Road Bike - Disc or Calipers

[DieselnDust]

6 minutes ago, ouzo said:

Diesel for the most part I respect your input on technical threads as you have experience in the real world, however on this one I’m seeing a strong personal bias against discs on road bikes and I think it’s clouding your logic. 
 

warping discs are not unique to bicycles and happen on discs that are much thicker and heavier and built to withstand more heat. The problem will never go away on metallic discs. As long as there are heat differences across the surface of the disc it will warp.  
Disc truing on mtb is that not more a case of the disc receiving more knocks to it?

 

your story of your mate descending chappies, sounds very suspect. Discs generally suffer less from lack of stopping power in the wet than rim brakes, to suddenly lock up my logic tells me his rear wheel hit a patch of something on the road that caused sudden loss of traction rather than the brakes suddenly biting. 

No personal bias against road disc brakes, I just don’t think they’re developed enough for average Joe. 
warping is an issue in all disc brake applications but there is more leverage applied so the pistons can travel further and therefore provide more clearance. 
the road discs to achieve the same more oil is required or rather a bigger master cylinder, bigger pistons and therefor bigger callipers. That’s more weight. Manufacturers are going the other way.

 

ultimately I want a produce that works without hassle, keeps my maintenance time requirements down to the important stuff and keeps my costs low enough to enjoy the sport. 
At this point in time disc brakes aren’t there yet and I still have a viable alternative available 

[The Ouzo]

9 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

No personal bias against road disc brakes, I just don’t think they’re developed enough for average Joe. 

Yes and no, the average Joe these days just drops his bike off at the bike shop. 
 

10 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

warping is an issue in all disc brake applications but there is more leverage applied so the pistons can travel further and therefore provide more clearance. 
the road discs to achieve the same more oil is required or rather a bigger master cylinder, bigger pistons and therefor bigger callipers. That’s more weight. Manufacturers are going the other way.

Agreed. But the weight saving is not unique to cycling, motor racing are continuously developing lighter braking components. The difference though as that they are able to generate more heat in the discs so they are able to use lighter weight materials like carbon ceramic. 
it will be interesting to see what the bicycle industry come up with in this regards. 

 

12 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

ultimately I want a produce that works without hassle, keeps my maintenance time requirements down to the important stuff and keeps my costs low enough to enjoy the sport. 
At this point in time disc brakes aren’t there yet and I still have a viable alternative available 

You see this is a little more “it’s no good for me” rather than your previous post making it sound definitive that discs on road bikes are complete rubbish. 
 

 

Granted I don’t have much experience with discs, but I’ve done over 12000km on what must be one of the top 10 most rubbish OEM hydraulic brake setups, the Giant Conduct system. Cable actuated hydraulic system linked to generic calipers clamping into 140mm stamped rotors. 
they have required much more maintenance than rim brakes, but, have provided much better stopping power than I ever had with any of my rim brake road bikes.  And now that I’ve gone 160mm front disc, but more importantly Jagwire pads they’re just so much better. 

[DieselnDust]

12 minutes ago, ouzo said:

Yes and no, the average Joe these days just drops his bike off at the bike shop. 
 

Agreed. But the weight saving is not unique to cycling, motor racing are continuously developing lighter braking components. The difference though as that they are able to generate more heat in the discs so they are able to use lighter weight materials like carbon ceramic. 
it will be interesting to see what the bicycle industry come up with in this regards. 

 

You see this is a little more “it’s no good for me” rather than your previous post making it sound definitive that discs on road bikes are complete rubbish. 
 

 

Granted I don’t have much experience with discs, but I’ve done over 12000km on what must be one of the top 10 most rubbish OEM hydraulic brake setups, the Giant Conduct system. Cable actuated hydraulic system linked to generic calipers clamping into 140mm stamped rotors. 
they have required much more maintenance than rim brakes, but, have provided much better stopping power than I ever had with any of my rim brake road bikes.  And now that I’ve gone 160mm front disc, but more importantly Jagwire pads they’re just so much better. 

That Giant system is underrated. It has more brake fluid than most s as me it’s why I don’t state disc brakes are complete rubbish. There are good systems that work , they just weigh a lot more. I also think the Giant system was an elegant solution to prevent an expensive transition to disc.

the industry can make decent choices when it wants to

[Sandro]

I saw this this thread because I'm in a similar predicament and even though its nearly 4 years later, the choice of rim vs disc brakes is still here for used bikes. Seems like disc is definitely the future and here to stay, the bigger reason I'm looking at it is the ability to use wider tyres. The question is are discs still having the same niggling issues as before with warping and rubbing, or has the technology improved a bit over the last few years? Some great rim brake bike deals right now but selling these a few years from now isn't going to get any easier I would imagine. 

[Jono]

What a funny thread this was.

Also I miss @Jewbacca

[ChrisF]

2 hours ago, Sandro said:

I saw this this thread because I'm in a similar predicament and even though its nearly 4 years later, the choice of rim vs disc brakes is still here for used bikes. Seems like disc is definitely the future and here to stay, the bigger reason I'm looking at it is the ability to use wider tyres. The question is are discs still having the same niggling issues as before with warping and rubbing, or has the technology improved a bit over the last few years? Some great rim brake bike deals right now but selling these a few years from now isn't going to get any easier I would imagine. 

 

@Zebra has been putting miles on his disc brake bike, in all weather conditions.  Also @BuffsVintageBikes and many more ....

[Zebra]

Zero problem(s) with disk brakes - they really do seem to need MINIMUM attention, until they eventually need a service, obviously, and no problem with disks warping, etc.

Cheers

Chris

[DieselnDust]

2 hours ago, Sandro said:

I saw this this thread because I'm in a similar predicament and even though its nearly 4 years later, the choice of rim vs disc brakes is still here for used bikes. Seems like disc is definitely the future and here to stay, the bigger reason I'm looking at it is the ability to use wider tyres. The question is are discs still having the same niggling issues as before with warping and rubbing, or has the technology improved a bit over the last few years? Some great rim brake bike deals right now but selling these a few years from now isn't going to get any easier I would imagine. 

Warping disc brakes is not an issue if you are a fair weather rider. If you ride in the rain then you will be spending time straightening disc rotors regularly 

Sticky pistons is still a thing. Cleaning and maintenance is still higher than with cable caliper brakes 

[Ncayi]

3 hours ago, Sandro said:

I saw this this thread because I'm in a similar predicament and even though its nearly 4 years later, the choice of rim vs disc brakes is still here for used bikes. Seems like disc is definitely the future and here to stay, the bigger reason I'm looking at it is the ability to use wider tyres. The question is are discs still having the same niggling issues as before with warping and rubbing, or has the technology improved a bit over the last few years? Some great rim brake bike deals right now but selling these a few years from now isn't going to get any easier I would imagine. 

Recovering rim break and mechanical shifting fanatic here ☝️.

Get a disc brake bike!

Edited February 12 by Ncayi

[Caerus]

On 6/29/2022 at 3:52 PM, WIPEOUT 1000 said:

From my perspective, the biggest advantage with disc brakes on road bikes is that you can run wider tyres and for me the wider tyres have been a game changer.

What width tyres do you run, Ive just got a disc break bike.

[WIPEOUT 1000]

I mostly ride 38mm Panaracer GravelKing slicks. In reality, they measure 40mm wide. 

[dave303e]

how bad can discs be if almost all mtb from circa 2008 have been running them fine
 

[NotSoBigBen]

Brake not break dammit 😞

Sorry but just could not stop myself ...

[W@nted]

After spending 2 years on my Revolt in european weather, disc brakes on a road bike is a no brainer for me.

I converted my old rim brake road bike to a commuter. In the wet weather, the braking performance of my carbon wheels are absolutely horrible with rim brakes, and I managed to wear the brake surface down to minimum on the rim within a year. 

The Sram rival disk brakes on my revolt have needed no maintenance at all, apart from one new set of brake pads. It is great to know that sufficient braking power is available in all conditions.

[Shebeen]

20 hours ago, Sandro said:

I saw this this thread because I'm in a similar predicament and even though its nearly 4 years later, the choice of rim vs disc brakes is still here for used bikes. Seems like disc is definitely the future and here to stay, the bigger reason I'm looking at it is the ability to use wider tyres. The question is are discs still having the same niggling issues as before with warping and rubbing, or has the technology improved a bit over the last few years? Some great rim brake bike deals right now but selling these a few years from now isn't going to get any easier I would imagine. 

wonder what the OP @Cheese got in the end? hasn;t been back here in a while!

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

On 6/29/2022 at 3:10 PM, Cheese said:

Hi,

 

I am looking to replace my old bike that I have been riding from 2009.

So my question is with the new technology around, Do I get an older higher spec( 10speed, dura ace) bike or a newer bike slightly lower spec (disc , 11spd, disc brakes) .

Would it be an issue in 5 years to get spares for the caliper brakes for instance? 

I’m already struggling to source proper rims and hubs for rim brake bikes. 
Save yourself a headache and get a disc brake bike.