Owners of disc brake road bike vs rim. To bike harsh or same

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pushstart
Posts: 461
Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2012 3:12 am

by pushstart

My road bike was previously rim-brake -- Rival calipers on Kinlin rims first, later on some Farsports carbon rims. I have been using mechanical discs (BB7 mostly) on mtb and commuter/CX for awhile and so opted for disc for my next road bike.

I am running TRP Spyre brakes. Of the mechanicals, these are my favorite. And I would say the braking is much, much better than my rim-brakes-on-carbon experience, but not a huge improvement over rim-brakes-on-alloy. They are better, just not a life-changing experience. Thanks said, I don't see any reason to choose a rim-brake bike anymore. I really like the way disc brakes open up possibilities -- different-width wheelsets, no problem. Great pad life and easy pad replacement. No rubbing calipers, though some care has to be taken to avoid rotor rub. FWIW, I have nice, mid-throw engagement on the Spyres. When my rotors get bent, I straighten them. Aligning the caliler initially is also critical.

I would like to upgrade to hydro, probably di2 at the same time, but current setup was a *lot* cheaper, lighter, and works really well.

I will say that I swapped out the crap TRP rotors for Avid HSX, which stop much better and don't shudder and whine about it.

superdx
Posts: 524
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 1:27 pm

by superdx

The ride quality of rim brakes vs. disc is not any different, it's all in the frame, tires and wheels. Most disc brake setups right now are aluminium frames so the ride is bound to be harsher.

I thought my next bike was gonna be a disc brake setup, but right now the wheelsets aren't there. Since it's all hills where I live, I need a climbing setup and it would cost way too much to build a bike like that right now, especially wheels that are < 1100g, tubular, disc brake is non-existent. Axle-standards also non-standard at the moment and road race carbon frames are still 1st gen. I envy early adopters who can afford to tinker with new technologies. Looks like at least 1-2 years before the tech has matured enough to jump ship. Rim brakes are ok, but would definitely prefer discs any day of the week.

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eliflap-scalpel
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by eliflap-scalpel

mtnbikerva1 wrote:Do you find the front and rear disc brakes it inherently changes the ride qualities of the total bike and if so how so. Disc=harsher! better handling! fatigue...? Do you think Road disc brakes are coming on hard into thousand 2016 or do you think they will never take over the sport due to the weight issue.
In reality how much more Do the disc brakes weight versus rim breaks as a total package of wheels, brakes and mounts and all the rest of it?
Do the brakes change the total package of the bike as far as ride quality on non smooth surfaces? Does it make stability of the bike any different? Since the strength of the frame and fork must change, is this a noticeable change at all or only on longer rides?
Thank you.



weight issue ??

i have 2 disc bikes :6 and 6,7 ( to be shaved ) kg ...

probably i will build a lighter rim brake bike, at 5 kg ... ok

but i am happy with these weights ...

weight issue is only for the stock bikes, garbage like no other bikes ....
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martinSL
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Posts: 129
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 10:28 am
Location: North Bend, WA

by martinSL

I recently moved from a cantilever CX bike to a hydro disc one and there is a substantial difference in braking perf which I've noticed during few training rides on MTB singletracks. Considerably better modulation and power. Setting up a bike to use spare wheels was a bit of a process as rotor shims needed to be used. Knowing how much diff even .5 mm rotor spacing makes I doubt I will be able to use neutral wheels at the races. Still the benefit is huge for CX and combined with TA it is an ultra solid setup.

The factors that preclude me from thinking road disc are:
  1. never had any issues with rim brakes (carbon wheels and long descents requiring frequent braking included; granted - when it was wet it was not perfect)
  2. weight
  3. aesthetics (I guess it's personal)
  4. availability and fitment of neutral disc wheels at the road races
  5. interchangeability of wheels between the bikes unless you migrate all to disc (TT bike ???)

Would my opinion change if I did not use my bikes for racing? I'd say not at the moment. Why would I want heavier, more expensive, and not as clean looking (IMHO) disc brakes bike as opposed to a rim brakes one? The only reason I can think of at the moment is - long, wet, cold descents requiring frequent braking - a rare occurrence in my riding.
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