Disc Brake Road Bikes

[Starvin' Marvin]

Pretty hot, not much hotter than alloy rims I imagine but just a guess.

TBH i'd rather not get nailed by a hot rim than a hot brake disc

 

 

 

Have you seen some of the ROAD race PELETON accidents and how the bikes and riders get all entwined sometimes?

 

Granted getting some flesh sliced or burnt by a disc is a low probability (all though we don't really know yet because discs have never been used as a standard on road bikes).

 

Its the same with plugs on your handle bars, you are supposed to have them for safety reasons and its highly unlikely that you will get a hole punched into your flesh by an open bar end...but

 

Anyway never mind the hot flesh cutting disc aspect, what about the increased flex / strain that you will get on the front fork if you have your brakes located at the bottom of the fork.

 

Everyone talks about how great disc would be on long descents, well hydraulic brakes are also known to fade with prolonged heavy usage and I wonder if this would not be compounded by the required lightweight design of a road disc brake system?

 

Any bets on which manufacturer will offer ceramic discs first? Ceramics would offer better sustained braking over long periods and far lighter than steel discs.

[LOOK695]

 

 

Any bets on which manufacturer will offer ceramic discs first? Ceramics would offer better sustained braking over long periods and far lighter than steel discs.

Can you imagine the cost implications?

[Capricorn]

Any bets on which manufacturer will offer ceramic discs first? Ceramics would offer better sustained braking over long periods and far lighter than steel discs.

 

and what's the operating temperature of those brakes?

[jmaccelari]

is it lighter?

Not important. Bikes are so light now the pros have to weight them to meet UCI regulations. So they have a lot of leeway there.

 

[Johan Bornman]

The other issue is that can you imagine the amount of additional accidents in a peloton when half the bikes have disc brakes and the other half standard brakes. There is a massive difference in breaking speeds between the two.

No there is not. The brakes we have on bikes today all exceed the one factor that limits quicker stopping - overturning momentum. You cannot skid a bicycle's front wheel on good surface. You will endo before skidding and therefore stopping quicker isn't possible.

[Johan Bornman]

Ever thought about how the rims wear down with continuos usage of the brakes ? how many of you guys have ever thought about the reduction in thickness of the rim you are clamping you brake pads to ?

 

In our workshop we think about it all the time and no matter how hard we think about it, we just don't find more than one rim every two years that's worn out on the braking surface. I've sawn off a little piece of every one of those rims and have them in a (little) collection. I show them to my wheelbuilding students and my suspicion is that the ones I show them are the only ones they'll ever see.

[Flowta]

 

No there is not. The brakes we have on bikes today all exceed the one factor that limits quicker stopping - overturning momentum. You cannot skid a bicycle's front wheel on good surface. You will endo before skidding and therefore stopping quicker isn't possible.

 

+1

 

Don't have any problem with my brakes (and rims) from 1986.

 

My v-brakes on my old mtb stopped just fine too (though not so much in the wet)

 

DOesn't mean I wouldn't buy a road bike with discs. Looking at a cyclocross right now.

[Chro Mo]

My CX bike has BB7s on, and I must say that I feel much more confident in the braking ability of the units.

 

Going into corners and braking later are a definite plus.

 

Weight doesn't bother me, because I am, shall we say, quite big too.

 

Would discs be of greater benefit to heavier or lighter riders in terms of stopping power?

[Paul Ruinaard]

yes to hydraulic. I am a Shimano fan so I want to get Shimano electric/hydraulic as the group. When that is available I am building my CX bike.

 

One bike to bind all disciplines.

[Tumbleweed]

I see Cav's going hydraulic - not disc though - for the TDF.

[Johan Bornman]

cut cut cut cut

 

Would discs be of greater benefit to heavier or lighter riders in terms of stopping power?

 

No they won't. With current brakes you can already do an endo, no matter what your weight. On the back, you can already drag the wheel without much effort, so extra stopping force there would be a waste too. Benefits have to come from other areas, not quickness of coming to a standstill where we are already at the max.

[TopFuel]

No they won't. With current brakes you can already do an endo, no matter what your weight. On the back, you can already drag the wheel without much effort, so extra stopping force there would be a waste too. Benefits have to come from other areas, not quickness of coming to a standstill where we are already at the max.

 

Won't it help with power and modulation? Point being, yes I could lock up my V-brakes before, but it required much more user input than with my current disc brakes (XT), which only require a finger. So they may not increase power, but improve modulation throughout the lever's stroke.

['Dale]

Prob too heavy

 

Prefer my bike sub 7

[Mtblife]

A must , great braking on a road bike will mean faster times and better cornering. And Safer rides. Stoping faster, before a taxi plows into you is a good thing.

Edited June 29, 2013 by Mtblife

[chris_w_65]

No they won't. With current brakes you can already do an endo, no matter what your weight. On the back, you can already drag the wheel without much effort, so extra stopping force there would be a waste too. Benefits have to come from other areas, not quickness of coming to a standstill where we are already at the max.

 

+1 - the standard brakes exceed what is necessary - disc brakes have more parts = more weight - Unless you can think of a way to build a wheel without a rim you may as well use the rim for braking. JB, have you invented a rimless wheel yet? I will attend that wheel building course - Then I probably won't need to replace the spokes and nipples on my motard

However, this being said I have heard discs are an advantage on a cyclocross bike.

['Dale]

 

However, this being said I have heard discs are an advantage on a cyclocross bike.

 

Yeah, far more effective in the much and slush of the cyclocross courses.