How many of you have converted to Disc Brake?

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gravity
Posts: 657
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:01 am

by gravity

When disc brake came about to road bike scene, I remember there were a lot of oppositions and negative feedback. I was just wondering how many of you who opposed disc brake when they initially came out but have since bit the bullet and bought a disc brake road bike? And why and what made you change your mind? I'm also interested to know if you have change your riding preferences to more gravel riding as oppose to more conventional road riding?

I'm a bit surprised to see in the "What are you holding out on?" thread that ppl are waiting for disc aero road bike. Disc have better stopping power - no argument there. But what other reasons have made you even entertain the idea of disc brake road bike?

It's hot and humid all year long with occasional rainy season where I live and I certainly do not need disc brake. But I may be missing something that I don't know.
Last edited by gravity on Sun Nov 13, 2016 1:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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de zwarten
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by de zwarten

I am quite a purist regarding the look of racing bikes, and every time I see a disc bike, I must admit I consider the rider as being either a fred or someone who should only use it for commuting. This will probably change once I see them in competition, or they are used by some guys I ride with that are faster / better.

But until know I don't like them. I also think it depends on where you live: in the flatter parts of the world, the improved braking is not really necessary. If I would live in a hilly, wet place (or high mountains), I would, no doubt, buy a disc-equipped bike.

For now, I have too many wheel sets and frames so nothing compatible in the event I would buy a disc brake, so I would have to buy the whole bike at once.

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mrowkoob
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by mrowkoob

I have one that I use for the mountains. A Wilier GTR team disc.

Why do I have it. Well I crashed badly due to break overheating and tire blowout about 8 years ago in the Pyrenees ( descending Col Louron dAzet which is a tricky descent) and since then I don't enjoy the tricky descents anymore. The disc brakes took that fear away. Now some will argue that I just didn't use the proper technique, tire pressure or inner tube for descending.... Well I did. It´s just that I am a big guy and my weight adds to the heat buildup when braking even when braking correctly (hard just before the turns).

Does discbrakes look just as good? No. Are they needed in a pro peloton? No. I would use them for my next cross bike as well and I´ve been using them on my mtb´s for more than 10 years. Disc brakes are here to stay. I don't use a disc brake on my road bike for training or racing where I live in Scandinavia. There just aren't any descents that require discs here and the one thing I really do not like is the almost 2 kg more my Wilier disc weighs compared to my Scott Addict... So do you need a disc brake? Depends on where you ride I would say.
Last edited by mrowkoob on Sun Nov 13, 2016 1:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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mrowkoob
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by mrowkoob

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bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

when british cycling say yes to disc brakes for u.k racing I am selling my rim brake race bikes and buying a disc brake one. until then there is little point in getting another. I have a disc brake bike for commuting and long distance rides.

gravity
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by gravity

bm0p700f wrote:when british cycling say yes to disc brakes for u.k racing I am selling my rim brake race bikes and buying a disc brake one. until then there is little point in getting another. I have a disc brake bike for commuting and long distance rides.


why do you think disc brake is better for long distance ride? not questioning your opinion at all; just curious.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

I ride in all conditions. Yesterday I did 277km, it was wet an cold and it was dark when I set off and dark for part of the way back. Disc brakes meant I could slow down in a controlable way and take the line I intended in every bend without every going a bit wide. i could have done the ride and survived with rim brakes but i would have been more nervous in the bends and I would have had to start slowing earlier for junctions and add fatigue into the mix the possibly of error increases.

I hope to be doing LEL next year as the weather in london may be fine at the start but by the time I get to the northhumbrian hills it could be wet. steep twisty descents on rim brakes no thanks if I have a choice and I do.

MoPho
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by MoPho

I went out and bought a disc bike as soon as I could, but I was in favor of them and had been waiting for a proper race type bike to come out with discs despite the fact that I don't race. I do live in a hilly area and regularly do technical descents. The disc brakes are fantastic! I find them better even for group riding.
Personally I think they look even better than rim brakes, but I am a car/motorcycle enthusiast so to me it makes the bike even more of a proper machine.

The extra rim brake wheel sets I have were bought long ago and I no longer remember the money (nor did I really use them much), so not really an issue. Two sets will be sold with my old bike and another set or two will keep for my classic bike I can't bring myself to sell. I already found a semi inexpensive spare set of wheels for the disc bike.

For mud or gravel I use my mountain bike, and I have another bike for towing the ankle biters, all of which have disc brakes. I won't be going back to rim brakes if I can help it.

AJS914
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by AJS914

I'm 50/50 now on whether I'd get my next high end road bike with discs. It's because I bought a Specialized Crux for winter/gravel riding. When it's wet, braking is tremendous. The bike makes you want to go out when the roads are still wet with no worries.

Prior to the Crux, I would have thought that disc brakes were nonsense for road bikes but now I could see getting one bike to do it all in the future. I"m not going to run out to replace all of my rim brake bikes but I will consider disc brakes for the next road bike.

topflightpro
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by topflightpro

I see no reason to go disc until they determine a real standard. Specialized came out last year with its SCS system. No one else jumped on the idea, and Spec abandoned it for this year, meaning anyone with a 2016 Spec Disc bike is stuck using the wheels the bike came with. At the same time, there are discussions about going wider rear spacing or thru axle.

When I feel like there is a standard in place, then I'll consider it.

Stueys
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by Stueys

Run discs on my winter bike and rim on my nice bike. Next few years we'll all be on discs, the performance advantages are too significant to ignore;
- better braking performance and modulation
- consistent performance in all weathers (try carbon wheels in the wet...)
- removes the risk of heat buildup from the rim
- allows a wheel to be aero shaped completely to the tyre

I get the risk in large pelotons but frankly there are a lot of sharp, jagged bits on bikes already that I wouldn't want to mix with.

kode54
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by kode54

i have too many wheel sets with rim brakes. that's why i haven't converted.
- Factor Ostro VAM Disc
- Factor LS Disc
- Specialized Aethos Disc
- Sturdy Ti Allroad Disc
- Guru Praemio R Disc

fromtrektocolnago
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by fromtrektocolnago

gravel bike has it, road bike does not. I'm not sold on it in the least. winter will the the test. why does the gravel bike have it? because it will also be a winter bike and in rainy, icy, snowy conditions i do admit the caliper brakes are sub optimal. will look forward to seeing the gravel bike in real world winter conditions. also got the gravel bike because in winter larger tires should be an asset as well. I expect the wider tires will be the more important feature.
Colnago C-59 (Dura Ace)
Firefly(Ultegra)
Colnago C-64 disc(ultegra) with Bora 35 wheels

ricey155
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by ricey155

I'm toying buying one but I've got a MTB that has disc and there rubbish :-) garage space I fancy the cube attain tho

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mpulsiv
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by mpulsiv

Stueys wrote:Run discs on my winter bike and rim on my nice bike. Next few years we'll all be on discs, the performance advantages are too significant to ignore;
- better braking performance and modulation
- consistent performance in all weathers (try carbon wheels in the wet...)
- removes the risk of heat buildup from the rim
- allows a wheel to be aero shaped completely to the tyre

I get the risk in large pelotons but frankly there are a lot of sharp, jagged bits on bikes already that I wouldn't want to mix with.


Agree with your statements but "allows a wheel to be aero shaped completely to the tyre". I'm not aware of any wheel manufacturer that have designed a disc specific wheel that is more aero next to caliper wheels. Sure, with disc frames, there's more clearance for wider wheels but...


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