Jump to content

Mechanical disc brakes for road / CX bikes


hweich

Recommended Posts

I think disc brakes for road bikes are here to stay so when i recently bought my new CX bike , i went for this option.

problem is that in my 30yrs of racing bikes, i have come to trust Campagnolo over other manufacturers, but they do not have a disc brake system. there is a lot of talk and rumours but nothing i trust.

i therefore decided to stick to the mechanical set-up with Chorus Ergolevers and use TRP Spyre SLC calipers.

post-74433-0-72215700-1454414885_thumb.jpg

It did not work. at all. you grab the levers and pull them all the way to the bars and the bike continued unhindered and no amount of adjustment could fix it.

  • option 1: Campagnolo should bring out a hydraulic setup either late this year or early next year. if they do not want to be left behind. chances are that it will be linked to an electric shifting system which will probably be very expensive. and i do not want electrical shifting because i dont see it as an advantage.
  • option 2: switch to another brand of components. you have a choice between made in Japan or made in China.....no thanks
  • option 3: change it for a hybrid mechanical/hydro system like SRAM or Hope V-twin. i think this will definitely work but is quite expensive [about R5000] and bulky for what i think should be a medium term fix
  • option 4: try a cheap fix
    • i swapped the pads for Shimano ones which made them stop a lot better but the feel was still very damped/indirect
    • problem is that brake cable housings are compressible and when you pull with this such force, a lot of the force ends up compressing the cable housing. so i ordered non-compressible cables from Jagwire and the problem is solved! non-compressible housing is essentially made the same way as shifting cable housing in that the main structure is provided by longitudinal wires with a mesh outside them to keep them from popping out. This as opposed to brake housing which has a helical wire which can be compressed.

 

 

 post-74433-0-59361700-1454414881_thumb.jpg

i now have a set-up that i will gladly keep using until Campag brings out a better solution 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

is that the 52cm Nago CX bike that was for sale on the forum earlier this year?

no i bought it new

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think disc brakes for road bikes are here to stay so when i recently bought my new CX bike , i went for this option.

 

It was interesting to see how many podium finishers were riding cant brakes at the world champs this weekend.

 

Seems like only the top paid riders are on discs.

 

12651191_10154107110668296_4815883281917

 

12651314_774863329284186_263882461450364

 

12662423_774987299271789_915992748803057

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just went straight to the TRP HY/RD calipers - use them on both tandem and CX bike. Hydraulic with cables - of course using compressionless housings (it tells you in the box).

 

Problem solved....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was interesting to see how many podium finishers were riding cant brakes at the world champs this weekend.

 

Seems like only the top paid riders are on discs.

 

 

 

 

Remember her? Rode a bike with rim brakes, and see how that ended...

 

http://s1.nieuwsbladcdn.be/Assets/Images_Upload/2015/02/18/cd71a9b0-b769-11e4-a8c0-abf7dfebd1f7_original.jpg?maxheight=460&maxwidth=629&format=jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CX guys race with 2 or more bikes.One is cleaned and lubed while other is getting raced.

 

The discs won't last a full 60min race in the mud.

 

No problem with rim brakes though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CX guys race with 2 or more bikes.One is cleaned and lubed while other is getting raced.

 

The discs won't last a full 60min race in the mud.

 

No problem with rim brakes though.

Sorry if this is an obvious question - as I have no connection to the world of CX racing - other than joing in the CX motorbike discussion happening at the moment; Why does discs not work on CX, when on MTB in absolutely terrible conditions they work 100%. 

In MTB mud/water on rim brakes were one of the evils that we were glad to be rid of when changing to discs, as you don't have to worry about wet rim surfaces, or rim wear or pad wear or dings or buckles. 

 

serious question - not trolling in any way!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CX guys race with 2 or more bikes.One is cleaned and lubed while other is getting raced.

 

The discs won't last a full 60min race in the mud.

 

No problem with rim brakes though.

Havn't you got this reversed?  rim brakes don't last very long in the mud - on occasion neither do disks, but disks are much better, both in braking performance and mud longevity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Settings My Forum Content My Followed Content Forum Settings Ad Messages My Ads My Favourites My Saved Alerts My Pay Deals Help Logout