Post pics of your bike thread
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@DaveK 112888 wrote:
I don’t see the point. Discs are heavier, less aero, more expensive, more complex, and just as likely to cook the brakes on a downhill as rim brakes (and slower to come back if you do cook them). As someone who’s been burned (literally) by a disc rotor before I’d also like to not repeat that. The benefits are better initial bite, much better modulation than rim brakes, if you’re running carbon wheels you’ll get better braking all around, more impervious to mud and weather, and there’s no chance of blowing out a tube or a tubular from heat built up in the rim. Looking at the pros and cons I see no reason to run discs on the road or for CX.
They have their place on MTBs, definitely, but that’s it for me.
This is all (or at least mostly) true. It’s definitely not a “OMG, why on earth haven’t road bikes always been using disc brakes!?” sort of thing.
I will say that cooking the brakes on a downhill would only apply to hydro fluid, so not to me (mechanicals) — though braking can still fade when the rotors get super hot … or so I hear. I have never experienced any braking issues on anything around here (including Garrett County gran fondo); OTOH, I would never have run my carbon rim-brake clinchers on that ride.
The complexity is also only true with hydro; these mechanicals are just as simple as rim brake calipers. But I agree that hydro is where this is headed, so that’s a fair point. It’s also partly why I haven’t jumped on that bandwagon. My mechanicals work great.
The weight penalty for the average consumer is about 1lb, but you can build a 15lb disc-brake road bike. (Mine is 17.5lbs as pictured.) And the aero cost is more than made up for by shaving your legs.
For me it comes down to the simple fact that they do a better job stopping the bicycle in any conditions, wet or dry. The modulation is great for situations like group rides (or races) where you want just a tiny bit of brakes.
On CX, I think there’s absolutely no question that disc is the way to go. I have no idea why people still run cantis. But I use my cx like a mountain bike, so that may be the difference. If I were just riding around on [dry!] grass, I don’t think I’d really care. I like ability to swap wheelsets (different width rims, etc.) without adjusting the canti brakes — what a PITA getting the toe in right and everything. Oh, and single-finger braking down steep/technical descents is nice. And not losing my brakes after riding through a stream.
@hozn 112892 wrote:
Oooh, I didn’t realize I had copied you. Well, hopefully you take this as imitation is flattery; I know of no one with more aesthetically pleasing builds. I didn’t do the gumwalls, but after seeing yours in person, I agree that it looks fantastic. That is the sort of style confidence/insight I lack; my best bet is just to copy what someone else has shown to work
no worries, man! that bike looks trick (and that frame is the easily the best looking Deng-Fu makes). I’m trying to get the entire team on gumwalls by the end of the season… I remember seeing OPQS run gumwalls for the first time like 3 or 4 seasons ago (maybe more?), and thinking it looks so old school PRO cool.
As far as bike technology goes, I’d rather have disc brakes than 11 speed.
For pure road racing I can see why people would prefer to stick to rim brakes. They’re the status quo, riders are used to them, and braking is consistent across the pack. Neutral wheel service will be tough especially without standard rotor sizes (so I guess they’ll have to settle on 160 for the heavier riders?), axle types, etc. although rumour has it the UCI will try some road events with disc brakes starting in 2017. I think some kind of standard will materialize around that time, and maybe something like a more clean/aero Shimano flat mount for the calipers will become popular.
For CX racing, I honestly haven’t found much difference between disc on my geared CX and my SSCX’s rim brakes (a road caliper rear and a V-brake front). If I were faster/better handler/etc. perhaps being able to brake later and in worse conditions would help, but then a 5 lb lighter bike would as well – I’m far off being on the limits of my equipment. It does look like some of the younger pros in Europe have moved over to disc brakes without real issues (as well as Helen Wyman on a sub 7kg Kona build).
But I like to be able to use my bikes in most weather conditions and commutes, and I’ve been caught out before on road rides in heavy rain on a steep downhill (also once crashed downhill in the wet, slowly, on my folding bike which has rim brakes). Of course user error is a factor since you know you have to brake earlier in the wet, but I think for regular high mileage all-conditions use (not to mention touring, cargo, MTB), disc brakes are the way to go. I assume most bicycle riders don’t own lots of bikes, or dedicate a single bike just to road racing. I also like not having to clean my rims, etc. so as usual it could be boiled down to bike maintenance/laziness. I have strongly considered getting a nice (sub-20 lb) disc CX bike to replace both my road bike and existing CX bike. N – 1 (for a future N + 1). With different wheelsets I don’t feel like there’s that much difference, especially since I’m rarely riding in a fast peloton or time trialling – so a few more grams and slightly higher CdA does not worry me, and I could probably compensate with an aero helmet/lighter parts/etc. if I really wanted. I would probably miss the aesthetic of a radial laced wheel with that little rim brake caliper more than anything else! (But I’ll always have the fixed gear for that level of minimalism/simplicity – high-end road racing bikes are always going to be changing with the times.)
And since it’s a picture thread: disc CX bike in road mode (this was a filter experiment):
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