't see a meaningful disadvantage to them?
Discs brake system is heavier, more complex, less mass to absorb heat, less area to shed heat. Disc brakes depend on calliper piston roll back to stop drag, which is inferior in reliability to the return spring on a simple rim brake.I wasn't experiencing brake fade, just very poor braking ability and I couldn't lock the wheels up. There was a lot of grit/grime on the rims so braking performance was s
t.It's very rare to have to do an emergency stop. But it'd be nice to know that when I do need to, I've got better stopping ability under me. I don't see the hate towards them?
They are better at slowing you down in an emergency situation. They cause less rim wear. I can't see a meaningful disadvantage to them?
I thought the UCI's principal objection to disc brakes was the potential for serious injury to riders from spinning bits of metal in the event of a crash...
That said, I recall seeing a rider with a chainring embedded in his skull, and an early carbon fibre frameset that delaminated in a heavy crash and the rider looked like he'd upset a porcupine.
I did wonder if radial spoke patterns would survive being loaded by disc brakes..
As for front wheels being forced out of the dropouts by disc brakes, apparently it can happen. Personally, I'd not feel comfortable riding a bike with discs that wasn't a thru-axle design.
That said, I recall seeing a rider with a chainring embedded in his skull, and an early carbon fibre frameset that delaminated in a heavy crash and the rider looked like he'd upset a porcupine.
I did wonder if radial spoke patterns would survive being loaded by disc brakes..
As for front wheels being forced out of the dropouts by disc brakes, apparently it can happen. Personally, I'd not feel comfortable riding a bike with discs that wasn't a thru-axle design.
Evilex said:
I thought the UCI's principal objection to disc brakes was the potential for serious injury to riders from spinning bits of metal in the event of a crash...
That said, I recall seeing a rider with a chainring embedded in his skull, and an early carbon fibre frameset that delaminated in a heavy crash and the rider looked like he'd upset a porcupine.
I did wonder if radial spoke patterns would survive being loaded by disc brakes..
As for front wheels being forced out of the dropouts by disc brakes, apparently it can happen. Personally, I'd not feel comfortable riding a bike with discs that wasn't a thru-axle design.
Radial spokes are a bad idea with discs, and packaging the disc means less dishing for the spokes too. Both mean less lateral wheel stiffness, which translates to wobblier steering at speed...That said, I recall seeing a rider with a chainring embedded in his skull, and an early carbon fibre frameset that delaminated in a heavy crash and the rider looked like he'd upset a porcupine.
I did wonder if radial spoke patterns would survive being loaded by disc brakes..
As for front wheels being forced out of the dropouts by disc brakes, apparently it can happen. Personally, I'd not feel comfortable riding a bike with discs that wasn't a thru-axle design.
Kawasicki said:
Evilex said:
I thought the UCI's principal objection to disc brakes was the potential for serious injury to riders from spinning bits of metal in the event of a crash...
That said, I recall seeing a rider with a chainring embedded in his skull, and an early carbon fibre frameset that delaminated in a heavy crash and the rider looked like he'd upset a porcupine.
I did wonder if radial spoke patterns would survive being loaded by disc brakes..
As for front wheels being forced out of the dropouts by disc brakes, apparently it can happen. Personally, I'd not feel comfortable riding a bike with discs that wasn't a thru-axle design.
Radial spokes are a bad idea with discs, and packaging the disc means less dishing for the spokes too. Both mean less lateral wheel stiffness, which translates to wobblier steering at speed...That said, I recall seeing a rider with a chainring embedded in his skull, and an early carbon fibre frameset that delaminated in a heavy crash and the rider looked like he'd upset a porcupine.
I did wonder if radial spoke patterns would survive being loaded by disc brakes..
As for front wheels being forced out of the dropouts by disc brakes, apparently it can happen. Personally, I'd not feel comfortable riding a bike with discs that wasn't a thru-axle design.
E65Ross said:
Kawasicki said:
Evilex said:
I thought the UCI's principal objection to disc brakes was the potential for serious injury to riders from spinning bits of metal in the event of a crash...
That said, I recall seeing a rider with a chainring embedded in his skull, and an early carbon fibre frameset that delaminated in a heavy crash and the rider looked like he'd upset a porcupine.
I did wonder if radial spoke patterns would survive being loaded by disc brakes..
As for front wheels being forced out of the dropouts by disc brakes, apparently it can happen. Personally, I'd not feel comfortable riding a bike with discs that wasn't a thru-axle design.
Radial spokes are a bad idea with discs, and packaging the disc means less dishing for the spokes too. Both mean less lateral wheel stiffness, which translates to wobblier steering at speed...That said, I recall seeing a rider with a chainring embedded in his skull, and an early carbon fibre frameset that delaminated in a heavy crash and the rider looked like he'd upset a porcupine.
I did wonder if radial spoke patterns would survive being loaded by disc brakes..
As for front wheels being forced out of the dropouts by disc brakes, apparently it can happen. Personally, I'd not feel comfortable riding a bike with discs that wasn't a thru-axle design.
Having the option to 'brake later' doesn't mean you have the balls to and as all true racers know 'brakes are the enemy of speed'! I'll be sticking with my rim brakes and will continue to sail around the outside of people who don't have the confidence carry their speed through the corners... discs can't teach you that 
I do wonder just how long it will be before someone discovers that discs aren't infallible... they'll still suffer from brake fade and fluid boiling on all these Alpine descents people are riding...
'Modulation' makes me laugh too, that's a benefit of all hydraulic brakes - the same would be achieved with hydraulic rim brakes, rims essentially being a fat disc and in no way comparable to drum brakes.
If road bikes genuinely needed more braking performance we would have seen more development in calliper design, brake pads and rim surfaces.
This is a sales exercise.
I do wonder just how long it will be before someone discovers that discs aren't infallible... they'll still suffer from brake fade and fluid boiling on all these Alpine descents people are riding...
'Modulation' makes me laugh too, that's a benefit of all hydraulic brakes - the same would be achieved with hydraulic rim brakes, rims essentially being a fat disc and in no way comparable to drum brakes.
If road bikes genuinely needed more braking performance we would have seen more development in calliper design, brake pads and rim surfaces.
This is a sales exercise.
Banana Boy said:
Having the option to 'brake later' doesn't mean you have the balls to and as all true racers know 'brakes are the enemy of speed'! I'll be sticking with my rim brakes and will continue to sail around the outside of people who don't have the confidence carry their speed through the corners... discs can't teach you that
I do wonder just how long it will be before someone discovers that discs aren't infallible... they'll still suffer from brake fade and fluid boiling on all these Alpine descents people are riding...
'Modulation' makes me laugh too, that's a benefit of all hydraulic brakes - the same would be achieved with hydraulic rim brakes, rims essentially being a fat disc and in no way comparable to drum brakes.
If road bikes genuinely needed more braking performance we would have seen more development in calliper design, brake pads and rim surfaces.
This is a sales exercise.
The latest "Tour" magazine in Germany has a review of the new Campagnolo disc brakes. If I remember correctly after a 2km descent, using only the front brake, the front disc had warped so much that the bike could no longer be ridden, as the disc had become stuck in the caliper. They did the same test on a rim braked bike, no problems.I do wonder just how long it will be before someone discovers that discs aren't infallible... they'll still suffer from brake fade and fluid boiling on all these Alpine descents people are riding...
'Modulation' makes me laugh too, that's a benefit of all hydraulic brakes - the same would be achieved with hydraulic rim brakes, rims essentially being a fat disc and in no way comparable to drum brakes.
If road bikes genuinely needed more braking performance we would have seen more development in calliper design, brake pads and rim surfaces.
This is a sales exercise.
Kawasicki said:
Banana Boy said:
Having the option to 'brake later' doesn't mean you have the balls to and as all true racers know 'brakes are the enemy of speed'! I'll be sticking with my rim brakes and will continue to sail around the outside of people who don't have the confidence carry their speed through the corners... discs can't teach you that
I do wonder just how long it will be before someone discovers that discs aren't infallible... they'll still suffer from brake fade and fluid boiling on all these Alpine descents people are riding...
'Modulation' makes me laugh too, that's a benefit of all hydraulic brakes - the same would be achieved with hydraulic rim brakes, rims essentially being a fat disc and in no way comparable to drum brakes.
If road bikes genuinely needed more braking performance we would have seen more development in calliper design, brake pads and rim surfaces.
This is a sales exercise.
The latest "Tour" magazine in Germany has a review of the new Campagnolo disc brakes. If I remember correctly after a 2km descent, using only the front brake, the front disc had warped so much that the bike could no longer be ridden, as the disc had become stuck in the caliper. They did the same test on a rim braked bike, no problems.I do wonder just how long it will be before someone discovers that discs aren't infallible... they'll still suffer from brake fade and fluid boiling on all these Alpine descents people are riding...
'Modulation' makes me laugh too, that's a benefit of all hydraulic brakes - the same would be achieved with hydraulic rim brakes, rims essentially being a fat disc and in no way comparable to drum brakes.
If road bikes genuinely needed more braking performance we would have seen more development in calliper design, brake pads and rim surfaces.
This is a sales exercise.
I see their use on a winter bike or commuter but totally not required for racing and is only being pushed by the big bike manufactures to sell some new bikes/wheels. Seen a few times where people have panicked and grabbed too much brake mid bunch with disastrous results, I think this will only increase with more people riding discs especially in the lower categories.
smn159 said:
Given that I'll very soon have roadworthy bikes with both types, should I now be choosing a side and posting emotively in favour of one type of brakes or the other, trawling the internet for evidence to back up my favoured option?
Any other components fall into this category?
No, you should go and do some road races and see how they are. This thread isn't about riding bikes about, its about road racing. You may already do so, but your posts didn't make it clear.Any other components fall into this category?
okgo said:
Yes. I've had numerous bikes with disc brakes, Hope Mini/M4 was my chosen combo back in the day, ones where they were welcome, namely bikes that weighed a lot with big tyres designed for jumping off st. Road bikes generally are not them, IMO.
I have hope m4's on my old bike(2005 ish), they were such a big upgrade from v brakes! Now they are fitted to my winter bike and they are rubbish compared to the new stuff! t. Road bikes generally are not them, IMO.
smn159 said:
Given that I'll very soon have roadworthy bikes with both types, should I now be choosing a side and posting emotively in favour of one type of brakes or the other, trawling the internet for evidence to back up my favoured option?
Any other components fall into this category?
Personally I think that 26' wheels and 2x (29-44) should still be used in xc racing, but that's because I'm an old grumpy fart.Any other components fall into this category?
Ok, accept the 29', but the weedy single ring at the front it's just ridiculous! There, I said it!
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