Disc or rim brake on road bike
Discussion
I've only been scared on rim brakes once, that was on a grotty commute in torrential rain where it impacted the braking distance far more than I expected. I'm a bit more careful now about riding to conditions and testing the brakes to make sure I know what margin there is. I'll consider discs for next years commuter/winter build.
Amateurish said:
Never used rim brakes that couldn't lock up the wheels. Surely that's the limit of braking power?
I used rim brakes in the Alps a couple of years ago and they worked fine other than after a couple of long descents (20km+) and with my weight (106kg at the time) the tyre melted to the rim, they never actually gave up though. mcelliott said:
Unless you're s
t/hamfisted at descending, rim brakes are perfectly fine.
Perfectly fine, yes. Are they as good? No.t/hamfisted at descending, rim brakes are perfectly fine.I have rim brakes on one roadie, and discs on another. It doesn't have to be a big scary descent for discs to prove better, even just a damp road coming up to a junction you notice a significant difference in the fact that disc brakes begin to slow you down the instant you pull the lever.
Have both, and given a choice, wouldn't go back to rim brakes. Not sure why so many people dislike them....aesthetics is a bit of a vain reason IMO when it comes to something that could potentially save your life. The "rim brakes are fine" argument is true, but the horse and cart was "fine". Why not have better performance if you can?
Kawasicki said:
Discs on my mtb, rim brakes work great on my road bike.
I was riding last week in heavy rain, on extremely flooded roads, with aluminum rims, Ultegra rim brakes and Swisstop navy blue brake blocks. They had instant bite, more than sufficient power and very good modulation. Are most people struggling in the wet with carbon rims?
Same set up as my road bike with rim brakes, still not a patch on the discs though for instant bite or modulation.I was riding last week in heavy rain, on extremely flooded roads, with aluminum rims, Ultegra rim brakes and Swisstop navy blue brake blocks. They had instant bite, more than sufficient power and very good modulation. Are most people struggling in the wet with carbon rims?
Amateurish said:
Never used rim brakes that couldn't lock up the wheels. Surely that's the limit of braking power?
Yes, that is the limit of braking power. But discs offer better modulation and, especially in the wet, they begin to slow you down instantly, whereas there's always a delay with rim brakes, especially if the rim is covered in crap from the roads. I've yet to see a braking test where discs are outperformed by rim brakes. Seen plenty the other way though.
E65Ross said:
Kawasicki said:
Discs on my mtb, rim brakes work great on my road bike.
I was riding last week in heavy rain, on extremely flooded roads, with aluminum rims, Ultegra rim brakes and Swisstop navy blue brake blocks. They had instant bite, more than sufficient power and very good modulation. Are most people struggling in the wet with carbon rims?
Same set up as my road bike with rim brakes, still not a patch on the discs though for instant bite or modulation.I was riding last week in heavy rain, on extremely flooded roads, with aluminum rims, Ultegra rim brakes and Swisstop navy blue brake blocks. They had instant bite, more than sufficient power and very good modulation. Are most people struggling in the wet with carbon rims?
What clinches it for me is discs are more consistent across all conditions. My Ultegras are usually fine, occasionally they're not and you only find out when you *really* need them.
Well....almost everyone who's gone from rim brakes to discs who I've ever spoken to has said they won't be going back to rim brakes. Those who say rim brakes are fine haven't tried discs, or have tried them and not in the rain and may be fair weather riders.
Or....those who say it can be dangerous in a peloton....but I don't think it's any different when comparing alu vs carbon rim brakes so not sure that argument stands up really as those people never seemed to complain about that.
Or....those who say it can be dangerous in a peloton....but I don't think it's any different when comparing alu vs carbon rim brakes so not sure that argument stands up really as those people never seemed to complain about that.
I have discs on my winter bike and rim brakes on my summer bike. I do love my disc brakes in the winter, notably on filthy wet rides. However if I was buying a new summer bike I would stick with rim brakes. They look better (IMO), are lighter and the braking performance isn't that much below discs.
A lot of road bikes that come with discs are mechanical , are they as irritatingly squeaky, and need as much constant fettling as a lot of people claim? (ive only experienced hydraulic discs on MTBs)
I've had great results using SwissTop green pads on my rim brakes but quite fancy a cx bike, but not if the brake set up requires endless faffing, it would drive me mad........
I've had great results using SwissTop green pads on my rim brakes but quite fancy a cx bike, but not if the brake set up requires endless faffing, it would drive me mad........
Each to their own but I don't think the weight makes that much difference if I'm honest.
Not much gain, perhaps, but for the extremely minimal difference the weight and drag they aren't as good at, they're worth it for the additional stopping power and reliability.
How much time on the brakes? Not very often. But they are so much better in the wet and offer instant response. It's been a handful of times I've had to do an emergency stop, one of which discs would have prevented an accident without any shadow of doubt.
All the arguments against seem to be "they aren't that much better at slowing you down" well how about "but they ARE better at slowing you down".
Heavier? Come on!
As said already, every single person who has discs has said they prefer them to rim brakes in wet/damp conditions. You really don't notice any difference in weight etc so the down sides in the dry are basically non existant, yet there are upsides when it's damp or wet. So unless you never ever ride in the damp or have access to several bikes then I really can't see why you'd prefer rim brakes.
Not much gain, perhaps, but for the extremely minimal difference the weight and drag they aren't as good at, they're worth it for the additional stopping power and reliability.
How much time on the brakes? Not very often. But they are so much better in the wet and offer instant response. It's been a handful of times I've had to do an emergency stop, one of which discs would have prevented an accident without any shadow of doubt.
All the arguments against seem to be "they aren't that much better at slowing you down" well how about "but they ARE better at slowing you down".
Heavier? Come on!
As said already, every single person who has discs has said they prefer them to rim brakes in wet/damp conditions. You really don't notice any difference in weight etc so the down sides in the dry are basically non existant, yet there are upsides when it's damp or wet. So unless you never ever ride in the damp or have access to several bikes then I really can't see why you'd prefer rim brakes.
E65Ross said:
Each to their own but I don't think the weight makes that much difference if I'm honest.
Not much gain, perhaps, but for the extremely minimal difference the weight and drag they aren't as good at, they're worth it for the additional stopping power and reliability.
How much time on the brakes? Not very often. But they are so much better in the wet and offer instant response. It's been a handful of times I've had to do an emergency stop, one of which discs would have prevented an accident without any shadow of doubt.
All the arguments against seem to be "they aren't that much better at slowing you down" well how about "but they ARE better at slowing you down".
Heavier? Come on!
As said already, every single person who has discs has said they prefer them to rim brakes in wet/damp conditions. You really don't notice any difference in weight etc so the down sides in the dry are basically non existant, yet there are upsides when it's damp or wet. So unless you never ever ride in the damp or have access to several bikes then I really can't see why you'd prefer rim brakes.
Well it's a couple of £100 extra, and half a kilo of weight, so not exactly to be sniffed at. Just worth bearing in mind, it's not a no-brainer. Not much gain, perhaps, but for the extremely minimal difference the weight and drag they aren't as good at, they're worth it for the additional stopping power and reliability.
How much time on the brakes? Not very often. But they are so much better in the wet and offer instant response. It's been a handful of times I've had to do an emergency stop, one of which discs would have prevented an accident without any shadow of doubt.
All the arguments against seem to be "they aren't that much better at slowing you down" well how about "but they ARE better at slowing you down".
Heavier? Come on!
As said already, every single person who has discs has said they prefer them to rim brakes in wet/damp conditions. You really don't notice any difference in weight etc so the down sides in the dry are basically non existant, yet there are upsides when it's damp or wet. So unless you never ever ride in the damp or have access to several bikes then I really can't see why you'd prefer rim brakes.
Antony Moxey said:
E65Ross said:
It's been a handful of times I've had to do an emergency stop, one of which discs would have prevented an accident without any shadow of doubt.
You cannot possibly know that.I'm not going to pretend it's safer to ride with less effective brakes but it has to be mentioned that the confidence better brakes give you is likely to change your behaviour. This means in the above example it's possible for instance that the speed would be different on rim brakes so the accident potential isn't necessarily as simple as comparing stopping distances like for like. I still think it's impossible to determine with certainty if an accident was avoided or not.
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