Road/CX bikes with cable disc brakes

[neilr]

What are cable disc brakes really like on road cx bikes compared to hydraulic brakes?

People I know with mountain bikes that have cable discs curse them for having to constantly adjust them along with irritating squealing etc. Is this just some cheaper discs/inability to set stuff up on their part or are cable discs just st?

I'm looking at buying a cx bike but hydraulic road set ups are probably out price wise. Although constant fettling and squealing brakes are also out of the question !

[Progressive]

I have a Cannondale CAADX with cable discs, Promax Render. They were panned in reviews on the bike so expected bad things. They are certainly a budget option. They are OK, but could do with fettling now and again. I've had no major issues but hydraulic discs would be significantly better. Mine feel a bit 'spongey' and I need to pull the cables through a bit every few weeks due to stretch.

For the type of riding I do (mainly commuting) its fine, though I rode a mates cross bike with hydros and it was a much nicer experience. So in short, it depends what your needs are and what your budget it. For a cross bike I'd go cable discs above rim brakes.

[feef]

I've got a Whyte Charing Cross which has cable operated Avid disk brakes. I'd prefer to have hydraulic, but they haven't failed to haul me up when needed.

Bear in mind that in a comparison with mountain bikes, you'll be unlikely to get quite as much mud and crap on a road-disk as a MTB disk. Granted with Cyclocross you'll get more, but i use the Charing Cross for some light CX work and haven't had an issue

[m444ttb]

They were both crap and a pain in the arse on my Cannondale CAADX. When I changed from Tiagra to 105 a few months ago I moved to hydraulics and they’re so much nicer.

[Dave2t]

I've got those hybrid trp ones on my CX, which us mainly used for winter club runs and the commute. They work fine.

[bigdom]

I have TRP cable hydraulics on a Croix de Fer I use for commuting, in 3,000 miles last year, just wiped the pistons clean probably 3/4 times all year. No adjustment required.

[Barchettaman]

Avid BB5 are a pain to set up but work OK.

BB7 are reckoned to be better, and I have a set ready to go on to replace the BB5s.

The dual-pivot TRP are apparently the best non-hydraulic disc brakes around, and with a quality low-friction cable and housing, work very well indeed.

[sjg]

I have the Shimano BRR517 ones and Sora STIs (needed to stay under the C2W limit), they work fine. Thought I'd keep them for a year or so until hydraulic ones got a bit cheaper then upgrade but not really feeling the need - actually, Sora shifting is still OK and hydro STIs are still a bit weird looking too.

[neilr]

Thanks for the replys all.

I've had experience riding my brothers hydro equipped bikes but no first hand experience with cable operated versions, just what people have told me.

[Barchettaman]

Bear in mind that cable-operated disc brakes on MTBs are often (but not always) found on lower-end models, hence lower quality brakes are used, hence they need more fettling etc. to keep them running nicely.

Unlike hydros (and Spyres), cable disc calipers only have one piston that moves, pushing the disc out of true and onto a fixed pad. This seems to result in the disc often warping and the annoying 'ching ching' sound, regardless of how well they are set up.

Something like that, anyway.

[bakerstreet]

I have cable operated disc brakes on my CX bike and they have been fine. Probably done about 1500 miles on them. I've never ridden a bike with hydraulic disc brakes, so I don't have anything to compare them to.

The current CX bike is 10 speed and would require quite a lot of outlay for me to upgrade it to hydraulic brakes and to be honest, I'm not a big fan of the frame, so I'm not sure I would ever bother.

[Gary29]

I've got hydro brakes on my MTB and they are awesome.

I've got cable discs on my Road bike, and they are st. They do a job and I've ridden nearly 3000 miles on them, but I don't have a great deal of confidence with them.

Go for hydro if you can afford it, or ride sensibly with cables.

[Dixie]

I loath mine. Not only are the crap at sloing me down with next to no real feel they always seem to be dragging.

I too have a CAADX and thought it was down to the rubbish standard items. I changed them for Avid BB5s. While these are better they're still awful.

I've your buying a cx bike. Do whatever you can to get one with hydros.

[idiotgap]

Look hard enough and you'll find hydraulic on a budget. I had a hankering last week and found these (both gone now), I managed to resist:

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/cannondale-caad...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cannondale-Caadx-Rival-...

[Fluffsri]

If you go for cable discs avoid the single pivot like the BB5s. Dont get me wrong they work fine but to get them to work well all the time you have to adjust them every 30 miles and if you don't they squeal. I believe BB7s are a lot better along with the TRP dual pivots. When I bought mine, Hyd groupset was beyond my budget so I went for the TRP cable operated hydraulic brakes and I think they are very good. Depending on your budget you can get a half decent CX bike now for a grand with Hyd discs.

https://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBPXXLSRIV1/planet-x-...

I hope this link works as its playing up on works comp. £1399 down to £999

[aka_kerrly]

I have had absolutely no issues with the AVID5 cable disc setup on the Boardman CSX I'm currently using. I've put around 700miles on it without having to do any adjustments and they have performed far better in all conditions than any (road bike) rim brakes I've ever had.

[anonymous-user]

I have cable discs on my synapse.
They work adequately, however my rim brakes on my summer bikes are far superior at stopping me in anything other than a torrential downpour.

[Steve vRS]

keirik said:

I have cable discs on my synapse.
They work adequately, however my rim brakes on my summer bikes are far superior at stopping me in anything other than a torrential downpour.

Snap. Rim brakes seem better than cable pulled discs.

[millen]

Another lesser-known hybrid system is this http://www.ukcyclocross.co.uk/reviews/review-juin-... You can get a pair, incl rotors, for £150 from EdgeSports https://www.edgesportsuk.com/store/juin-tech/juin-... The reviews look marginally better than for the TRP hybrids, though some mention durability issues in dirty environments. https://roubaixcycling.cc/2016/08/03/juin-tech-r1-...

[aka_kerrly]

Steve vRS said:

Snap. Rim brakes seem better than cable pulled discs.

A decent set of pads & good cables will make an enormous difference to both types of brake, I've got some Avid organic pads an relatively new cables operated via SRAM levers an no complaints. Certainly a huge improvement over U's & Koolstop pads .

For me it's the initial bite that discs give even in wet/cold weather which i find quite reassuring. From what I can tell it's mostly the Cycle Cross style racers that are making the switch to discs well ahead of the (more weight obsessed) hardcore roadies but I expect discs will start to become the norm.