Upgrade fear in the current climate..

[sawyer]

Discs are heavier and less aero. In fact by WW standards they are much, much heavier - more than twice the weight of WW calipers.

They will be heavier and less aero for a long time, perhaps always.

Parts that do the job well and are significantly lighter - and in this case more aero - will always have an advantage

OTOH if you ride in the wet / commute in the dark etc. on your road bike then discs have an obvious advantage for those times.

I won't buy discs on a road bike in the next five years at least. They will have to get smaller and much lighter - and be on frames that are better than non-disc frames, before I'll look at them

[patchsurfer]

PS - the 46 is a good wheel with DT hubs.

Yeah, mine are the ones with white industries hubs, not upgradeable to 11sp, so prob the reason I got them for the cost of the tubs and the cassette that came with them. I have no objection to anyone riding anything, anytime. No point in having stuff sat on the shelf waiting for a sunny day then realising 2 years down the track it's obsolete and you just spent two grand on one ride.

I do get a bit narked with the constant drip-drip through the mainstream cycling media that such and such magic product saves you so many watts and with it comes the implication that without it you might as well not turn up or that you're somehow excluded from the sport -especially when you're dealing with juniors who are scrimping and saving just to be on the start line in the first place, something like that time trial result warms the heart.

[sawyer]

I do get a bit narked with the constant drip-drip through the mainstream cycling media that such and such magic product saves you so many watts and with it comes the implication that without it you might as well not turn up or that you're somehow excluded from the sport -especially when you're dealing with juniors who are scrimping and saving just to be on the start line in the first place, something like that time trial result warms the heart.

From what I can see mainstream cycling media is almost completely in hock to manufacturers. Nothing new there of course. In part due to ad revenue, but perhaps more due to them wanting kit to test/ride and knowing that most punters love reading about new stuff (I am guilty here too)

It would be nice if they admitted that SR EPS actually makes you no faster at all than a well maintained 10 year old groupset

[Razor]

I have to say, as much as I like "some" aspects of new gear technology, I am way behind in terms of upgrading equipment. I had 10sp Campy levers that I changed to 9sp because all of my wheels were Shimano compatible. I have a custom carbon bike but all of my parts are basically purchased as NOS and my wheels are built from sourced new parts as I think it is a better deal to be able to get the parts I want to make up my wheel's construction. If you are constantly in need of the latest greatest, just know that it is an never-ending pursuit of (fill in the blank yourself). I have an older custom steel bike and the experience of riding it is no different than riding my custom carbon, sure they ride differently, but the best experience is being on the bike regardless of equipment choices.

[TimW]

I certainly am in the same boat as the OP. No way I'm going to spend lots of money on a new frame or bike for the foreseeable until the whole disc brake, thru axle (or not) and electronic/cable/wireless shifting settles down. I also suspect things will move along a bit quicker than others on this thread think they will.

I'm pretty happy with my current ride. I would very probably have changed components/frames before but not now. I don't want to buy new stuff and be stuck with hundreds or thousands of pounds of obsolete wheels or other kit.

[wheelsONfire]

I can understand the "fear" if you would want disc-brake on your bike as it seems there's no ready standard as of yet.

But if you'd like to keep to rim brakes it should be safe. I agree, from a ww perspective discs are not an option yet.

For the aero minded, i guess the drag numbers would cause som frenzy!?

If the technical evolution cause some questionable thoughts, well there is no way to get the latest as it always will propel forward with new "must have" stuff.

[neeb]

Well, I'm very happy with my current bike for the time being so I suppose the whole disk brake uncertainty is just a useful money-saving antidote to upgrade-itis for the time being..

Thinking more about it, I may have used gradual upgrades as a way to justify owning a really nice bike in the past, or at least to soften the financial blow. I'm a bad saver and while buying wheels one year, frame the next etc. seems affordable, the one-off cost of a complete bike of comparable quality seems unaffordable, or unjustifiable. All psychology I know...

Agree with the comments above that it's best to invest in the engine and that the best riding bike is one with a fit rider!

[Jcgill]

I am also a little put off by the evoloution of components nowadays...

I have been wanting to build up a titanium road bike for the past 2 years, but i have held off due to titanium being a "lifetime" frame. I wanted to see what brake systems evolved into so that i would not have an obsolete frame unable to upgrade to new components a few years down the road.

I would love to build it with rim brakes, as i have no need for discs on a bike that sees no rain or screaming descents, but will i be able to source brifters for cable brakes and cable shifting in 2020?!

Even more confusing is now ENVE launched new road hubs at interbike which are for rim brakes, so maybe rim brake components will stick around???

Jon

[F45]

Rim brakes will always be around for high level components because they make engineering sense if your design goal is light weight. The physics of disc brakes mandate they will always be less elegant of a solution.

Have any of you noticed the explosion of new tech and small companies offering niche components in the last few years? The cost of CNC manufacturing is going down. Just buy what you want and enjoy it now. Don't worry about the future.

[Jcgill]

I wonder if companies will start making only hydro/mechanical shifting and hydro/di2 levers only and then develop rim calipers to work hydraulically (like sram did years back)
Or just offer 4 different brifters.

[sawyer]

I have been wanting to build up a titanium road bike for the past 2 years, but i have held off due to titanium being a "lifetime" frame.
Jon

Hi, Ti being a lifetime frame is a myth. First, because you'll want something newer, lighter, stiffer, better looking, more aero etc etc

And second, because it's not as durable as it's cracked up to be (pun intended) ... in some respects more durable than carbon, and in others not ...

[mattr]

I'm on my third life time frame, snapped one. Still running two, both around 16-17 years old, both compatible with (almost) all modern groups.

[Broady]

I'm hopefully pretty close to getting my custom started after 30 months waiting but now have the unenviable decision of speccing parts, Dura Ace 9070 has been out for a few years, are they likely to refresh next year? I'm getting discs, should I go for a 142 x 12 bolt through or stick with QR? eTap looks good, but no hydro disc option, perhaps I could use hy/rd brakes? No steel frames seem to have a flat mount yet, is this down to its relative youth or difficulty in manufacture? Somewhat rhetorical questions I guess as things are constantly changing but it's definitely not as simple as it used to be, especially with the disc transition.

[bm0p700f]

Standards will never be fully standardised. Look at the mtb world it continues to change.bb standard headset standard are multiplying the same is happen to q/r. 142x 12 and 15mm axles are well established. Hubs for these will be available for some time. Shimano have finally adopted 142x 12mm for the rear hubs now.

So da 9070 so what if a new one come out what wrong with 9070, nothing. Add shimano r785 disc brake/ski's with wheels using a rim like the pacenti sl25 on dt swiss 240 hubs or a carbon set (many wide options now) and mount vittoria's new tubeless corsa tyres or schwable one pro's when they come out and you will have a lovely machine.

[indywagon]

Neeb, I recently had the exact same conversation with myself and came to the exact same conclusion. I will make some slight modifications to my 2012 Cervelo R5 with DA 9000 mechanical over the next couple years - I'll keep trying new saddles and bars because it's fun and that's what I do - but nothing major until I go all in for wireless/disks in what I guess will be 3-5 years.