Road bike disc brakes - is it the right time to change?
Discussion
My current Focus Izalco Team has served me very well for the last 6 years and has gradually been upgraded along the way. At some point I will swap both it and my Dolan winter bike for something more comfy with disc brakes - of what's currently available the Trek Domane 6.2 Disc looks like it would fit the bill very nicely, I have a test ride booked for the weekend.
This time round I will do the upgrading when new (no point in spending loads upgraded wheels and only getting a year or 2 use from them again) but I have a niggling doubt whether disc brakes are developed enough on the road platform yet. As the last bike I want this one to last 5-10years and don't want to find I'm on discontinued tech which is hard to replace in a few years time.
My main concern is centre lock discs, flat mount for calipers when I replace the groupset half way through my tenure.
Any thoughts?
This time round I will do the upgrading when new (no point in spending loads upgraded wheels and only getting a year or 2 use from them again) but I have a niggling doubt whether disc brakes are developed enough on the road platform yet. As the last bike I want this one to last 5-10years and don't want to find I'm on discontinued tech which is hard to replace in a few years time.
My main concern is centre lock discs, flat mount for calipers when I replace the groupset half way through my tenure.
Any thoughts?
Having used discs on MTB's since their inception I can see why you are worried
There have been several modest evolutions but nothing to be too stressed about
Shimano flirted with centrelock splined rotors, I have no idea if they still do, whilst I think the standard is still 6 bolt
To be honest the rotors are pretty much interchangeable so I wouldnt imagine this will be a big deal and they also last for ages, one of my MTB's has been thrashed in all weathers for 10y and still has its original rotors
The mounting system also changed at least once and is now standardised however adapters are readily available so again not a biggie
The only thing stopping me from "going disc" on the road was waiting for the next obvious step which is bikes that will accommodate sensible (28mm and above) sized tyres and proper mudgaurds - this seems to be addressed with the current wave of new releases so Im all ears
Cheers
There have been several modest evolutions but nothing to be too stressed about
Shimano flirted with centrelock splined rotors, I have no idea if they still do, whilst I think the standard is still 6 bolt
To be honest the rotors are pretty much interchangeable so I wouldnt imagine this will be a big deal and they also last for ages, one of my MTB's has been thrashed in all weathers for 10y and still has its original rotors
The mounting system also changed at least once and is now standardised however adapters are readily available so again not a biggie
The only thing stopping me from "going disc" on the road was waiting for the next obvious step which is bikes that will accommodate sensible (28mm and above) sized tyres and proper mudgaurds - this seems to be addressed with the current wave of new releases so Im all ears
Cheers
I wouldn't rush into it. I have cable discs on my cross bike and I loath them. They're just a pain in the arse. They always seem to be dragging slightly, the leaver feels heavy and the power just doesn't seem very good. When i finally got my road bike out recently the brakes nearly put me over the bars and thats on carbon rims! Having said that I've not tried a hydraulic set up yet.
I think they're largely not needed on a pure road bike. Decent rims brakes are more than adequate in my opinion. For a commuter or if your likely to go off road then they start to make sense.
There have been rumours that the pro peloton will be adopting them in the next few years. If this happens I expect you'll not be able to get a road bike without discs.
I think they're largely not needed on a pure road bike. Decent rims brakes are more than adequate in my opinion. For a commuter or if your likely to go off road then they start to make sense.
There have been rumours that the pro peloton will be adopting them in the next few years. If this happens I expect you'll not be able to get a road bike without discs.
Cable discs are rubbish full stop but hydraulic discs are an absolute revelation. Fully-hydraulic discs on roadies seem only to exist on the very top of the range ones, where the half-way house solutions are available on the 2nd tier ranges - where you have a cable lever pulling on a separate hydraulic piston.
In 3 years hydraulic discs will be more readily available at which point I'd be surprised if people were still asking whether they are worthwhile.
In 3 years hydraulic discs will be more readily available at which point I'd be surprised if people were still asking whether they are worthwhile.
i would march on with confidence on the disc brake front. certainly ensure they are hydraulic and not cable operated, having had extensive experience of both i can vouch for the benefits of hydraulic over cable.
on the mounting i read somewhere that there seems to be a tendency for flat as opposed to post mount, but as a previous poster has said i'm sure some sort of adapter will be available at some point if you end up with the betamax version...
for my use which is commuting and long weekend rides they are a perfect balance of performance and function. if you inner gyroscopes can notice the balance or weight differences then you may have a problem, but back in the real world there is no issue there.
there are also plenty of bikes and options out there than can accommodate 23 up to 40+ mm tyres with guards etc etc. e.g. kinesis tripster ATR which is what i have and i cannot bang on enough about how good it is for everything.
happy hunting.
on the mounting i read somewhere that there seems to be a tendency for flat as opposed to post mount, but as a previous poster has said i'm sure some sort of adapter will be available at some point if you end up with the betamax version...
for my use which is commuting and long weekend rides they are a perfect balance of performance and function. if you inner gyroscopes can notice the balance or weight differences then you may have a problem, but back in the real world there is no issue there.
there are also plenty of bikes and options out there than can accommodate 23 up to 40+ mm tyres with guards etc etc. e.g. kinesis tripster ATR which is what i have and i cannot bang on enough about how good it is for everything.
happy hunting.
Shimano have launched hydraulic discs down to Tiagra level now so they're fairly accessible on £1k+ bikes.
I actually have cable discs on one of my bikes and they're great. They do need to be set up properly though and the problem a lot of people have with them is that they just can't get the setup right - this is often because the rotors need to be trued.
As a do-it-all bike I'd go disc, no question. A best bike for sunny days I'd stick with rim brakes though.
I actually have cable discs on one of my bikes and they're great. They do need to be set up properly though and the problem a lot of people have with them is that they just can't get the setup right - this is often because the rotors need to be trued.
As a do-it-all bike I'd go disc, no question. A best bike for sunny days I'd stick with rim brakes though.
Watchman said:
the half-way house solutions are available on the 2nd tier ranges - where you have a cable lever pulling on a separate hydraulic piston.
TRP Hy/Rd is an example of these, which I have on my Whyte Suffolk. Easy to adjust and don't have the issues of having to use hydra components all the way up to the handlebar so no new shift levers required.I have cable discs on my cross bike and they do take some fine adjustment to get the best out of them, also require a fair amount of lever travel. I have Shimano Ultegra discs on my road bike and they are fantastic and inspire a lot of confidence but also a degree of caution. You have to be aware that you can scrub off a lot of speed very quickly, something to be aware of if riding in a group, my wife also has discs and I have nearly run into the back of her a few times. I have also found it to be very easy to lock a rear wheel, therefore I am always cautious of applying too much front brake. On a MTN Bike its a no brainer, you can just grab as hard as you like, just a little more caution and common sense on a road bike.
Your Dad said:
Watchman said:
the half-way house solutions are available on the 2nd tier ranges - where you have a cable lever pulling on a separate hydraulic piston.
TRP Hy/Rd is an example of these, which I have on my Whyte Suffolk. Easy to adjust and don't have the issues of having to use hydra components all the way up to the handlebar so no new shift levers required.Watchman said:
Your Dad said:
Watchman said:
the half-way house solutions are available on the 2nd tier ranges - where you have a cable lever pulling on a separate hydraulic piston.
TRP Hy/Rd is an example of these, which I have on my Whyte Suffolk. Easy to adjust and don't have the issues of having to use hydra components all the way up to the handlebar so no new shift levers required.Your Dad said:
Whyte offer the Suffolk in two versions, one that's fully Shimano with hydraulic throughout and the other £100 cheaper and is cable 105 levers and Hy/Rd brakes. Review on road.cc today says cheaper option is better.
A lot of testers seem to have issues with the size and shape of the hoods of the 105 hydro shifters (also, they're fugly) so I'm not surprised to see that verdict actually. HY/RD with compressionless outer cables feel almost the same as full hydraulics to use too.jamiebae said:
Your Dad said:
Whyte offer the Suffolk in two versions, one that's fully Shimano with hydraulic throughout and the other £100 cheaper and is cable 105 levers and Hy/Rd brakes. Review on road.cc today says cheaper option is better.
A lot of testers seem to have issues with the size and shape of the hoods of the 105 hydro shifters (also, they're fugly) so I'm not surprised to see that verdict actually. HY/RD with compressionless outer cables feel almost the same as full hydraulics to use too.Watchman said:
I get the point about the aesthetics - the 105s are pretty fugly, yes - but how else is the Hy/Rd better? I'd be surprised if the preference is any more than just the looks.
I've not seen the levers in the flesh, but from what I've read almost everybody has found the hoods uncomfortable.The Hy/Rd are great brakes and probably perform the same as the 105 hydros, so a slight difference in feel is compensated for by the fact the standard 105 levers are much nicer to use?
As I mentioned above, a lot of people who dislike cable discs do so based on riding a bike where they were either super cheap basic ones, badly adjusted, had rotors which were slightly off true, or were using cheap cables which compress under load. If set up properly decent cable brakes like TRP Spyre, Avid BB7 or Hayes CX Expert can be seriously impressive.
Cable discs can indeed work well. They were fitted to enough motorbikes, after all. I do remember as a youth of 16 using a mate's 50cc moped to tool around his garden. The front brake on that was good enough to lock the wheel on grass and dump me on my face, which was a useful lesson in not being a tw*t when using a motor vehicle. Neither I nor the bike were harmed, it would be good if all life lessons were so effective and lacking in consequences.
I'm waiting to change to discs. Can't wait. However, until there's a concensus in the industry on flatmount / the other one, axle diameter / fixing method / width and spacing, I'm not convinced it's the right time to jump.
The Focus RAT system makes so much sense. It's being raced by Focus and Merida. However, can you imagine Cannondale / Giant / Specialized paying someone else for it? IMO road discs will be another BB30/BB90/PF90 fiasco until either the big 3 come up with some sort of agreement, or Sram/shimano/campag manage similar unthinkables.
The Focus RAT system makes so much sense. It's being raced by Focus and Merida. However, can you imagine Cannondale / Giant / Specialized paying someone else for it? IMO road discs will be another BB30/BB90/PF90 fiasco until either the big 3 come up with some sort of agreement, or Sram/shimano/campag manage similar unthinkables.
Thanks for the replies. The bikes I'm looking at have hydraulics and all seem to be equipped it's the R685/785 shifters which seem to be well regarded.
I didn't mention axle/fixing type in my OP because although it is the one area that has the least commonality, I will do my wheel upgrade sooner rather than later. As long as the wheels have replaceable cartridge bearings they should last much longer than rim braked wheels. Having struggled with getting mttb discs setup right when using QRs in the past I am erring towards a through axle setup.
I also haven't ridden a hydraulic disc road bike before, so I will feedback after Saturday's test ride.
I didn't mention axle/fixing type in my OP because although it is the one area that has the least commonality, I will do my wheel upgrade sooner rather than later. As long as the wheels have replaceable cartridge bearings they should last much longer than rim braked wheels. Having struggled with getting mttb discs setup right when using QRs in the past I am erring towards a through axle setup.
I also haven't ridden a hydraulic disc road bike before, so I will feedback after Saturday's test ride.
Belatedly an update. I took the bike out for 20km in the wet, the brakes were vastly better than my current Mavic 40c, swisstop flash pro black prince, ultegra br-6700 caliper setup in those conditions. Feel was very good and the larger hoods suit my hands.
The stack height was much higher than I'm used to and the bars felt very wide, though they measure the same as my current ones. I'm also not convinced by fat bar tape. Never the less I have decided to go for it and will hopefully pick the bike up this week once the c2w stuff is sorted.
I will delay selling my current bike to fund new wheels until I've done some miles though to make sure I like this setup.
The stack height was much higher than I'm used to and the bars felt very wide, though they measure the same as my current ones. I'm also not convinced by fat bar tape. Never the less I have decided to go for it and will hopefully pick the bike up this week once the c2w stuff is sorted.
I will delay selling my current bike to fund new wheels until I've done some miles though to make sure I like this setup.
Dixie said:
I wouldn't rush into it. I have cable discs on my cross bike and I loath them. They're just a pain in the arse. They always seem to be dragging slightly, the leaver feels heavy and the power just doesn't seem very good. When i finally got my road bike out recently the brakes nearly put me over the bars and thats on carbon rims! Having said that I've not tried a hydraulic set up yet.
I think they're largely not needed on a pure road bike. Decent rims brakes are more than adequate in my opinion. For a commuter or if your likely to go off road then they start to make sense.
There have been rumours that the pro peloton will be adopting them in the next few years. If this happens I expect you'll not be able to get a road bike without discs.
Ditch the mech calipers for the TRP Hyd ones fella. They are pricey but worth the change, no more dragging or constant adjustment!I think they're largely not needed on a pure road bike. Decent rims brakes are more than adequate in my opinion. For a commuter or if your likely to go off road then they start to make sense.
There have been rumours that the pro peloton will be adopting them in the next few years. If this happens I expect you'll not be able to get a road bike without discs.
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