Musing and questions on rim / light / road vs disc / heavy / gravel

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

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jever98
Posts: 1179
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:02 pm
Location: Seattle

by jever98

EDIT: accidentally posted in the wrong forum - could a mod please move to road? Thanks

Since this year, I have two frames from the same builder, one light carbon road, one chunkier crosser. The fit is very similar, with the crosser being a bit higher in the front. The geometry differs somewhat because of the longer fork and chain stays on the crosser. Links below:

Pasculli Altissimo: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=122183&p=1093029 (has evolved a bit - different post, cranks, saddle)
Semper Barbatus cross: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=139342&p=1230964

It has been fun to ride the two bikes and to compare. Some random thoughts and probably not so surprising conclusions (all just apply to me, of course):

The braking part of riding with discs rocks:
The DA brakes on the road bike are very good and yes, you can stop the bike pretty well, but the hydraulic discs are way nicer on a descent of a col. Great modulation, great power, makes for really confident descending. Big advantage for discs, making me want to get a light road disc bike in the future.

Shimano disc brake implementation is a bit meeh:
Not so impressed with how the S685 is designed: The hoods are super fat, which is not pleasant, I find, even though I have big hands. Lever throw is way too long in my opinion (even with lever adjustment maxed, throw adjustment minimised), with a risk of pinching fingers between lever and handlebar when braking hard in the drops.

Disc brakes have more potential for noise
I regularly get noise from the disc brakes in two situations: during out of saddle pushes, and when the discs are cooling down after a bunch of braking. My disc brakes are (still?) much more finicky than rim brakes in this area.

Tanker vs sports car:
The crosser is a fair bit chunkier, and I really feel it when riding. It feels more like a tanker that wants to keep moving steadily than being flicked around. The difference in handling and feel was quite surprising to me. On nice smooth roads the road bike is much more fun. On the other hand, the crosser descends like a champ. I guess longer wheel base + 30mm tires makes for great high-speed stability.

This has thrown up a couple of questions for me:
Can anybody comment on how the SRAM Hydro levers feel in the hand? Are they as fat as the Shimano hydro ones?

Would a through-axle fork be likely to fix my brake rub issues when riding out of saddle with the disc brakes?


Cheers
Jever
----
No longer in the industry

by Weenie


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