Disc brakes or not

eeksll
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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby eeksll » Fri Dec 15, 2017 6:41 pm

Duck! wrote: Comparison of brake service, which I do on a daily basis....
Rim brake bike:
Check pad wear. If low, replace pads. If OK, pick bits of grit out of pads. File pad surface to remove glazing & other finer gritty bits. Check cables for fraying, rusting, excessive friction. If frayed or corroded, replace cables. If OK, lubricate cables. Check caliper pivots for excess friction/binding. Disassemble, clean and lubricate pivots as necessary. Check rims for wear. If bad, advise customer that new rim + rebuild, or new wheel is required. Adjust pad toe-in. Adlust contact height on rim. Adjust cables for proper contact stroke. If new cables, stretch and adjust (section relating to cables equally valid for mechanical discs).

Disc brake (esp. hydro) bike:
Check pad wear. If low, replace pads and push pistons back to reset clearance. If OK, scuff on sandpaper to remove surface glazing. Refit pads. Check rotor wear. If too thin, replace rotors. If good, leave alone. Check caliper alignment over rotor. Check brake pressure, bleed if spongy or if fluid expansion has reduced stroke..



Three lines for disc brake service vs six lines for rim brake. And you tell me disc brakes need more maintenance.
hmmm I kinda dont do any of those things with any of my road bikes on a regular basis. I just seem to have trouble with my MTB disc brakes "regularly", alignment, scrapping and mileage/hours comparison of use is miles ahead on the road bike. The pistons are not coming out evenly (Avid juicy 7) I just got myself some new pistons and heres to me hoping that means it will last for a long time after all this ....

my front cable operated dsic brake on the commuter does seem fairly low maintenance, but I do need to get the proper torx driver to wind the pads in, they do seem to wear much more.

my next road bike is very likely going to by disc braked, I really do hope maintence is low as your saying cause man am I sick of flaffing around with these damn hydro disc brakes

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Duck!
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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby Duck! » Fri Dec 15, 2017 7:55 pm

Comedian wrote:
Duck! wrote:
Comedian wrote: That's the guy who works for a bike shop that wants you to pay him to fix your brakes. :mrgreen:
I've said plenty of times before, and will repeat again, 'cos you seem unable to comprehend, rim brakes need MORE maintenance!!!

Comparison of brake service, which I do on a daily basis....
Rim brake bike:
Check pad wear. If low, replace pads. If OK, pick bits of grit out of pads. File pad surface to remove glazing & other finer gritty bits. Check cables for fraying, rusting, excessive friction. If frayed or corroded, replace cables. If OK, lubricate cables. Check caliper pivots for excess friction/binding. Disassemble, clean and lubricate pivots as necessary. Check rims for wear. If bad, advise customer that new rim + rebuild, or new wheel is required. Adjust pad toe-in. Adlust contact height on rim. Adjust cables for proper contact stroke. If new cables, stretch and adjust (section relating to cables equally valid for mechanical discs).

Disc brake (esp. hydro) bike:
Check pad wear. If low, replace pads and push pistons back to reset clearance. If OK, scuff on sandpaper to remove surface glazing. Refit pads. Check rotor wear. If too thin, replace rotors. If good, leave alone. Check caliper alignment over rotor. Check brake pressure, bleed if spongy or if fluid expansion has reduced stroke..



Three lines for disc brake service vs six lines for rim brake. And you tell me disc brakes need more maintenance.
Let's see how long the queue is when disc brake bikes make up more than a tiny fraction of the number of bikes out there.

And you left off the bit where a hydro seal leaks... and it all gets messy.. or you had to change the rear calliper on a bike with internally routed hoses... You left off what happened if the master cylinder needs replacing in the shifter...

All the issues that will start arising when the bikes are more than 12 months old.. :roll:
You're full of schitt, to put it mildly.

Disc brakes have been on bikes longer than I've been in the industry, and disc-braked bikes make up a considerable proportion of the bikes out in the wild, not a "tiny fraction" . The majority of bikes I work on, with all brake types, are considerably more than 12 months old, and the "issues" you describe are extremely rare, hence why I didn't mention them as part of the routine service - because they're not routine. Changing a caliper with an internally-routed hose is pi$$ easy, just unbolt the hose from the caliper, fit the new caliper and vacuum-bleed the system. Not messy at all.

The disc brakes on my own MTBs are 7 & 8 years old , and I have never had to replace anything more than brake pads and rotors with either set.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Comedian
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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby Comedian » Fri Dec 15, 2017 8:47 pm

Duck! wrote:
Comedian wrote:
Duck! wrote:
I've said plenty of times before, and will repeat again, 'cos you seem unable to comprehend, rim brakes need MORE maintenance!!!

Comparison of brake service, which I do on a daily basis....
Rim brake bike:
Check pad wear. If low, replace pads. If OK, pick bits of grit out of pads. File pad surface to remove glazing & other finer gritty bits. Check cables for fraying, rusting, excessive friction. If frayed or corroded, replace cables. If OK, lubricate cables. Check caliper pivots for excess friction/binding. Disassemble, clean and lubricate pivots as necessary. Check rims for wear. If bad, advise customer that new rim + rebuild, or new wheel is required. Adjust pad toe-in. Adlust contact height on rim. Adjust cables for proper contact stroke. If new cables, stretch and adjust (section relating to cables equally valid for mechanical discs).

Disc brake (esp. hydro) bike:
Check pad wear. If low, replace pads and push pistons back to reset clearance. If OK, scuff on sandpaper to remove surface glazing. Refit pads. Check rotor wear. If too thin, replace rotors. If good, leave alone. Check caliper alignment over rotor. Check brake pressure, bleed if spongy or if fluid expansion has reduced stroke..



Three lines for disc brake service vs six lines for rim brake. And you tell me disc brakes need more maintenance.
Let's see how long the queue is when disc brake bikes make up more than a tiny fraction of the number of bikes out there.

And you left off the bit where a hydro seal leaks... and it all gets messy.. or you had to change the rear calliper on a bike with internally routed hoses... You left off what happened if the master cylinder needs replacing in the shifter...

All the issues that will start arising when the bikes are more than 12 months old.. :roll:
You're full of schitt, to put it mildly.

Disc brakes have been on bikes longer than I've been in the industry, and disc-braked bikes make up a considerable proportion of the bikes out in the wild, not a "tiny fraction" . The majority of bikes I work on, with all brake types, are considerably more than 12 months old, and the "issues" you describe are extremely rare, hence why I didn't mention them as part of the routine service - because they're not routine. Changing a caliper with an internally-routed hose is pi$$ easy, just unbolt the hose from the caliper, fit the new caliper and vacuum-bleed the system. Not messy at all.

The disc brakes on my own MTBs are 7 & 8 years old , and I have never had to replace anything more than brake pads and rotors with either set.
I think you're bending it to make it seem more positive than it actually is because you have a vested interest. But you wouldn't be the only one. If I worked anywhere near the bike industry I'd be praying that discs took off too. I can't think of any technological change in recent history that could potentially force a change of this magnitude.

Anyway the only way I can understand your point of view is if you live somewhere where it rains a lot and people ride in it. Is that the case?

So what percentage of road bikes have discs? Because that's what I'm talking about. I'd be guessing it would be points of a single percentage of the road bikes out there at this juncture although clearly it's increasing. As I've stated before, the act of combining the shifter into the brake actuator is going to mean there will be lots of reasons why there is going to be more maintenance.

As I've said before.. I just don't have any data on how long a calliper brake lasts because I've never worn anything out other than pads. Not even a brake cable. I'm not even aware of any calliper brakes wearing out... not evah.

The highest mileage set of wheels I've got is some fulcrums with about 30k on them. They have no measurable wear. A friend I think is up to 70 on his. Maybe they will wear out.. but I'll be sick of them before they do.

If I rode in the rain/lived somewhere where it rained I can understand the maintenance equation would be completely different.

The oldest bike I've got with discs has Shimano Alfine discs and after a shedload of trouble they were both replaced (whole unit) at 9000k. My mountain bike with 2000k on it has had three bleeds ... I guess it's running at about $150 in maintenance per thousand but I understand that it might be more on time, which would bring it back to more like $100 a year. My Giant dealer told me I need to bleed them front and back twice a year which is $80 a throw but I've been a bit remiss. He said if I wasn't happy with that just to replace them with shimano disc brakes which don't need such frequent bleeding.

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby trailgumby » Fri Dec 15, 2017 9:07 pm

eeksll wrote:The pistons are not coming out evenly (Avid juicy 7) I just got myself some new pistons and heres to me hoping that means it will last for a long time after all this ....
I meant to ask earlier but you've just confirmed my suspicion. There's your problem right there. Chuck them out and replace with Shimano. Seriously.

I don't know what's wrong with Avid/SRAM. They've been at it for longer than I can remember but it seems they still can't produce a decent brake set. I like their suspension - a lot - but their brakes continue to be beset by recalls and warranty replacements.

They seem to treat their customers as part of the crash/test program. Three generations of brake later and they're no better. I don't know many (any) bike mechanics who have anything kind to say about Avid/SRAM brakes.

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby bychosis » Fri Dec 15, 2017 9:14 pm

[quote="eeksll”]Avid juicy 7[/quote]
Well there’s your problem :shock:

I had juicy sevens, has to bleed them about half a dozen times and could store the bike anything but upright or they wouldn’t work for the first 5 or 6 pumps. Switched to Shimano XT and have bled once in a longer period of time. They don’t get the best treatment either, dust, mud, (low pressure) hose wash and they keep working without squealing. Ask any MTB forum about juicy brakes and they’ll tell you to run - good for stopping, no good for maintenance.

Edit: duck beat me to it.
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Comedian
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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby Comedian » Fri Dec 15, 2017 9:18 pm

Duck! wrote:
Comedian wrote:
Duck! wrote:
I've said plenty of times before, and will repeat again, 'cos you seem unable to comprehend, rim brakes need MORE maintenance!!!

Comparison of brake service, which I do on a daily basis....
Rim brake bike:
Check pad wear. If low, replace pads. If OK, pick bits of grit out of pads. File pad surface to remove glazing & other finer gritty bits. Check cables for fraying, rusting, excessive friction. If frayed or corroded, replace cables. If OK, lubricate cables. Check caliper pivots for excess friction/binding. Disassemble, clean and lubricate pivots as necessary. Check rims for wear. If bad, advise customer that new rim + rebuild, or new wheel is required. Adjust pad toe-in. Adlust contact height on rim. Adjust cables for proper contact stroke. If new cables, stretch and adjust (section relating to cables equally valid for mechanical discs).

Disc brake (esp. hydro) bike:
Check pad wear. If low, replace pads and push pistons back to reset clearance. If OK, scuff on sandpaper to remove surface glazing. Refit pads. Check rotor wear. If too thin, replace rotors. If good, leave alone. Check caliper alignment over rotor. Check brake pressure, bleed if spongy or if fluid expansion has reduced stroke..



Three lines for disc brake service vs six lines for rim brake. And you tell me disc brakes need more maintenance.
Let's see how long the queue is when disc brake bikes make up more than a tiny fraction of the number of bikes out there.

And you left off the bit where a hydro seal leaks... and it all gets messy.. or you had to change the rear calliper on a bike with internally routed hoses... You left off what happened if the master cylinder needs replacing in the shifter...

All the issues that will start arising when the bikes are more than 12 months old.. :roll:
You're full of schitt, to put it mildly.

Disc brakes have been on bikes longer than I've been in the industry, and disc-braked bikes make up a considerable proportion of the bikes out in the wild, not a "tiny fraction" . The majority of bikes I work on, with all brake types, are considerably more than 12 months old, and the "issues" you describe are extremely rare, hence why I didn't mention them as part of the routine service - because they're not routine. Changing a caliper with an internally-routed hose is pi$$ easy, just unbolt the hose from the caliper, fit the new caliper and vacuum-bleed the system. Not messy at all.

The disc brakes on my own MTBs are 7 & 8 years old , and I have never had to replace anything more than brake pads and rotors with either set.
So.. I thought about this. I don't want to believe you are deliberately misinforming the good people on this forum due to vested interest. I thought maybe he sees far more calliper maintenance because he has customers that use their bikes in the rain. I think that must be it.

I reached out to a friend who has worked in a LBS for three years. It's a good shop with a well known mechanic and they do a lot of service work. I asked the question... "In the time you have been working in the shop have you ever heard of a rim brake calliper requiring maintenance or replacement".

Her answer was a categoric and confident "NO". That's a very very different picture to what you're portraying. :shock:

The climate must be the reason for such different experiences.

eeksll
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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby eeksll » Fri Dec 15, 2017 9:54 pm

@trailgumby @bychosis

everywhere I read on google results suggested the same thing, get the shimano and given its annoyingly hard to find parts online for Avid, I did start looking. But They where just a bit too much for a bike i dont ride very much.

However I got lucky(depending on POV) and found the parts avaialbe from a site which also had a few other hard to find small parts I had been keen to get for a while.

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby Duck! » Fri Dec 15, 2017 11:11 pm

Comedian wrote:
So.. I thought about this. I don't want to believe you are deliberately misinforming the good people on this forum due to vested interest. I thought maybe he sees far more calliper maintenance because he has customers that use their bikes in the rain. I think that must be it.

I reached out to a friend who has worked in a LBS for three years. It's a good shop with a well known mechanic and they do a lot of service work. I asked the question... "In the time you have been working in the shop have you ever heard of a rim brake calliper requiring maintenance or replacement".

Her answer was a categoric and confident "NO". That's a very very different picture to what you're portraying. :shock:

The climate must be the reason for such different experiences.
I've worked in the industry for fourteen years, and in that time serviced about 14,000 bikes. I'm in a coastal area, and the shop I'm in has had a long association with triathlon, so with both of those factors in mind, salt exposure is a big consideration, and that has a very substantial effect on many of the bikes I see. The simple fact is that rim and cable-operated disc brakes are much more susceptible to corrosion that affects function than hydraulic brakes are, therefore require a higher level of maintenance.

The most common - but still exceptionally rare - cause of leaking hydraulics I see is muppets overtightening the bleed nipple, stripping the thread.

As for the effects of integrated shift/brake levers, there are none. In Campagnolo and SRAM levers, the shift and brake systems are totally separate. Even Shimano levers with the dual-action lever have the shift and brake systems working off completely separate pivot axes, so there is no interference. Plus they were doing dual-control brifters for MTB several years before I was even in the industry, so the concept is not new at all......

Although discs are still relatively uncommon in the road context, there is nothing fundamentally different between road and MTB discs, hence all my references to relative numbers being in an overall sense, not any single cycling discipline.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby Warin » Sat Dec 16, 2017 3:20 pm

Comedian wrote:The climate must be the reason for such different experiences.
Having commuted for several years by bicycle to and from work in all weathers and seasons with a rim braked bike, not at the sea side...I can tell you that callipers and leavers do require maintenance. If the bike is only used in fair weather and in not too dirty conditions then you may get away without said maintenance. This was with Deore level equipment.

If there are only fair weather cyclists in your area ... then find, but you would then also find even less problems/work with disk brakes.

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby Toyopet » Sat Dec 16, 2017 3:35 pm

Braking Performance

I have two road bikes, one with with rim brakes and the other with hydro disc brakes. I love both bikes. I’m happy with the brakes on both bikes. But I’m happi(er) with the disc brakes for all the reasons mentioned above, and in other threads.

Maintenance

There’s lots of talk about maintenance in earlier posts, especially after two years.

As far as maintenance goes, my disc braked road bike is more than two years old and has done well over 20,000km. To date, it’s been through a few sets of pads and one set of rotors. They were easy to change. But it’s never had so much as a leak or a bleed. And I’ve put the bike through hell (for a high end road bike with carbon rims). So the maintenance requirements have been way better than expected. Win! I even bought a bleed kit thinking I might need it one day. Wrong.

Yes, I know an anecdote is not evidence. But that’s an anecdote for you.

Standards

I bit the bullet too early on getting a road bike with hydro discs, and it now seems I have an ‘orphan’. My disc braked road bike has post-mount discs, 140mm rotors front and back, and quick-release axles. Oh well. The bike’s performance, and especially its braking performance, has been all that I could ask for. The bike doesn’t meet the ‘standards’ for disc braked road bikes, but I don’t think I’ll have any problems sourcing parts should the need arise.

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby Comedian » Sat Dec 16, 2017 5:22 pm

Warin wrote:
Comedian wrote:The climate must be the reason for such different experiences.
Having commuted for several years by bicycle to and from work in all weathers and seasons with a rim braked bike, not at the sea side...I can tell you that callipers and leavers do require maintenance. If the bike is only used in fair weather and in not too dirty conditions then you may get away without said maintenance. This was with Deore level equipment.

If there are only fair weather cyclists in your area ... then find, but you would then also find even less problems/work with disk brakes.
Very interesting. I live in a city of 3 million, and they are pretty much all fair weather cyclists. So much so that in this last year I can only remember getting the roadie properly wet once out of my 500 or so rides this year. To be honest that once was at least in part for giggles. :mrgreen:

Toyopet wrote:Braking Performance

I have two road bikes, one with with rim brakes and the other with hydro disc brakes. I love both bikes. I’m happy with the brakes on both bikes. But I’m happi(er) with the disc brakes for all the reasons mentioned above, and in other threads.

Maintenance

There’s lots of talk about maintenance in earlier posts, especially after two years.

As far as maintenance goes, my disc braked road bike is more than two years old and has done well over 20,000km. To date, it’s been through a few sets of pads and one set of rotors. They were easy to change. But it’s never had so much as a leak or a bleed. And I’ve put the bike through hell (for a high end road bike with carbon rims). So the maintenance requirements have been way better than expected. Win! I even bought a bleed kit thinking I might need it one day. Wrong.

Yes, I know an anecdote is not evidence. But that’s an anecdote for you.

Standards

I bit the bullet too early on getting a road bike with hydro discs, and it now seems I have an ‘orphan’. My disc braked road bike has post-mount discs, 140mm rotors front and back, and quick-release axles. Oh well. The bike’s performance, and especially its braking performance, has been all that I could ask for. The bike doesn’t meet the ‘standards’ for disc braked road bikes, but I don’t think I’ll have any problems sourcing parts should the need arise.
Great feedback. I hope it keeps going well for you. :D

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby Comedian » Sat Dec 16, 2017 5:23 pm

Duck! wrote:
Comedian wrote:
So.. I thought about this. I don't want to believe you are deliberately misinforming the good people on this forum due to vested interest. I thought maybe he sees far more calliper maintenance because he has customers that use their bikes in the rain. I think that must be it.

I reached out to a friend who has worked in a LBS for three years. It's a good shop with a well known mechanic and they do a lot of service work. I asked the question... "In the time you have been working in the shop have you ever heard of a rim brake calliper requiring maintenance or replacement".

Her answer was a categoric and confident "NO". That's a very very different picture to what you're portraying. :shock:

The climate must be the reason for such different experiences.
I've worked in the industry for fourteen years, and in that time serviced about 14,000 bikes. I'm in a coastal area, and the shop I'm in has had a long association with triathlon, so with both of those factors in mind, salt exposure is a big consideration, and that has a very substantial effect on many of the bikes I see. The simple fact is that rim and cable-operated disc brakes are much more susceptible to corrosion that affects function than hydraulic brakes are, therefore require a higher level of maintenance.

The most common - but still exceptionally rare - cause of leaking hydraulics I see is muppets overtightening the bleed nipple, stripping the thread.

As for the effects of integrated shift/brake levers, there are none. In Campagnolo and SRAM levers, the shift and brake systems are totally separate. Even Shimano levers with the dual-action lever have the shift and brake systems working off completely separate pivot axes, so there is no interference. Plus they were doing dual-control brifters for MTB several years before I was even in the industry, so the concept is not new at all......

Although discs are still relatively uncommon in the road context, there is nothing fundamentally different between road and MTB discs, hence all my references to relative numbers being in an overall sense, not any single cycling discipline.
Pretty interesting. Sounds like those bikes live a hard life by the beach. Discs might be just the trick out there. Do you have problems with corrosion in everything else too?

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby RichB » Sun Dec 17, 2017 3:18 pm

Hi Comedian - can I just confirm you have Avid brakes? Reason being if somebody had only used avid brakes I could see how you've formed the view that disc brakes are evil should be burnt to the stake.

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby Comedian » Sun Dec 17, 2017 8:58 pm

RichB wrote:Hi Comedian - can I just confirm you have Avid brakes? Reason being if somebody had only used avid brakes I could see how you've formed the view that disc brakes are evil should be burnt to the stake.
Yes, Avid Elixir. they are the devils work. They work well enough when they are ok, but the maintenance and general Pain In The Arse factor is through the roof. I've also had a 100% failure rate of a bike with a set of shimano discs as well in relatively low mileage.

Meanwhile, as I stated - all I've had to do in 80,000k of road riding on rim brakes in the last few years is replace a few sets of pads. I'm rapidly coming to the understanding that our climate in BNE is very favourable to rim brakes. Still.. no maintenance evah and they work great. I'm not moving so I'll play that ball for what it is.

I think that's the trap people fall into. They say I've had a great experience so you will too - but that's not how it works. I'm sure that many people make the decision to jump to discs because they've had a bad experience with calliper brakes. But the thing is - you don't know until you get them. You might find you'e bought a dud (like I did with the Avids). Just as a good set of disc brakes is almost certainly better than a bad set of rim brakes... people should consider that perhaps a good set of rim brakes may well be better than a bad set of discs.

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby silentC » Mon Dec 18, 2017 9:42 am

Yes this is why I said it's pointless trying to get a consensus about this on a forum because it is a collection of anecdotes. You also have some input from people who are more exposed to a wider range of bikes but some want to dismiss them as shills. Come to think of it this subject does take on some of the aspects of a GMO or anti-vax discussion. Lots of fear-mongering and lack of actual hard evidence, or dismissal of same. A bit like the debate around carbon fibre :)

What I have noticed is that people who have had a bad experience are quite vocal about it. They might be less than 1% of the user base but make the most noise. Pretty much the only time people who have not had the same experience speak up is when they counter the assertions of a member of the 1%.

The noise about extra maintenance etc and commercial conspiracies is disproportionate I suspect.
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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby Mububban » Tue Dec 19, 2017 12:01 pm

silentC wrote:Come to think of it this subject does take on some of the aspects of a GMO or anti-vax discussion.
Disc brakes cause autism :mrgreen:
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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby bychosis » Tue Dec 19, 2017 12:47 pm

Mububban wrote:
silentC wrote:Come to think of it this subject does take on some of the aspects of a GMO or anti-vax discussion.
Disc brakes cause autism :mrgreen:
only the ones manufactured by Monsanto. Shimano Ice-tech causes global warming.
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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby RichB » Tue Dec 19, 2017 11:33 pm

Some of those ice tech rotors do exhibit melting occasionally.

I jumped on my rim brake hack bike a few days ago and two things stuck out - 1) the force required at the lever was significantly greater than the disc braked bike that also detracted from the feel at the lever blade, and 2) now I admit this was likely contributed by tossing the bike in disgust across the lawn, there was a slight wobble that just about invalidated any attempt to apply braking force. But the point to note was discs do not care in the slightest how out of true the rims are. I'm not saying I haven't touched a spoke key in a few years, well, actually I haven't, and I don't miss it at all.

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby eeksll » Wed Dec 20, 2017 12:11 am

just thought I'd point out that scrapping disc brakes are really frickin annoying :!:

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby CaffeineAU » Wed Dec 20, 2017 9:36 am

Mububban wrote:
silentC wrote:Come to think of it this subject does take on some of the aspects of a GMO or anti-vax discussion.
Disc brakes cause autism :mrgreen:
According to my mother in law, ceiling fans cause autism, so there you go... :roll:

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby P!N20 » Wed Dec 20, 2017 9:47 am

Mububban wrote:Disc brakes cause autism :mrgreen:
The number of times this topic has been debated, I think you're right.

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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby Calvin27 » Wed Dec 20, 2017 9:49 am

silentC wrote:Yes this is why I said it's pointless trying to get a consensus about this on a forum because it is a collection of anecdotes. You also have some input from people who are more exposed to a wider range of bikes but some want to dismiss them as shills.
I honestly can't say I know a mountain biker who would pick calipers over discs on a road bike. Within reason of course (i.e. not racing et.c)
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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby MichaelB » Wed Dec 20, 2017 6:47 pm

I haven’t bothered to read all of the posts, but agree 100% with Duck re maintenance. In the last 21/2 Year’s since I put the Zee calipers on my bike, all I’ve done is replace pads. I don’t even bother sanding/ cleaning the discs as I’m lazy.

Now, onto rim brakes - have just spent a week on a hire bike with rim brakes. Yep, they worked ok (hasn’t rained) but the biggest difference was the lever pressure/force required to get decent deceleration. Cannot comment on the level of cleanliness or quality of the pads, but MUCH prefer my discs. By a loooooooong way. Others will disagree, meh. Your perogative.

Re standards - they may settle down, but they probably won’t. There is always something lighter, better looking, cheaper to manufacture etc etc.

One line makes discs for the OP the best decision - if you are buying one bike, get discs, they just work better (more so in the wet) in all conditions.

Q.E.D.

Zippy7
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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby Zippy7 » Wed Dec 20, 2017 9:53 pm

Wow. So much noise.

I've had both rim and disc brake bikes (Tektro hydo, Shimano mech and Shimano hydro).
I way prefer disc over rim, and hydro over mech.
I commute on weekdays and ride on the weekends.
Discs give more confidence and modulation (especially in the wet, or when you ride on wet roads).
I live in the hilly part of town, I was a Clydesdale (and still somewhat so) - as such I wear out my pads quicker than most.
It's cheaper and better to replace a disc than to replace a rim.
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jacks1071
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Re: Disc brakes or not

Postby jacks1071 » Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:47 am

Comedian wrote:
biker jk wrote:Ignore Comedian's post which is largely a work of fiction. I have a bike with rim brakes and another with disc brakes. Disc brakes are superior in every way. In almost 16,000km of riding over 27 months the only maintenance I've performed on the disc brakes is to change the front pads.

Here's what Cadel Evans has to say:

“In my personal riding experience, [discs provide] fantastic performance and brake modulation. It works the same every time you pull on the lever, which allows you to brake much later going into corners and carry more speed through the apex of the corner, which then results in higher exit speeds, which results in going faster, which results in a big grin on your face. I don’t think [the objections have] anything to do with the technology or the capabilities of disc brakes. In fact, after using it, I’m quite sure it’s not.”
That's the guy who works for a bike company who wants to sell you a bike. :mrgreen:
Comedian, you took the words right out of my mouth.
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