Jim’s Tech Talk
by Jim Langley
“Andy” is a cycling friend I’ve known for decades. When I was the head mechanic and service manager at a bike shop here in Santa Cruz, California he was a loyal customer. I ran into him at the grocery store the other day.
After catching up a bit, he told me he had recently retired. He said that now that he has more time to ride, he’s shopping for what he expects will be his last new road bike. He wants a really nice one.
He told me that while he has a good idea of what he’s looking for in the way of frame, wheels and drivetrain components, he needs my help with one critical detail. The final decider for him is whether or not his new road bike should have disc brakes? Andy has always ridden road bikes with side pull rim brakes – the standard type on most road rigs since the dawn of road riding.
I’m going to share with you what I told Andy, and then you can have your turn expressing your point of view in our comments.
I’m sure the discussion will be helpful to many more riders than Andy because this is the time of year when lots of roadies shop for new bikes. And, disc brakes have been coming on road bikes for a few years now, so there are plenty of bicycle brands and models to choose from.
What I told Andy
The first thing that I did was to congratulate my friend on his timing. Because there are signs that if he waits even only a few more years it’s possible the choices in new road bikes with rim brakes will be significantly reduced. Which would mean he couldn’t get them even if he wanted to unless he bought a certain brand or model – maybe not on his wish list – or a previous year bike.
I’m not going to get into why this is happening, because the reasons are complicated and I only partly understand the forces at work. But, personally, I find it frustrating when a major change like this is forced on us. And, specifically with rim brakes, there’s no good reason to stop making bikes with them.
Since he asked my opinion and I know that Andy rides like I do on the same roads, I told him I would recommend sticking with rim brakes. Keep reading for my reasoning.
Why rim brakes still have their place
Before I talk about disc brakes, I’ll explain what’s so great about rim brakes. In a nutshell it’s their simplicity. Because they attach to the bicycle frame and are operated by wire cables, they’re easy to setup with basic hand tools and they hold their adjustment for a long time.
Most rim brakes have built-in barrel adjusters allowing riders to tighten the brakes by hand when needed. Most also have quick release mechanisms to ease wheel removal. Brake QRs also come in handy for opening the brake to provide clearance should you break a spoke or hit a pothole knocking your wheel out of true.
Rim brakes might also feature wheel guides built in that help the wheel find “home” and center itself when it’s installed. And most have ways to easily center them over the wheel built in.
As long as the brake pads are replaced as needed on rim brakes – a quick and easy job on most – they can operate perfectly for years with no other attention. Also, rim brakes can be made to weigh next to nothing and still provide excellent stopping power.
Limitations of rim brakes
One of the biggest issues for many riders is reduced braking performance in the rain. Water is picked up by the wheels and can greatly decrease the brake pads’ grip on the rim until they clear the water and can “bite” into the rim again.
A related issue is rim wear from braking in inclement weather. Dirt and debris gets stuck in the brake pads essentially turning them into sandpaper and causing them to grind through the rim braking surfaces.
Another common problem is the brake rubbing the rim on one side. It’s usually easy to fix, but if you don’t know how to do it, it can be annoying.
Advantages of disc brakes
The biggest advantage of discs is that they keep working perfectly no matter how bad the riding conditions get. And, you will never ruin a rim again because nothing rubs on the rim, disc brake pads rub only on the rotor.
Also, because the rotor is a flat piece of metal (carbon rotors exist but are rare), the brake pads can’t compress it the way they can squeeze and compress rims. This is one of the reasons disc braking feels more powerful and consistent when riding or pumping the brakes on a long descent.
In the case of hydraulic disc brakes, the feel is even stronger and more exact. Because they use fluid inside a sealed system to operate the brakes, instead of the wires used for rim brakes and cable-activated discs. Wires/cables and the housings they run inside can let the cables develop slack under pressure changing the braking performance. Hydraulic disc brakes won’t change at all unless something’s wrong.
Another big plus for hydraulic disc brakes is that their hydraulic hoses aren’t affected by tight turns the way wire brake cables and housing are. So, with hydraulic discs it’s possible to completely hide the hoses in the frame, stem and bars. This is resulting in some the cleanest looking road bikes ever – if you can ignore the rotors.
And, because nothing is rubbing on them, the rims can be lighter on a disc road bike. For example, there’s no need to add braking tracks on carbon disc rims. And, since the rims are rotating weight, the grams shaved here can drastically improve a bike’s performance. Plus, the light rims might never wear out saving money over the long haul.
One more plus, while it’s kind of an extreme example, if you’re a roadie who regularly breaks spokes or dents rims, rim brakes can prove problematic. Because the rim damage and broken spokes can make the rim wobble enough that it constantly rubs on the brakes.
You can always open the brake quick release or even disconnect the brake cable to widen the pads. But, with disc brakes the wobbly, damaged rim(s) hardly matters at all because there’s no rim brakes to rub on. Only if you bend the rim badly enough to hit the frame or seriously warp the disc brake rotor do you have serious rubbing issues.
And, lastly, disc brake road bikes typically accept wider tires than rim brake bikes. This is because rim brakes need to be small in order to provide sufficient power. This usually means more tire clearance on a disc brake bike than a rim brake model.
Why disc brakes shouldn’t be on “every” road bike
As you see, the advantages of disc brakes are many, however there are drawbacks, such as:
- Disc brakes are more complicated and difficult to setup and repair for average people than rim brakes, especially so with hydraulic discs
- Disc brake systems result in a slightly heavier road bike, due to required reinforcing of the fork and frame where the calipers attach plus the weight of the metal rotors
- Related to the required reinforcing, most new disc brake bikes feature through-axle wheels, which are slightly slower to remove and install than standard quick-release wheels
- Most through axle wheels require tools for removal
While it usually creates less drag, disc brakes are just as likely to rub as rim brakes, and any rubbing is annoying - Roadies who have grown to love the minimal look of stealth road bikes may have a hard time appreciating the look of rotors
- If you swap wheels between bikes, disc brake wheels are incompatible with rim brake wheels and vice versa
Those are the main reasons I told Andy that if I was new bike shopping, I’d be looking for a rim-brake model not a disc-brake model. I realize it may sound like I have something against disc brakes.
Actually, I wouldn’t be without discs on my mountain bikes and gravel/cross bike (I use both cable-activated and hydraulic). If I was building a commuting or shopping bike, I’d put them on it, too.
But for Andy, who rides just like I do, I lean toward him sticking with rim brakes. And, hopefully, he has enough information now to choose which braking setup is right for his new dream machine. Now that I’ve had my say, what would you tell Andy?
Ride total: 9,150
I’m totally with you, Jim. For those of us who live in the flatlands there’s even less reason to go with discs. We just don’t brake that much. I can’t recall the last time I need to replace brake pads. So why carry extra weight, make all my wheelsets obsolete, and deal with a more complicated setup. It upsets me that the industry is pushing this on us.
Marketers for the component companies sole job is convince us that our life will be better if we buy their “new and improved” components. This is not new to us. What we actually need is “new and improved” health so that we can ride faster and farther.
As to disc brakes- the K.I.S.S. principle certainly applies here. Do we really *want* to carry extra weight on long rides or up hills? My problem is not stopping, it’s going. And do we really *need* a more complicated bike? I don’t think so.
For those of us who wear neck ties, each year or so ties change width, length, stripes are in, stripes are out and plaid is in, ad nauseam.
In my opinion, bike & component manufacturers are just trying to sell us more “things” that we don’t need. Cyclists have been riding bikes for a century without disc brakes.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking with it.
<3
I agree with Jim as well. Even riding on mountains there is no need for disk brakes unless on carbon wheels of course.
That is the most untrue thing I have ever heard. No need for disc brakes on a mountain bike? What trails are you riding? You should probably stick to the road and leave the dirt to the big boys.
I’ve hit 60 mph on a road bike, and found the rim brakes were perfectly capable of stopping me at that speed.
I’ve never hit 60 mph on a mountain bike.
You idiot
Jim makes some great points and I agree with virtually all of them. I have disc brakes and through axles. I don’t require a tool to remove the wheel as I believe he’s saying.
Jim mentions the extra power of disc brakes. I sometimes ride in mountainous areas. The additional stopping power of disc brakes on long descents is very welcome. My experience is that there’s far less exertion to achieve the same result meaning the muscles in your forearms won’t be worn out when you reach the bottom of the descent. Of course, some of us don’t bother with brakes on descents but I’m older and a little more cautious.
I would like to second the comment about fatigue. I am in my mid-70’s, and don’t do much mountain riding in the Midwest. But on the occasions when I ride where there are elevations my arms and hands really appreciate the mechanical advantage I get from disc brakes. Our group takes a week for a bike camp in the mountains of North Georgia. Without disc brakes, I often felt fatigue in my hands and forearms. Now I can lock up both wheels with two fingers on the disc brakes.
To me one of the most enlightening comments regarded someone with multiple bikes and the desire to interchange wheels. I suspect for many readers, that will be a major factor.
With regard to the article, it is great to find a place where you can find a balanced analysis. So refreshing in the atmosphere of today’s reporting.
I’m quite in agreement with Stephen. Long mountain descents can be a real pain with rim brakes — your hands are tired from pulling hard on rim brakes with mediocre stopping power. There are hills here in Santa Cruz (where Jim lives) that I avoided descending just for that reason. Not any more! With disc brakes, it’s single-fingered braking all the way down! I’m never going back.
You’re holding on to Rim Brskes and the industry won’t let you for long. I ride 5000 miles a season and love love my Madone with Rim Brakes on Carbon Wheels. However when I Ride a Riad Bike with Disc Brakes I can see the train coming. We will have parts problems etc in five years and Rim Braked we’ll be in the minority..
We need to get on the Disc train and help to improve them,
Just my thoughts.
Ride on my friend,
Mike
There are thousands of bikes with rim brakes that if parts become harder and harder to obtain will be rendered useless. Right now a typical 10 year old bike, for example, could be quite viable and usable 10 years from now. Might not be able to say the same for a rim brake bike bought today. There will likely be a viable cottage industry for rim brake parts developed.
Most people I know that have multiple bikes also have multiple wheel sets. And on occasion swap wheels from bike to bike for various reasons. For those people discs and rim brakes adds layers of complexity, cost, inventory, tools, storage, etc. For some these won’t matter.
Adjusting a rub out of disc brakes can be frustrating (a real PITA). A novice with minimal skill can be quickly shown what to do with rim brakes, no so much with discs (and forget bleeding hydraulics) .
I’m not a Luddite and, in fact, often an early adapter. If cost was no object or starting out I’d probably be on disc brakes. Barring a lottery win, I’ll be sticking to bikes with rim brakes.
This situation is somewhat analogous to cars with automatic and manual transmissions. You can find a new car with a manual transmission but choices are quite limited.
One other thing to consider…disc brakes are more likely to cause a severe injury if one goes down. Pros (and non-pros) have been seriously cut by the rotors).
I am not really concerned about finding parts for rim brakes. I can still find parts for 50 year old vintage bikes when I need them.
There is a new wrinkle in the rim brake, direct mount brakes, that attach to the from on either side the wheel, as opposed to a central bolt, that provide almost as much stopping power as a disc brake. Almost. Except in the wet conditions mentioned. While they are a great alternative to discs, once you ride discs, especially hydraulic disc brakes, you will probably ever want to ride anything else again. The lack of maintenance, other than replacing worn clipper pads, is a great owner’s point.
My one other point is, if you get disc brakes, go for thru axles as well. That is the one thing that can spoil the disc brake performance / experience: the wheel not exactly centered. With rim brakes, this can be compensated for, slightly, but with discs, the margin of error is greatly reduced. Thru axles ensure the wheel is always properly positioned.
I find disc brakes require much more maintenance. It doesn’t take much more than breathing on a rotor to bent it slightly, like when cleaning, and they need periodic degreasing of the rubbing surface (i use rubbing alcohol). The cylinders tend to stick at times, requiring carefully extending them (but don’t pop them out!), and then cleaning the sides with brake oil and then pushing back in. Even with the thru bolt, a slight bit of dirt can move the wheel slightly causing rubbing. When replacing pads, you also have to push the cylinders back in. Also, when fixing a flat on the road and you removed the wheel, if you accidently squeeze the brake, you may not get the wheel back on!
I used to have a Tern folding bike that had hydraulic disc brakes, and I didn’t like them. If the bike sat for a couple of months, the brakes would seize up., and there was, as far as I could see, no discernable benefit to them. I later swapped them out for cable actuated disks, and still didn’t feel like they were any better than rim brakes.
I tour quite often, and think about what would happen if I needed to repair my bike in East Nowhere using parts I could get only at the local walmart, or the local bike shop, or at the local welding shop (had a rack repaired that way once), or scrounging in a local junk pile. I much prefer the simplicity of rim brakes. Of course, I am also quite happy with my triple crankset and 12-32 8 speed cassette. So I guess I have become a retro grouch in my old age.
I have sort of a sub-question. When buying my wife’s Cannondale Synapse 105 a couple years ago there were two versions – with side-pull or mechanical disc brakes. We bought the side-pull, primarily because the sales tech told us if we wanted disc brakes we should get hydraulic brakes (which were not an option), as the mechanical system is inferior, even to side-pulls. True? Are hydraulic systems that much better than mechanical? Or was this something specific to the mechanical system used on the Cannondale. (I don’t recall what model of mechanical disc they used.)
That’s a great question, Gary, thanks! At one time there was a big difference in performance but right now with the newest designs, cable-activated discs brake nearly as well as hydraulic discs. Setup is all important, though. Getting cable-activated discs working properly takes practice and patience, but they work really well when setup right. Note that hydraulic discs still have the advantage of hydraulics which is a more positive feel – assuming the hydraulics are setup right, too. Many issues people have with all types of brakes comes from improper setup, that’s why I emphasize it. Summing up, the new cable disc brakes are much improved and a good choice if you can’t afford the hydraulics.
Hope this helps,
Jim
Mr Langley made several good observations.
One overlooked point, is the advantage of the thru-axle hub found on disk brakes, which is measurably more “solid” than even the best quick-release based wheel connection, at least in my experience. This is a feature I appreciate, and frankly I’m happily willing to carry a 5 mm Allen wrench, to obtain that improved performance. .In the past, I have had the disconcerting experience of my front wheel “plowing” due, in part, to the flexibility of the quick-release based wheel mounting system. With the thru-axle, which my current road bike has, the wheel-to-frame connection is significantly more solid – and that extra stability feels good, especially at the edge of the performance window (which I try to avoid). Disclaimer: my current bicycle is equipped with Campagnolo Super Record 12 Hydraulic brakes and ENVE 3.4 wheels, with DT Swiss 240 hubs..
All my best to everyone.
I ride a long wheelbase recumbent for club rides and touring, with the bike set up with rim brakes in the front and disk on the rear. The rear brake provides added stopping power on loaded tour decents.. They make my bike more versatile for everyday riding and the 2-3 self-contained annual tours, negating the need for more than one bike.
I recently swaped my older rim brake Specialized Roubaix for a new Roubaix with disc brakes. The reason is, I like climbing. But for every climb, there is down hill, and on longer down hills, I usually ended up with aching fingers. I hated down hills.
Wit the disc brakes, the down hills became a delight.
I bought a 2018 Cannondale Synapse last year…my first experience with disc brakes after a half century of riding rims. Like Jim, I have mixed feelings. I like the extra comfort of wider tires and the increased confidence of superior braking. I contemplated riding PacTour’s Ridge of the Rocky’s Tour. It seemed like I had the perfect bike for it. And then, I read this comment on their website: “More road bikes are using disc brakes. They work great except when the rotors get bent in shipping and the brake pads rub or they leak fluid. If you are using disc brakes you should know how to align the rotors and change the brake pads. If you have hydraulic brakes you should know how to maintain the fluid levels. Our spare team wheels do not have disc brakes or Through Axles.” To me, there was a lot of wisdom there. With rim brakes, pretty much any wheel will work on any bike. Not even close with discs. And what if you leave your through axle by the side of the road when you load your bike into the car? (I bought an extra just in case…)
Well thought-out. I would agree.
One note — I have never worn-out a pair of rim brake pads on my road bike. And the wheels usually go before the rims wear through from pad contact.
Also, disc brakes are pretty maintenance free these days.
Like Andy, I am a recent retiree. I bought an “endurance bike” this last year. The only option was disc brakes so that is what I have. However, I agree with Jim on the decision. Yes, the stopping power of hydraulic is welcome on the occasional big descent. But, IMO, the added complexity of a disc brake bike is not worth it for most riders.
One advantage of disc brake bikes I did not see mentioned is that these bikes can readily accommodate different rim widths without the need to adjust the brakes each time the wheels are swapped out. I have two sets of wheels for my new bike each with tires for different purposes (road/gravel). The second wheel set I bought did not have the same rim width as the wheels that came with the bike but that’s not a problem, I can easily swap wheels.
I agree with Tal. Went with a friend as he replaced his broken frame for a new sportive bike. Only 2 brands had rim brake choices at the Shimano 105 group and above and it was one Ultegra set for one make. He ended up getting a good deal on disc equipped bike so he went with it. I think the discussion will be mute makers eliminate any rim brakes in middle to higher end models.
It seems one advantage of rim brakes is if your wheel goes out of true, you will feel it on your rubbing brakes. I fear that on disc brakes, my wheel could go out of true and I will not become aware of it until I am going downhill fast and the whole bike starts to shake. And a wobble that you do not feel will wear our your tires faster. That’s why I’m going to stick to rim brakes. First that make sense?
Yes, that makes sense, Moneti. Thank you for making that point.
Jim
I just saw that Wilier makes their NDR series of frames that allow both rim and disc brakes. I did the same with a semi-custom Carver Ti frame last year so I could keep using my existing wheels, but upgrade to discs in the future if I wanted (with a fork swap). Many frames with dropout inserts like Paragon sliding ones will also allow for this. So you don’t have to decide now.
I like the TRP Hy/Rd calipers with the simplicity of cable actuation but with automatic adjusting of hydraulics. Also means not replacing your levers when switching to discs.
I have a mountain bike with disc brakes and would not want anything else since I often ride in wet muddy conditions. That being said, my wife and I have several different road bikes we have purchased over the years and love every one of them. One of the things I really like is if one of us has a front wheel problem, i can pull a wheel from any other road bike and slip it on. On the rear i may have to change the cassette but the wheel will fit. I have literally had to do that on the night before a century ride last year when checking out the bikes we were going to use I found a crack around a spoke hole.
There are Millions of road bikes with rim brakes still on the road so even if you can’t buy a new bike with rim brakes in the future, parts will be available for the existing market for a very long time.
I rode a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp mountain bike for about 10 years. A couple of years ago I upgraded to a 12-speed Santa Cruz Hightower with a carbon fiber frame and 27.5 Plus tires. Both bikes have hydraulic disc brakes. I have been riding road bikes much longer and all, including my latest Cervelo R3, have rim brakes.
I have several reasons why I would never dream of buying a mountain bike with anything but disc brakes and one is their superiority in wet and muddy (especially muddy) conditions. My hands never get tired when using the brakes on extremely long and steep descents. I experience hand fatigue on only one descent on my regular road bike routes so that alone is not enough to cause me to switch to disc. I seldom get caught in rain but when I do, rim brakes do become less efficient but they still bring me to a stop when needed.
Disk brakes are a bit more expensive to maintain. The brake pads cost a lot more than rim brake pads and while they would likely last about as on a road bike, they require replacing quite often on a mountain bike due mainly to its heavier weight. Replacing the brake pads on disc brakes is as easy as on rim brakes and replacing the hydraulic fluid (usually annually) is as easy (if not easier) than replacing cables.
Will I switch to disc on road bikes? Only if the bikes I have eventually wear out (unlikely) or only if I get the urge to buy a new one anyhow and it comes only with disc brakes.
I bought a new bike last year and was faced with the same choice. For me, the decision came down to weather, geography/topography and behavior. I am in Southern California: Very little rain, varied terrain (but no treacherous descents that can’t be avoided), and a schedule that means I ride on the weekends only. I do not commute by bike. I opted for rim brakes. I simply could not think of a situation where I would require discs. If I lived somewhere with significant wet weather, or in a city like San Francisco, with all its steep streets, or if I commuted to work on streets packed with cars, then I would have opted for discs. I can’t deny their superiority under those circumstances. I think those are the major factors that one should consider when trying to assess which option to pick.
I should add that compatibility with my prior bike’s wheels was another consideration, but it was secondary. Though, it turns out to have been a good call: I have had two issues with my front wheel in the last year and was relieved that I could swap wheels with my old bike and keep riding while my new wheel was in the shop.
This debate is somewhat like the one of years past between manual and automatic transmissions in cars. Manual transmissions provided more fuel economy and were less expensive to buy and then to repair later if needed. But you often had to replace the clutch for one after many thousands of miles. Okay if you could R&R it yourself. Otherwise, you’d pay several hundred dollars to a shop to do it. And not all friends or family could easily drive a manual shift – sometimes a good thing anyway. They are also a pain in city stop-and-go traffic. Need I go on? So the rim vs. disc debate will go on for some time. Rim braking will not become obsolete, but will go the way of manual transmissions. Bike shops will sell what gives them the best margins and sales numbers. It looks like discs will become the dominant part of the LBS inventory for many reasons you can probably think of – trendiness, perhaps more work for the mechanics (the real profit center), standardization of inventory, etc. I have a rim brake road bike and a relatively new disc brake road bike. I mostly ride flat lands in SE Texas. But I also normally ride in fast club rides. I like the confidence I have in disc braking when there is a sudden need to stop in the group. Two years ago, a rider in front of me on an open road slowed suddenly without warning. I closed on him too fast and could not brake quickly enough with my rim brake, carbon-wheel bike to avoid contact with his skewer. I did an end over end and landed on my shoulder on the pavement. Fortunately, I walked away without any damage except for a slightly sprained wrist from holding on to the handlebar the whole time. Truthfully, the results may have been the same with disc brakes. But I think there is a good chance I could have slowed enough quicker to keep from flipping over. All things considered, I am an advocate for disc brakes.
Disc Brakes! I do a lot of charity bike rides and so, if its rainy, I have to ride and the increased stopping power is appreciated. Also on these rides, the experience level of riders varies greatly. The ability to make a sudden stop with discs is a plus.
I only have discs on my MTB bike. With all the aggravation they cause me, I don’t want anything to do with them! Every ride I do, I always have to keep adjusting them, as they keep on rubbing & making noise. (On those rare occasions when I get them to be quiet, I squeeze the brake lever and the wheel keeps spinning!!!) So, until someone comes out with a hassle-free version (for us non-techies) I stick with rim brakes.
Enjoyed reading various riders’ comments. Many good points.
Last year I purchased a new road bike and chose hydraulic disk brakes (the LBO owner’s recommendation).
Pros: stops sooner when wet; better braking on downhills
Cons: more expensive to ship the bike and maintain the hydraulic fluid; slower to change flats
Would not go with disk brakes if I were to choose again.
I found your reply to your friend spot on; I couldn’t have said it any better. Road disc is being forced on the consumer in yet another planned obsolescence ploy by the industry. To me, it’s an answer to a question I’m not asking. Mountain, cross, gravel? OK, sure, those bikes are heavy and ugly anyway. The only performance increase that manufacturers can make a case for is slightly better wet conditions braking. Possibly increased wheel stiffness with the through axle, but how does neutral support feel about wheel changes in a crit with those things? You aren’t solving problems with disc, you’re just making a new set of problems that’ll need new solutions. Again, if I can lock up my wheels with my rim brakes, stopping power is not my issue. I find the new Cervelo S5 an extremely appealing bike, except for the disc-only braking. Cervelo will not be selling one to me. Kudos to Trek for continuing to offer a choice to their consumers (for now).
I just added another road bike last week and it was a Cervelo R3 with Disc brakes. The main reason I even purchased the bike was for the disc brakes for riding in mountainous areas. We have a number of steep technical descents where you really can’t use carbon wheels due to the heat build up. Even aluminum brakes surfaces have been known to get pretty warm. If you’ve ever been caught in a rain storm while descending these types of roads you’d be really happy to have disc brakes. I have other bikes with Dura Ace, SRAM Red and Campy Super Record brakes. They are pretty good with stopping in wet weather but I’d much rather have the additional stopping ability with disc brakes. Plus the forks on this bike can easily handle much wider tires. The new bike rides, really really well.
The Cervelo has the quick twist thru axles and they can actually be removed faster than traditional skewers so no issue there. You just make a quarter turn and pull them out. Very fast and simple.
I learned how to do maintenance on hydraulic brakes while building up a gravel bike. It’s just as simple to maintain as mechanical braking if you have the experience. I found them easier to true than my mechanical brakes…….plus there isn’t any brake squeal that I occasionally get with my carbon wheels when they aren’t toed in very well.
Maybe the real issue is discs are just different than traditional systems and a lot of folks just don’t care for different when they are happy with what they have??? I was actually wanting something different. I agree that I probably would not opt for disc brakes if I didn’t ride in hilly areas.
My only complaint and downside I have with the disc brakes is the whole system adds some weight to the bike. I suspect that in a few years that will be offset with additional engineering, and even some new materials.. We’ll see!
JP, You’ve probably and unknowingly, hit the main reason for this industry push. Carbon clincher rim brakes. They present a greater heat dissipation problem that their tubular brethren do. The technical solutions to this undoubtedly expose carbon clinchers to damage via fragility (surface hardening needed to absorb heat make them less resilient to road shocks) This is a loose- loose proposition for the industry, warranty replacement/bad rep. – potential law suits, etc. So from the Industry prospective, carbon wheel clinchers (which seem to be moving tubeless, posing even greater potential risk) indeed created a problem in need of a solution. what’s not to like? Killing two birds with one stone. Getting rid of troublesome carbon clinchers by replacing them with disc brake only carbon clinchers and, at the same time generating a whole new revenue stream. This is especially appealing if your making both wheels and bikes !! (I’m looking at YOU, big “S”, hahaha
I used to ride Campy rim brakes until I was finally able to buy a custom road/cross bike. I was lucky enough to be buying the bike three years ago when SRAM finally got their red hydro disc brakes worked out. I will never go back to rim brakes. I ride nothing but the foothills/mountains just west of Denver and Boulder, and rarely ever ride flat routes. The disc brakes require less force to slow down and enable modulating that can’t be done with rim brakes while descending these many steep roads (at least in my opinion). Also, I’m not the typical roadie, and weigh more than most skinny roadies do. Disc brakes are a godsend for us heavier riders. My hands used to cramp up from long descents at high speed which for some isn’t probably an issue, but since I am usually faster than others, (As “gravity” loves me) I need all the help I can get in order to slow down before turns/corners. Now I wait for Campy to drop the price of their disc brakes. So, one day I can return to the shifters I love, but will live without in order to have the added braking power of the SRAM disc brakes. To each their own, and I’ll take disc brakes until they come up with something better.
I recently bought a new bike with rim brakes, and although I do like the disc brakes slightly more than the rim brakes, I absolutely LOVE the extra tire width (28s vs 25s) with my new bike. Wider tires were mentioned as an advantage in the article, but needs to be emphasized. The improved comfort, handling and safety of wider tires is by far the biggest selling point of having disc brakes, IMHO.
My first experience with disc brakes was when I got into touring. I bought a “gravel” type bike (Specialized Diverge) and added racks, etc. So glad it came with disc brakes (hydraulic) as the stopping power with me on the bike plus an extra 70-80 lbs was much better than it would have been with rim brakes. Folks doing longer distance rides (including touring) or even week long events (like Ride the Rockies or RAGBRAI) often have to deal with variations in weather. My two month long tour of Route 66 was greatly enhanced by the discs and there was never a problem with them.
Thanks, Jim. This is a very written article and a timely one for me. I am getting ready to build up a new lightweight city bike and the disc vs rim brake issue is perhaps my biggest stumbling block. (Or at least it was.)
This is my 47th season as a roadie and I rode only rim brakes for 43 of them.
I put mechanical disc brakes on the new touring bike I had built in 2016. They served me very well for 2 seasons of touring and cycle camping. This was also the bike I rode on the first-ever ride of the entire 1,300 mile September 11th National Memorial Trail in Apr-May 2018. The brakes did great on that tour, including through 3 days of snow, sleet, and fog in the mountains of western PA.
By summer 2018, I knew the pads were getting worn so I took the bike to my LBS who built up the bike and asked for the pads to be inspected and replaced if necessary. When I picked up the bike, I noticed they had replace all the cables and housings for both brakes and derailleurs. I asked the disc brake pads and the mechanic said “yeah, they looked fine”.
He evidently had lied to me since a couple of weeks later, the brakes failed completely on some rather hilly sections of Washington DC where I live. I had a white knuckle ride to get home. The brakes would only slow me down and a full stop required a Fred Flintstone foot-dragging maneuver. Needless to say, they are no longer my LBS.
Per your point in the post, if they were rim brakes, I could either (a) easily replaced them myself or (b) look to see that the shop had indeed installed new brake pads. This was the point when I decided to build the new lightweight city bike with rim brakes.
Another big issue is weight. My rim brake touring bike is a (2005) Trek 520 and my disc brake touring bike is a (2016) Trek 520 disc. Identical bikes to the eye except for brakes. The Trek 520 disc weighs 3.5 lb more than the standard old Trek 520.
I’m tired of humping those beasts around the hills of DC which is why I’m building up a much lighter city bike.
I have a Turner MTB with disc brakes. Two big disadvantages not mentioned are that when I pull on the front wheel with discs the wheel seems to twist , not so with rim brakes, another disadvantage of discs are that you had really be careful putting the wheels back in , or you could sear off the brake pads that are held in by a spring.!!
I’m ambivalent about disc v. rim brakes. My Gunnar touring bike has disc for the same reasons that have been mentioned: loaded mountain descents. But, the stiff fork, and belted tires give a very harsh ride. I outfitted my Waterford road bike with centerpulls once I graduated to 35 mm tires and like the response if those brakes as much as the disc brakes.
there are many replies already, but I feel soo strongly about this, that I have to add my comment… Firstly, I am a hard core Mountain Biker, so I am very experienced with disc brakes, (use, upkeep, and maintenance, etc…)… And, although I have many years of MTBing, I have neglected road biking for many years, and I have started road biking a lot this year (In short, I am hooked). One of the things I LOVE about road bikes, is the caliper rim brakes. Simple, tried and true design, extremely low maintenance, , very light, easy to adjust. WHY ANYBODY WOULD WANT A DISC BRAKE ON A ROAD BIKE IS BEYOND ME!!! Wait till you have 4 or 5 bikes to take care of, and you gotta do brake flushes on all of them… you will be spending more time on working on your brakes then riding! And they say disc brakes have better “modulatuion”… Says who? I think that’s BS. And people that say Rim brakes are too hard on your hands for long down hill stretches, try adjusting them better. Adjust them so the brake levers are closer to the handlebars before they start getting grab (gives your hands much more leverage on the brakes as opposed to having them set so ‘soon as you touch the levers the pads are hitting the rim”)… (AKA, brake pads set farther away from the rim)…
As of now, I have 2 excellent caliper road bikes, and in the middle of building a 3rd. then over the next 2 years I am stocking up on (high quality) spare parts so I never have to go disc on my road bikes until they put me in the ground…
awesome 😀
That is the most untrue thing I have ever heard. No need for disc brakes on a mountain bike? What trails are you riding? You should probably stick to the road and leave the dirt to the big boys.
Honestly, I always thought the weak link with braking was the tire and it’s available grip with the road.
Doesn’t matter if I have discs or rim brakes if I pull them hard, the wheel stops and the bike skids. Maybe I’m doing it wrong!
Great article and thought provoking comments, thanks everyone.
One thing always left out of these conversations, a rim brake is already a disc brake!