Living with Discs - Feedback and Opinions

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RyanH
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by RyanH

Well, the reason I asked is because the handling of my Litespeed changed in hard cornering with 27mm tires vs 25mm. I assume due to slight geo changes (increased wheelbase being one). I much prefer the handling of 25mm. Going down to 23mm, the handling felt quicker than preferred/used to.

When I had the Crumpton with slightly longer chainstays and wheelbase, it again seemed that the handling wasn't as direct/quick in the cornering as I was used to. But these are just small anecdotes that I'm not positive are the reasons why I've experienced these things.

RyanH
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by RyanH

Well, the reason I asked is because the handling of my Litespeed changed in hard cornering with 27mm tires vs 25mm. I assume due to slight geo changes (increased wheelbase being one). I much prefer the handling of 25mm. Going down to 23mm, the handling felt quicker than preferred/used to.

When I had the Crumpton with slightly longer chainstays and wheelbase, it again seemed that the handling wasn't as direct/quick in the cornering as I was used to. But these are just small anecdotes that I'm not positive are the reasons why I've experienced these things.

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Nefarious86
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by Nefarious86

First gen R785 with IceTech rotors and organic pads, some squealing in the rain but other than that the have had 0 issues on my SL5 disc.

Set them up right and they're fantastic. I love the modulation and risk free carbon clincher descending. Rim brakes deffinately feel like more work after a couple of years on Disc.

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dvq
Posts: 181
Joined: Mon Sep 25, 2017 1:36 pm

by dvq

I've had no real issues beyond getting the caliper aligned. Initial bleed after I built the bike took 10 minutes, first time working on hydraulic disc bikes. It's been reliable ever since and awesome every since. I'll never go back to rim brakes.

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euan
Posts: 1571
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 11:20 am

by euan

RyanH wrote:
Tue Dec 19, 2017 6:35 pm
Has anyone found the bikes to ride differently than their rim braked bikes? Extra carbon layup to reinforce certain areas and longer chainstays could possibly affect handling and ride qualities. Or, is it something that you notice when you flip between bikes but by mid-ride no longer notice it?
Mark Legg had some interesting things to say about this regarding Katie Compton's canti and disc Boones. She found that all things the same the canti bike was better handling. With a bit of experimenting they found out that the extra weight of the hydraulic SRAM shifters were slowing down the slow speed handling. Its why Compton went mechanical disc for a year.

uraz
Posts: 116
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2013 9:48 pm

by uraz

1. Chattering, vibration, squeal in dry conditions
Make sure all caliper and rotor bolts are torque corectly. Align caliper by hand constantly looking at a gap between pads and rotor (it's helpful to use torch or sun light for controlling the gap). Easy methods like "squeze lever and bolt caliper" do not work most of a time.

2. Rattling hose inside frame
Insert part of a hose that is inside down tube into foam insulation pipe and glue this pipe inside frame near headtube and near bottom bracket. Some manufacturers do it in factory.

3. Ping sound after hard cornering, during ride or often rotor bending
Make sure that your hub is not moving between dropouts. Some hub / frame / fork / axle combos just don't work. It can by checked by leaning bike to a side and than pushing on handlebar or just by grabbing wheel and twisting it by hand. If after that rotor starts to rub it's a sign that hub has moved.

4. Sticky piston
Put DOT compatible grease on each piston

srshaw
Posts: 175
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 6:06 pm

by srshaw

I've got a caad12 disc currently using Trp hy/rd. Although ok I don't think they stop much better than my other bike road bike using dura ace rim brakes.

I recently built up a mountain bike using xt hydraulic brakes and they a simply fantastic. I will be upgrading the caad to full hydraulic.

Delorre
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by Delorre

what happened here? we are back to only 1 page? My post from yesterday gone, same with all the other great reply's :evil:

RyanH
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by RyanH

That's a bummer, we lost about 3 pages worth of content in this thread during the upgrade.

DCcyclist
Posts: 161
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 2:09 am

by DCcyclist

I love my disc brakes and never will buy a bike with calipers.

They get loud AF when it's wet. I've only had minor issues with brake rub and the problem went away every time when I loosened the caliper screws, squeeze the brakes, and retightened them.

I've had the bike since Fall 2015 and never had to bleed them. Funny I purchased this bleed kit a year ago and never used it. Maybe I should bleed them but brakes still work well so why bother.

Maintenance is pretty easy. Changing brake pads takes a couple mins. But you have to regularly check the brake pads to see how worn they are. I had one close call.

Hope this helps.
2019 Giant TCR Advanced Pro 0 Disc

MichaelB
Posts: 993
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:31 am

by MichaelB

Been on discs for 7 years now.

Like descending and would NEVER go back to rim brakes. Been in the Alps and Dolomites and never boiled fluid (hot weather and I’m a big guy) but have glazed pads (one disc type) but they recovered quickly, so all good.

Biggest hassle, if the pads get contaminated, they can be rescued sometimes, but more often than not, they are toast. Will vary though depending on source and amount of contamination.

They just work better all round. Simple.

zefs
Posts: 436
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2017 8:40 pm

by zefs

The mechanical TRP spyres I use work great, I only adjust the pad distance every few rides using the 3mm alen.
I use centerlock rotors which seem to work better than the 6 bolt and stay true. Thing is you need to upgrade the rotors and pads they come up with if you want to improve stopping power and also pads wear out easier than rim brakes it seems. In my opinion you need disc brakes on 3 occasions:

1) You want to buy carbon wheels that will last and be safer than rim equivalent
2) You do long mountain descends
3) You ride in the rain

If not you don't really need them.

shotgun
Posts: 319
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 3:38 pm
Location: Philippines

by shotgun

Aside from the increased weight, here's my feedback:

I tried to lower overall weight of my road-disc. I ended up converting to lighter 6-bolt rotors. They're less stiff so they do rub after a long descent, nothing worth worrying about. I ride in tropical weather so this setup has less maintenance issues versus my Ciamillo + carbon clinchers most especially after wet rides.

My biggest issue is when I move my bike inside my vehicle for transport. Lining up the rotor to the caliper when mounting the wheel is harder. That's pretty much it.
2018 Giant TCR Advance SL0 Disc
2017 Festka Scalatore
1989 Battaglin Roche
1985 Alan Carbonio

boots2000
Posts: 1393
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:28 pm

by boots2000

I started on disc brakes a little over two years ago with a cross/gravel bike. It was built with Shimano 785 mechanical as that was the only option for Shimano hydraulic at the time.
A year later I got more disc bikes-
A different cross bike with 785 DI2 Hydraulic, but with XTR race 9000 calipers. I liked the DI2 better, and the 9000 calipers worked even better for me. They don't heat up as much. Barely ever rub.
I also bought a "fender bike" A Parlee Chebacco with same group. Outfitted with full fenders. Worked great in the rain and the descents that we have locally.

In 2017 I upgraded the DI2 cross/gravel bike to Dura-Ace 9170. The shifters don't rattle like the 785, and the lever shape feels like the Dura-Ace rim brake shifters that I am used to. The 9170 flat mount calipers work as well as the 9000 XTR calipers that they replaced. System is 200 grams or so lighter than what it replaced.

I also bought a full on disc road bike. Scott Addict RC disc- 9170 group. Enve 3.4 wheels. I like everything about this bike. The frame itself rides and handles really well, group and wheels are excellent.

Here is my takeaway from all this.
1.) Buy good stuff. I would want 9170 on any bike that I buy right now. Brakes work better than previous versions. I suggest trying SRAM before you buy. SRAM works well, but some say that the brakes are draggy and tend to howl. I did experience this on my hardtail that came with SRAM- so I replaced with a set of XTR 9000 brakes.
You also want a light package so the bike is not like 2-3 lb. heavier than what it replaces. My Scott is under 16 lb. I have some changes in mind that will take it down to more like 15 lb. This is more than light enough for me.
2.) Have more than one set of wheels. And make sure that all of these wheels are interchangeable.
This entails having the same axle standards and rotor sizes for all wheels.

P.S. I have found Shimano Hydro disc brakes to be very trouble free. In most cases they are "set it and forget it".
Just change pads when needed (pads are cheap and it pays to have extra pads in your parts bin).
Rotors will also a year or more if you don't ruin them by wearing pads too long.

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TonyM
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by TonyM

Why do you need more than one set of wheels when using disc?

by Weenie


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