Discbrakes on roadbikes?

[Marius]

We have passed functionally a long time ago, now it's all Hype and Marketing, they'll think up a few reasons why discs are better, give it time

[gummibear]

Anyone notice that monstrosity under the stem? Until STI's push fluid its a no-no for me.

 

It's made by TRP for cyclo-cross bikes.It's a cable to hydrolic converter.Pretty expensive and light.

[Lucky Luke.]

What races do you do? The crashes I've seen & had with bunch concertinas in the faster rides have been horrific.

 

I do nearly every road race on the WP calendar and I've witnessed and been involved in some nasty pile-ups - Simonsvlei in 2009 when John o'Connor had to go for skin grafts, the Colonel popped his shoulder, Tarmac cracked his new SL3 on it's maiden ride, Shan Wilson and a bunch of other guys did not have bikes to ride across the line.

 

The problem came down to lack of bunch riding skills on the part of the first guy to go down, and especially in the Simonsvlei case, a dangerous finish with cars parked all over the place.

 

All the disk brakes in the world would not have made a bit of difference.

 

At the 99er last year the bunch concertina-ed at the road works where we went down to one narrow lane. My brakes worked too well and I blew my tubbie. I'm pretty sure It'd be a lot easier to blow tubbies with disk brakes than without.

Edited November 15, 2011 by Lucky Luke.

[Lucky Luke.]

Nothing wrong with that idea at all! ABS on bikes would be amazing.

 

Yep, I agree, assuming you could keep the weight down. No doubt we'll get there one day.

[DJR]

Someone should build the hydrolics into the stem or the bar for better aesthetics - that moustache hanging from the stem (Movember?) is just ugly. I don't mind the discs on the wheels though.

[Minion]

Someone should build the hydrolics into the stem or the bar for better aesthetics - that moustache hanging from the stem (Movember?) is just ugly. I don't mind the discs on the wheels though.

They should build them into the shifters, now that electronic shifting means that they no longer need to put a bulky shifting mechanism in there.

[PaulTeague]

Brakes are for sissies!

[kamikaze]

Why would you need disk brakes on a road bike? maybe to add some flat spots to your tyres? Its also not practical for competitive cycling, would only slow down wheel changes. and the extra weight!!!

 

I think its stupid personally.

 

hey lance, your ignorance is blinding you!

 

disc brakes don't necessarily represent better stopping power - the avatages are numerous:

• 
   
  
• no more brake fade
  
• better modulation
  
• one finger braking
  
• rims that are out of true dont affect brake set-up
  
• ease of set-up & adjustment
  
• ease of pad changes
  
• not affected by water
  

 

wheel changes are in fact quicker because you dont have to fuss with the brakes to get the wheel out and back in again.

 

disc brakes have completely revolutionized mountainbiking, i'm surprised the road fraternity has taken this long to catch on.

 

 

i dont see how road-specific designed hydraulic brakes could weigh more than conventional rim brakes.

 

 

keep wearing your power balance bracelet and keep resisting change. heck, you probably said pneumatic tyres would never work, back in the day when everyone was running solid rubber tyres.

and lets not forget that all the top performing motorcycles and performance cars run drum brakes, and the really top of the range motorbikes use rim-brakes....NOT!

Edited November 15, 2011 by kamikaze

[Minion]

disc brakes don't necessarily represent better stopping power - the avatages are numerous:

• no more brake fade
• better modulation
• one finger braking
• rims that are out of true dont affect brake set-up
• ease of set-up & adjustment
• ease of pad changes
• not affected by water

How many of those are really a significant issue on a road bike, though?

 

 

It's really a red herring comparing bicycles to performance motorbikes. The amount of energy that needs to be dissipated is orders of magnitude higher on a motorbike.

Edited November 15, 2011 by Edman

[Minion]

wheel changes are in fact quicker because you dont have to fuss with the brakes to get the wheel out and back in again.

You do have to unscrew the quick release, though.

 

On a normal road bike, you can file off the lawyers lips on the fork. Wheel change is then simply release the brakes (a single lever), open quick release, replace wheel, close quick release, close brakes.

 

On a disc brake bikes, the lawyers lips actually have some use due to the forces involved in braking. To remove the wheel, you have to unscrew the skewer to get it over the lips. I'd wager this takes longer than unclipping the brakes (especially if you ride Campag and can release the brakes on the fly at the hoods).

Edited November 15, 2011 by Edman

[Eldron]

disc brakes don't necessarily represent better stopping power - the avatages are numerous:

• 
   
  
• no more brake fade
  
• better modulation
  
• one finger braking
  
• rims that are out of true dont affect brake set-up
  
• ease of set-up & adjustment
  
• ease of pad changes
  
• not affected by water
  

 

wheel changes are in fact quicker because you dont have to fuss with the brakes to get the wheel out and back in again.

 

disc brakes have completely revolutionized mountainbiking, i'm surprised the road fraternity has taken this long to catch on.

 

Let's see...

 

I've never had brake fade on my road bike (including riding most of the cols in the TdF)

I've never wished for better modulation on my road bike.

Ok Ok - you win - I use 1 and a bit finger braking on my road bike.

In 20 years of riding I've had one spoke failure that rubbed on the rim....so I used the quick release on the brake arch and voila! No more rub.

Hydraulic disc brakes are easier to set up and adjust than conventional brakes? Ok - no more drugs for you.

Easier to change pads on a disc brake - dude - now you're just typing with you brain on the table.

 

Water one is about the only reason discs are better.

 

Hydraulic road brakes are an unecessary addition. Conventional road brakes are more than adequate for the intended use.

 

I have 1,000 litres of snake oil for sale. Want some? For you - good price

['Dale]

Too heavy.

Not enough purpose for road racing.

 

On the contrary, the less I brake, the better.

 

Superb for cyclocross for sharp cornering and wet muddy rims.e

[Zac.A]

but why? It will only make the somersault possible on a road bike for a trigger finger rookie...

Maybe coming down alpine passes it would be nice, but I don't think it will ever reach professional level (used in tours etc)

 

Anyhow, I won't be making any plans to accommodate them anytime soon.

[kamikaze]

How many of those are really a significant issue on a road bike, though?

 

 

It's really a red herring comparing bicycles to performance motorbikes. The amount of energy that needs to be dissipated is orders of magnitude higher.

 

arguing that discs would have too much power for a road bike is missing the point - with the stopping power available i can lock up my wheels on my MTB at any given moment too - it's about controlling that power accurately with the the tip of a single finger.

 

i thought road cycling was all about performance, accuracy, and precision - disc brakes are the embodiment of the above whilst adding simplicity, low maintenance, and clean design.

 

rims too (in terms of strength vs weight) have improved significantly since the advent of disc brakes.

 

i need not convince those who dont want to be convinced, but having been an avid cyclist for 22 years, if you ask me whether i would ever consider going back to rim brakes - the answer is NEVER!

 

technology does not evolve against all practicality, it embraces the shortcomings of current designs and improves on it.

Edited November 15, 2011 by kamikaze

[jatho]

hey lance, your ignorance is blinding you!

 

disc brakes don't necessarily represent better stopping power - the avatages are numerous:

• 
   
  
• no more brake fade
  
• better modulation
  
• one finger braking
  
• rims that are out of true dont affect brake set-up
  
• ease of set-up & adjustment
  
• ease of pad changes
  
• not affected by water
  

 

wheel changes are in fact quicker because you dont have to fuss with the brakes to get the wheel out and back in again.

 

disc brakes have completely revolutionized mountainbiking, i'm surprised the road fraternity has taken this long to catch on.

 

 

i dont see how road-specific designed hydraulic brakes could weigh more than conventional rim brakes.

 

 

keep wearing your power balance bracelet and keep resisting change. heck, you probably said pneumatic tyres would never work, back in the day when everyone was running solid rubber tyres.

and lets not forget that all the top performing motorcycles and performance cars run drum brakes, and the really top of the range motorbikes use rim-brakes....NOT!

 

Firstly, is it necessary to act like a tjop when someones opinion differs from yours?

 

You're such a bright spark and can see these great ideas before they happen then tell me why none of the pro teams are testing disk breaks on road bikes like they are with say electronic gears, which actually make sense for road racing?

 

I've yet to see any wheel changes where standard caliper type brakes get in the way unless maybe when you're the one changing the wheel?

 

Yes, I understand that disk brakes have benefits over calipers but these aren't necessarily beneficial on a road bike or worth the extra 2kg's this setup is going to add to the bike.

 

Think before you shout your mouth off you twat!

[Hairy]

Why would you need disk brakes on a road bike? maybe to add some flat spots to your tyres? Its also not practical for competitive cycling, would only slow down wheel changes. and the extra weight!!!

 

I think its stupid personally.

 

Practically it should be quicker to do a wheel change and if your wheel is out of true you can ride along.

 

When things get wet and nasty then the disc brakes also will have a noticeable advantage.

 

I sure do hope they make sure those forks can handle the additional forces applied by the brake mount.