Re: Odds that we see disc brake only bikes go back to having rim offerings?
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 7:22 pm
Mattr:
Yes, a lot of CX racers had issues (and sometimes DNFs) due to worn-through pads—absolutely. My point is that by switching from organic to metallic or semi-metallic pads and bedding them in—that is, by actually learning how to use new equipment—the issues some perceived to be show-stoppers simply evaporated. I don’t see why the same won’t happen in the realm of road bikes.
Regarding the advent of disc brakes for mountain bikes: I started racing on the road in 1986 and I began racing mountain bikes in 1989. I remember when people were saying that disc brakes were fine for downhillers, but XC guys would never accept the extra weight of discs. I was working for a bicycle industry trade paper at the time, and I saw what you’re referring to: NOS cantilever-braked mountain bike frames got discounted as much as NOS cantilever-braked CX frames are right now.
I agree that performance consistency is a benefit for mountain bikes with discs and that the consistency is great for road bikes too. Ironically, I’m much less likely to ride off-road in the wet (due to concerns about trail erosion) than I am on the road. I recently moved to Oregon, in the US Pacific Northwest, where the weather approximates that of Normandy, so wet road rides are a thing for me. The quantifiable benefits are pretty much the same for mountain and road bikes...whether those benefits are “worth it” for any particular rider is a subjective question answerable only by the rider in question.
But your point about the price of entry being too high for the benefit you see is (I think) at the center of all this. Yes, there are benefits to disc brakes on road bikes. Yes, most new road bikes will be sold with disc brakes. For people buying a new bike to get into the sport, disc brakes are not good or bad but simply the brakes on their bike. The cost/benefit analysis you legitimately bring up doesn’t exist for a lot of bike buyers.
You, Matt, will soon have disc brakes on your training bike. I might be mistaken, but I imagine that at some point, the convenience of being able to swap wheels between your training bike and your fancy road bike—coupled with falling weights for road disc groups and the likelihood that the fastest aero rims will soon be those without brake tracks—will convince you (or at least many like you) that your next high-end road bike needs discs too. In other words, when the costs of keeping rim brakes become too high, people will switch and not think twice about it.
In other words, it’s not that road discs are so much better that one simply can’t ride without them—it’s that, on balance, they’re “better enough” that they’re worth having for most bike buyers. And that “better enough” may have more to do with mundane convenience (like having the abilities to swap wheels between all your road bikes) than raw performance.
About two years ago, I built up an “experiment bike.” It’s a fixed-gear belt-drive CX bike with tubeless tires and a front disc (and no brake on the rear). I wanted to play with wide tubeless road tires/rims and drop-bar hydraulic discs (TRP Hylex) just to know what those things were like. I also wanted to see if I wanted those things on my road bike. It turns out that they work just fine and, yes, I want them on my road bike.
The difference isn’t huge, but yeah, the discs are a little nicer and feel a little better. I’m not winning or losing races because of my road bike’s rim brakes, but if/when I buy a new bike, I’ll take the slightly nicer option. Most people will, and that’s why the market will shift.
Once that shift is complete, there won’t be a high cost to “switching” to discs; there will be a high cost to sourcing rim-brake frames and parts, so those things will become niche items, like cantilever-braked mountain bikes are now. At least, that’s my prediction.
Yes, a lot of CX racers had issues (and sometimes DNFs) due to worn-through pads—absolutely. My point is that by switching from organic to metallic or semi-metallic pads and bedding them in—that is, by actually learning how to use new equipment—the issues some perceived to be show-stoppers simply evaporated. I don’t see why the same won’t happen in the realm of road bikes.
Regarding the advent of disc brakes for mountain bikes: I started racing on the road in 1986 and I began racing mountain bikes in 1989. I remember when people were saying that disc brakes were fine for downhillers, but XC guys would never accept the extra weight of discs. I was working for a bicycle industry trade paper at the time, and I saw what you’re referring to: NOS cantilever-braked mountain bike frames got discounted as much as NOS cantilever-braked CX frames are right now.
I agree that performance consistency is a benefit for mountain bikes with discs and that the consistency is great for road bikes too. Ironically, I’m much less likely to ride off-road in the wet (due to concerns about trail erosion) than I am on the road. I recently moved to Oregon, in the US Pacific Northwest, where the weather approximates that of Normandy, so wet road rides are a thing for me. The quantifiable benefits are pretty much the same for mountain and road bikes...whether those benefits are “worth it” for any particular rider is a subjective question answerable only by the rider in question.
But your point about the price of entry being too high for the benefit you see is (I think) at the center of all this. Yes, there are benefits to disc brakes on road bikes. Yes, most new road bikes will be sold with disc brakes. For people buying a new bike to get into the sport, disc brakes are not good or bad but simply the brakes on their bike. The cost/benefit analysis you legitimately bring up doesn’t exist for a lot of bike buyers.
You, Matt, will soon have disc brakes on your training bike. I might be mistaken, but I imagine that at some point, the convenience of being able to swap wheels between your training bike and your fancy road bike—coupled with falling weights for road disc groups and the likelihood that the fastest aero rims will soon be those without brake tracks—will convince you (or at least many like you) that your next high-end road bike needs discs too. In other words, when the costs of keeping rim brakes become too high, people will switch and not think twice about it.
In other words, it’s not that road discs are so much better that one simply can’t ride without them—it’s that, on balance, they’re “better enough” that they’re worth having for most bike buyers. And that “better enough” may have more to do with mundane convenience (like having the abilities to swap wheels between all your road bikes) than raw performance.
About two years ago, I built up an “experiment bike.” It’s a fixed-gear belt-drive CX bike with tubeless tires and a front disc (and no brake on the rear). I wanted to play with wide tubeless road tires/rims and drop-bar hydraulic discs (TRP Hylex) just to know what those things were like. I also wanted to see if I wanted those things on my road bike. It turns out that they work just fine and, yes, I want them on my road bike.
The difference isn’t huge, but yeah, the discs are a little nicer and feel a little better. I’m not winning or losing races because of my road bike’s rim brakes, but if/when I buy a new bike, I’ll take the slightly nicer option. Most people will, and that’s why the market will shift.
Once that shift is complete, there won’t be a high cost to “switching” to discs; there will be a high cost to sourcing rim-brake frames and parts, so those things will become niche items, like cantilever-braked mountain bikes are now. At least, that’s my prediction.