Road Bike - Disc or Calipers

[ChrisF]

9 hours ago, NotSoBigBen said:

Brake not break dammit 😞

Sorry but just could not stop myself ...

 

Sien, met disc remme sou jy betyds kon stop 😋

[Bro Derek]

20 hours ago, nick_the_wheelbuilder said:

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

Hopefully he isn't still having this issue almost 4 years later........ 

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

4 hours ago, Bro Derek said:

Hopefully he isn't still having this issue almost 4 years later........ 

I hope not!

But this year I’ve struggled to find decent rim brake rims and hubs. 
 

It’s a problem for guys who have great rim brake bikes and want to keep them running or upgrade them. 

[DieselnDust]

On 2/13/2026 at 7:40 PM, nick_the_wheelbuilder said:

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

This is unfortunately true of our South African situation where the distributors push us into the latest and greatest hardware and therefore make perfectly good equipment obsolete over night. 
rims are a particular problem because they are expensive to import. 
best bet is alixpress and the like. 
 

or just live with the fact you have to true rotors more regularly and the shing shing shing comes with kahtjing kahtjing tjing. 
 

in this regard, the Chinese bikes are looking super good right now and local brands like Titan Racing. Eve the Chinese groupsets are improving all the time with the current crop looking pretty good. 

[BuffsVintageBikes]

You've probably heard it all before but here's my unbiased opinion of disc brakes after riding on both for many years... which is difficult considering my love of vintage bikes 😊

Disc

Pros:
- Undoubtedly better in all weather conditions.
- Allows you to ride with a buckled rim if you snap a spoke or two.
- Great for Mountain bikes and Gravel bikes. I'm still on the fence about road bikes.

Cons:
- Too much braking power for 25-28C tyres. Over reaction of the levers often lead to the front washing out, especially on road bikes.
- Still heavier than rim brakes.
- Make a racket when wet or hot.
- Make swopping out wheelsets a pain in the ass as you have to often reset the calipers due to disk rub.
- Warping still a problem on road bikes where the disks are thinner and overheat quicker.
- Buckled disk in a race from a rock strike or fall will end your race or force you to remove the caliper.
- You go through pads faster and they cost more.

I honestly don't mind riding on either Disc or Rim but when I'm on Disc brakes on the road, I find myself having to remind myself to be gentle on the levers going into tight turns. I'm still able to modulate a good quality rim brake better than I can modulate a disc brake and I feel that this is one aspect that still needs work on road bikes. I ride a lot of motorbike and besides the modulation being better on motorcycle brakes, you also have a far greater piece of rubber contact patch on the tarmac which helps with traction under braking.
Personally I would prefer at least a 32C tire on a road bike if I was riding disc brake road bike, possibly even a 35C.

 

[NotSoBigBen]

Was going to comment that I've not had a days trouble on my disc road bike, not with noise or bent rotors, nada nothing!

Then I remembered ... it is one of the very first Tarmac disc frames produced. Uses MTB calipers and hub spacing ... I am using 140mm rotors though. 

Happy days, for me at least 😎

[BigDL]

This thread feels like the old days. Ive had discs on my road bike since 2019 and not had a day's trouble with them. Living in Northern Ireland, I ride in inclement weather almost as much as I do in dry weather (maybe an exaggeration but it feels like that sometimes lol) and haven't had any warping or problems yet.