Disc or rim brake on road bike

[russy01]

If money is not a concern (I.e discs are much more expensive) and you don’t have a load of old wheels which would become defunct.
Then I do not see why you’d even consider rim brakes over discs in 2018 - having owned several bikes with both I can confirm discs are the way forward.

I am by no means calling rim brakes crap, they are ample in most situations and have done the job for me for years. But with everything tech moves on and this is just another case of that...

[Zippee]

Thank you again for your advice.
I think my mind is made up with regards to the discs. Having ridden the 105 set up I do agree about the comment on the hoods, they are about 3/4" longer and feel a little odd. Hopefully something I'd get used to fairly quickly.

Out of interest as I haven't seen one in the flesh, do the Ultegra hydraulic shifters have the same issue or are they a little better designed? Reason I ask is due to man maths - 'only' another £500 would get me this one http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/wilier-gtr-sl-e... with full Ultegra disc and the lighter/stronger SL frame along with better wheels. If they are the same feel though then I'll happily go for the 105.

[Kawasicki]

hilly10 said:

Still rim brakes for me on my road bike, but there again if I did more miles with more hills Discs may become more of a necessity.

Discs fade on descents too. Heavy riders should be careful not to expect fade free braking, especially with 140 mm rotors.

[Bobley]

If I lived in Mallorca or the Alps etc then I'd consider a disc road bike. In the UK I'm not too fussed yet but as they become more common I'll think about switching.

Every time I watch the vets and seniors CX races (after being a pit dad for an hour or so) and see someone riding carbon rims with cantis in the mud I think "£5... £10....£15..." as I watch them brake into consecutive bends and you hear that awful(ly expensive) sound...

[Herman Toothrot]

Kawasicki said:

Discs fade on descents too. Heavy riders should be careful not to expect fade free braking, especially with 140 mm rotors.

For long term roadies who have not experienced MTB disc brakes a certain degree of re-learning maybe required, I bet an awful lot of riders drag brakes to control their speed hence the my rim brakes are plenty good enough comments.

Discs as they are more reliable and powerful once you have gained confidence you can let the bike run away off the brakes and then brake much harder, much later as the modulations better, you can more reliably put the bike on the edge of lockup, if you brake in this manner rather than dragging brakes there should be no over heating. You are quite right though, it is possible to over heat them and experience fade if you drag them that will happen, quite simple, hence on MTBs 203mm discs, 4 piston callipers with sintered metal pads and cooling fins have become normal. Its why the pro downhillers run whatever brakes their sponsors tell them and don't have a problem yet average joe is constantly complaining his <any top end 4 piston brakes> are crap that over heat and have varying bite points. You can mitigate a bit, sintered metal pads over resin for example, they just gain bite the hotter they get to a degree whereas resin in the same scenario won't, but will have better initial bite when cold.


I don't know what road setups come with as standard, anyone know?

Edited by Herman Toothrot on Sunday 21st January 22:33

Edited by Herman Toothrot on Sunday 21st January 22:34

[Gruffy]

Descending is the one thing I do well and I can tell you that disc brakes make me faster. Rim brakes on an ali brake track are OK but they're no match for hydraulic discs. Rim brakes on carbon are, frankly, terrifying at balls-out speeds and/or sustained descents. If it's wet then discs enjoy an even bigger advantage. Discs also still work if you Pringle your wheel and hydraulics stay perfect with very little maintenance.

[bakerstreet]

The only bike I have on discs is a Planet X SLX which I have never really gelled with. However the brakes were excellent for commuting in all weathers.

I'm happy for the good bike to remain on rim brakes, but I want to replace my first road bike with a disc equivalent and fit guards so that could be used in the winter. There are some good frames on EBay for £368, so I'm hoping to just swap everything accross.

In answer to your question, it all depends on how much I would want to spend. Disc equipped bikes from the major manufacturers are very expensive. Some are near £2k. Not sure I want to spend that on a new bike.

[Tom1312]

Zippee said:

Thank you again for your advice.
I think my mind is made up with regards to the discs. Having ridden the 105 set up I do agree about the comment on the hoods, they are about 3/4" longer and feel a little odd. Hopefully something I'd get used to fairly quickly.

Out of interest as I haven't seen one in the flesh, do the Ultegra hydraulic shifters have the same issue or are they a little better designed? Reason I ask is due to man maths - 'only' another £500 would get me this one http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/wilier-gtr-sl-k... with full Ultegra disc and the lighter/stronger SL frame along with better wheels. If they are the same feel though then I'll happily go for the 105.

The Ultegra shifters, are a different and more comfortable shape. I came from SRAM back to Shimano so have no idea of they are the same as the non disc variety. However they are very comfortable to me.

Are you set on a Willier?

1800 buys you a lot of Giant, Cannondale or Specialized....

[Zippee]

Tom1312 said:

The Ultegra shifters, are a different and more comfortable shape. I came from SRAM back to Shimano so have no idea of they are the same as the non disc variety. However they are very comfortable to me.

Are you set on a Willier?

1800 buys you a lot of Giant, Cannondale or Specialized....

Thanks. Tested the Defy advanced pro 2 but couldn't get on with the M or M/L sizing with one too small and one too big. Dale - tested the 103 Synapse disc, nice but felt a little dead. The Wilier was comfy from the off, though as stated previously the one I test rode was a Campag equipped rim brake version but otherwise it just fitted so much better than the others.
TBH I'm leaning more towards the 105 version, won't take many miles to get used to the hoods

[Andy JB]

To OP - I think it largely depends what you intend to use the bikes for. I have 3 main bikes and different brakes on each one.

Lightweight summer fast bike - rim brakes with swiss stop pads (Shimano DA Calipers)
All weather titanium Audax bike - disc brakes 160mm (Sram Force)
Mountain bike hard tail - disc brakes 180mm (Hope E4)

All work well for their application. If you are looking for a general purpose bike both will work well, the discs add a bit more weight but offer superior stopping power - its a personal decision but best to try both first.

[ChocolateFrog]

Are discs worse aero wise? Can't be that bad if they're winning tour stages.

Rim brakes definitely look better and weigh less so they'll be staying on my fair weather road bike for some time.

[Marcellus]

I've got discs on my MTB (obviously) and yes they are so much better than rim brakes in stopping power in all terrains and conditions.

I've only got Rim brakes on my road bikes.

In the summer, I've never felt underpowered in stopping terms and yes I used to do serious proper road descents as I lived in the French alps.

However, this winter is a different story, my Winter bike only has rim brakes and they are not good.... I've never had an instance when I've not been able to stop when needing to, but I think that's more down to good awareness and anticipation than anything else.

There's so much crap on the roads where I ride, some from horses, some from cows and some just mud from the fields by the roads so I can't have my pads close to the rims otherwise they catch all the muck and drag the brakes, to give you an idea every fortnight I'm having to strip and clean the calipers as they've got so much in them they aren't releasing when I do brake. I find I'm having to ride with the calipers a little more open than I would which increases the brake lever travel which reduces the braking efficiency.

So, if I were specing a new winter bike then I would more than likely go with discs.... but who specs a new winter bike surely the old summer bike becomes the new winter bike so you can buy the new summer bike?

[Fluffsri]

Tom1312 said:

I'll throw my (unwanted) 2p into the debate.

arent generally accepted by the "Rapha' crowd.

Nailed it! LOL.

I run both disc (CX bike) and rim (Road bike) and in this st weather have been using the dics dues to the grit and crap on the rim making a disgusting and expensive noise when the brakes are applied lol.

I reckon my next Road bike will be disc, not a fashion or trend thing I just like the way they work.

[BeirutTaxi]

ChocolateFrog said:

Are discs worse aero wise? Can't be that bad if they're winning tour stages.

Rim brakes definitely look better and weigh less so they'll be staying on my fair weather road bike for some time.

ROSE bikes said some time back when comparing their disc model aero bike with rim model (same frame) that the disc was 1W more efficient.

[Zippee]

Fluffsri said:

Tom1312 said:

I'll throw my (unwanted) 2p into the debate.

arent generally accepted by the "Rapha' crowd.

Nailed it! LOL.

I run both disc (CX bike) and rim (Road bike) and in this st weather have been using the dics dues to the grit and crap on the rim making a disgusting and expensive noise when the brakes are applied lol.

I reckon my next Road bike will be disc, not a fashion or trend thing I just like the way they work.

If there's one thing I'm not fussed about its the snobby crowds and what they think. I'm a mountain biker at heart so as far removed from that type as you can get

[Zippee]

Just thought I'd follow up on this as I've just purchased one of these;
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/wilier-gtr-team... albeit at the previous price of £1340, should receive it early next week and can't wait.
It fitted like a glove and felt more comfortable than the equivalent Giant or Cannondale.

[Fluffsri]

Nice looking bike!!

[MrBarry123]

That's a lot of bike for £1340 - great deal.

[ChocolateFrog]

Had my first experience of discs today. 15km descent in the wet and they performed well. Not sure which brand they were but they were very noisy when they got hot.

[Amateurish]

Never used rim brakes that couldn't lock up the wheels. Surely that's the limit of braking power?