Will UCI ever legalize disc's?

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KLabs
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by KLabs

With Road bikes you will always hear the commentators, like Phil Leggitt, saying that Road Racers do not touch their brakes unless they really need to and that's when you usually want them to work efficiently and quickly... perhaps there will be less touching of wheels, downhill crashes, and wet weather advantages, with the use of discs :)

I certainly didn't like to see the crashes that happened in the Tour De France... like the Cavendish, Froome, and Contador crashes...

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dunbar42
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by dunbar42

pushstart wrote:From what little I have seen, the cost of disc breaks from an aerodynamics perspective is far less than the gains of deeper rims.


It's been tested in the wind tunnel. On an aero road bike (with aero mounting of the rim brakes) the disc brakes cost you as much as ~5-18w depending on the yaw angle. That's more than a set of Zipp 404 Firecrests will save you over decently aero aluminum rims (read: not box section rims.)

http://road.cc/content/feature/83327-di ... -more-aero

Butcher
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by Butcher

I do not think Cavendish, Contador, or Froome had issues with braking. If Cavendish is touching his brakes, well we all know where he would finish. Froome he needed a hand to use the brakes. And for Contador, well he could use a set of eye that would have seen the big pot hole.

Yup, none had brake issues. But, there will be a time where discs will be allowed, just not this year.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

Ouch but not that serious. In a road crash I have seen alot worse and a burn like that will not change the overall healing time of the rider. I still don't see as a reason not to use disc brakes, if was a real problem MTBers would not use them.

mattr
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by mattr

MTB racing is a solo sport, like a time trial. You usually fall off because of a mistake you make. So there is only one set of brake discs to deal with. It's bad enough at the pointy end of a cross race with half a dozen riders within a few metres of you. (That's where I've picked up disc burns)

You've seen the crashes on the road. (Women's world champs?) 30+ riders hitting the deck, some *after* having tried to stop. Road discs are potentially hotter than mtb discs as well, smaller disc and similar (or possibly more) energy to be dissipated.

It's not going to be pretty. (Anyone remember the injuries caused by them bloody stupid spinergy wheels. Straight down to the bone in more than one crash.)

rijndael
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by rijndael

bm0p700f wrote:Ouch but not that serious.
Do you need me to dig out all of the fairly gruesome pictures of people's knees that hit brake rotors? They do cause serious injuries.

Here's one:
http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/8611/photo2hz.jpg

I'm not saying they're a significant statistic, but they do inflict a lot of damage to riders.

padmasana
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by padmasana

I was into mountain biking decades before taking up road biking and am glad that discs are finally making the scene on the road.
It's hard for me to imagine that their adoption is anything but a matter of time.
I've never raced so I don't have a first-hand view of what a racer's needs are. But for a guy like me who just loves to ride a bike, they make it more fun.
That's what I'm looking for -- each and every ride.
I don't know what percentage of the biking world races, but I'm guessing that for more than 95 percent of avid cyclists, discs are going to be a great thing in the evolution of the road bike.

pushstart
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by pushstart

dunbar42 wrote:
pushstart wrote:From what little I have seen, the cost of disc breaks from an aerodynamics perspective is far less than the gains of deeper rims.


It's been tested in the wind tunnel. On an aero road bike (with aero mounting of the rim brakes) the disc brakes cost you as much as ~5-18w depending on the yaw angle. That's more than a set of Zipp 404 Firecrests will save you over decently aero aluminum rims (read: not box section rims.)

http://road.cc/content/feature/83327-di ... -more-aero


Yeah, I linked to that article earlier in the thread. :)

They are comparing a TT bike, though, which had tucked-away brakes, so not exactly typical. The secondhand report of the Tarmac wind tunnel tests seemed more relevant and the impression there was that the cost was much smaller. Of course, I am struggling to find an official statement. Doesn't really matter to me, honestly; I am not looking to trade a few seconds on a 40k TT for inferior braking. Practically speaking my new bike is just as fast as previous rim-brake bike and much less scary on steep descents (and especially in the rain). I love it, won't go back to rim brakes.

dunbar42
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by dunbar42

pushstart wrote:They are comparing a TT bike, though, which had tucked-away brakes, so not exactly typical.


No, they're comparing both a TT bike and an aero road bike. The aero penalty was actually greater on the aero road bike.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

There are down sides and up side to everything. There were folk 20 years ago saying STI and ergo's were not needed. Some resisted the change to clipless pedals, if there was a forum in the 80's I am sure some would have cited safety concerns about not be able to get out of the pedals in a crash. Every tech change means some will resist, that however is no reason to go with the change if overall it is of benefit. That is what UCI must decide the overall not focus on individual problems which many on here seem to do. Disc rotor injuries in MTB are rare, I think they will not be overall too common or serious for road either, broken bones and road rash will always be the most common injury, head injuries too will no doubt be more common. Road racing like MTB racing is risky, and disc brakes does not make it so risky it is not worth it anymore, it may not even add to the overall risk, that is hard to asertain.

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Calnago
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by Calnago

First of all, I'd like to say that I am not against disc brakes, and have been thoroughly evaluating the pluses and minuses of them as they pertain to road cycling for some time now, especially since we're now going into another wet winter season. On balance, and I'm speaking for myself, I've pretty much decided to stick with rim brakes.
Now let's backtrack to the analogy of STI shifters and clipless pedals for a moment. These are two examples that people often give about people who "resist" change. I think these two examples are good in that they show people's willingness to quickly adopt something new that is so clearly beneficial. I would disagree with @bm0p700f that there was much resistance to these changes at all. I remember when the first "ergo" Record shifters came out and I still have the first generation of these shifters. Shimano was quick to follow with STI. I cannot remember anyone arguing that it was gimmicky or wouldn't catch on or that it was merely manufacturers attempts to extract more dollars from a gullible group of cyclists. Rather, I remember the change being embraced whole heartedly. No one ever looked back. Once you had them, it was a no brainer and the benefits could be readily seen whether you've ever tried them or not. That change was revolutionary. I remember getting my first pair of clipless pedals as well.. some Time Equipe Magnesiums and some new white Time shoes to go with them. I remember falling over as everyone does at least once but never questioned the benefits of that change either. Contrasting those changes to what we have today and you see electric shifting being out for 6 years now with many people (including pros) still failing to see the benefits and actually preferring mechanical shifting. And now that it's been out for a while I'm seeing more and more people who have actually had it and gone back to mechanical shifting. It's not "revolutionary" and I'm not sure I'd even call it evolutionary. There is a marked difference. I think disc brakes are similar. There are benefits in some situations, but not all. It's not a "no brainer" that we will all be running disc brakes in every situation in the future. Especially at the highest levels of road racing where weight, simplicity of service, and cross compatibility with different wheelsets is pretty important.
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by Irish

Calnago, I think you'll find Shimano had STI's before Campagnolo's Ergo's hit the scene...Anderson 1989.
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Calnago
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by Calnago

Oops. My mistake then. Thanks. And here I thought I was an "early adopter". Damn it. :)
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mentok
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by mentok

Calnago wrote:Especially at the highest levels of road racing where weight ... is pretty important.


while the 6.8kg limit exists and pros are sticking lead weights to their frames this is not a valid argument.

pushstart
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by pushstart

dunbar42 wrote:
pushstart wrote:They are comparing a TT bike, though, which had tucked-away brakes, so not exactly typical.


No, they're comparing both a TT bike and an aero road bike. The aero penalty was actually greater on the aero road bike.


Sorry, yes you are right. But the aero road bike also has the (non-disc) calipers moved out of the wind. Clearly there is room for improvement on disc aerodynamics; obviously this has not been a concern to the MTB predecessor setups. In any event, this is one test and aero tests are really only applicable to the frame being tested, though deducing that disc brakes are slower seems safe -- and obvious.

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