MoPho wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 11:26 pm
Videos does not lie mate . We saw crashes of Lopez, Alaphillipe and Evanpoel because of disc brake failures. Did you see Alaphillipe completely locked front wheel video? Not even best mechanics can't fix problem so he lost lot of time and switched bike. We don't have that luxury to have team car behind us and spare bike on the car roof. Thats rim brake bikes are better and cheaper alternative.
At the end of the day, in dry weather (i.e. most rides that normal people participate in), disk brake road bikes are basically slower. They are heavier and less aero. so considering rim brakes are easier to maintain, cheaper and don't make irritating noises there are plenty of reasons to prefer them.
The industry trying to force us onto a slower technology is irritating. Expect to see companies that support riders who prefer rim brakes to sell a lot of bikes. I have a Merck bike which has threaded bottom bracket, external cable routing and rim brakes. It is lighter, more aero, easier to maintain and doesn't squeal when you brake, creak at the bottom bracket, cause me problems installing new bottom bracket, need hydraulic fluid, I don't have to faff about guiding cables inside the frame, its cheaper to maintain, the brakes never rub, I don't have to clean rotors etc., etc.
Loads of modern "improvements" are being pushed onto you by manufacturers. The latest is 12 speed. Not needed. Electronic shifting? Not needed. More expense for zero performance improvement and additional maintenance requirements like batteries. You can build a 10 speed bike lighter than the UCI weight limit without any of these expensive rip -offs. And it will be quicker to boot. And you can just get on it and ride. Stop feeding the monster. I'm all for technologies that are a genuine improvement in performance. But not if they are just hassle.
Oh, and the answer to my trivia question below: How many grand tours have been won on disk brakes? The answer is none.
Are rim brakes an advantage? Well the team who focuses most on marginal gains (Ineos/Sky) think so. They are convinced that rim brakes are faster than disks when it isn't raining on any parcour! That is the truth.