Buy rim brake bike in 2024?

[Danger Dassie]

@SSCC this popped up on my feed and is a pretty sweet deal, not far off the cost of decent carbon wheelset for a whole bike, which is bloody fun bike. https://www.specialized.com/za/en/allez-sprint-comp/p/216918?color=350024-216918

[Skubarra]

2 hours ago, Mook said:

You are right @Skubarra, but allow me to play devil's advocate.

I'd much rather ride a top(ish) end rim brake bike, than a low end disc brake version. Rim brake road bikes will be around for many more years, albeit in lesser demand due to market trend. Components and rim brake alloy/carbon wheels will be available for as long as the chinks speak mandarin. I can use 26" wheels as an example.

I guess if you like changing bikes every 2 years, totally different story. Hell, I cannot even afford to insure my bikes, let alone spend the kind of money the market is pushing low end disc brake road bikes for.

Call me a sentimentalist  

Since we are playing devils advocate - the way I see it as long a you have a good frame you can upgrade your lower end disc brake bike over time to high-end, if you have a high end rim brake bike the next upgrade you would want is the brakes but the only way to get there is to basically buy a complete new bike.

In my personal case I have some mild buyers remorse for opting for a rim brake bike 2 years ago - the limitations of rim brakes never particularly bothered me until I rode down Chappies at high speed on my gravel bike and saw it can be fun not just nerve-wrecking . Would also like the option of wider tyres but have limited options. Managed to get a good carbon wheelset a year ago but again it was obvious I had far fewer options for my rim brake setup, don't think that situation will improve.

So I just think its important to understand that the reason that great rim brake bike is going for a bargain price is because you are locking yourself into dead-end old tech. Of course if that is the bike you are happy to ride for the next 10 years with no serious upgrades its perfectly fine.

 

[SSCC]

2 hours ago, Danger Dassie said:

@SSCC this popped up on my feed and is a pretty sweet deal, not far off the cost of decent carbon wheelset for a whole bike, which is bloody fun bike. https://www.specialized.com/za/en/allez-sprint-comp/p/216918?color=350024-216918

Thanks for the link. I was looking at the recently. Such a good deal for essentially an alloy SL7. 

[DieselnDust]

19 hours ago, Skubarra said:

Since we are playing devils advocate - the way I see it as long a you have a good frame you can upgrade your lower end disc brake bike over time to high-end, if you have a high end rim brake bike the next upgrade you would want is the brakes but the only way to get there is to basically buy a complete new bike.

In my personal case I have some mild buyers remorse for opting for a rim brake bike 2 years ago - the limitations of rim brakes never particularly bothered me until I rode down Chappies at high speed on my gravel bike and saw it can be fun not just nerve-wrecking . Would also like the option of wider tyres but have limited options. Managed to get a good carbon wheelset a year ago but again it was obvious I had far fewer options for my rim brake setup, don't think that situation will improve.

So I just think its important to understand that the reason that great rim brake bike is going for a bargain price is because you are locking yourself into dead-end old tech. Of course if that is the bike you are happy to ride for the next 10 years with no serious upgrades its perfectly fine.

 

Also true for disc brake bikes at present. Weight is coming down at the top end but in the mid range you pay more for 1,5kg extra weight. 
there are enough boutique brands building rim brake bikes for the component manufacturers to continue to offer solutions for both rim and disc at top to mid range so it’s not a dead end if you go with rim brake options 

 

e.g. you can still buy dura ace rim brake shifters in Di2 for 12 speed and also ultegrs. Distributors won’t tell you this because it doesn’t promote the sale of whole groupsets 

[NotSoBigBen]

A bit long and I'm sure a few holes can be poked in what he says but still interesting points made, to me anyway

 

https://youtu.be/99BS5ju8IiI?si=JIrxJr_IiQl1-OVs

[cadenceblur]

3 hours ago, NotSoBigBen said:

A bit long and I'm sure a few holes can be poked in what he says but still interesting points made, to me anyway

 

https://youtu.be/99BS5ju8IiI?si=JIrxJr_IiQl1-OVs

At the end of the day, nothing wrong with rim brakes , were in use not too long ago in the pro peloton by some teams despite them being in the minority at that point in time. 

you can get a high end, top spec bike for a great price on rim bikes at present in the second hand market. Who knows , some manufacturers might well buckle and make some more going forward but a good time to be a consumer . 

For me, at present, it’s #Rims4Road #Discs4Dirt. 
Ride what you like and ride what you can afford to maintain etc.

[Shebeen]

9 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

Also true for disc brake bikes at present. Weight is coming down at the top end but in the mid range you pay more for 1,5kg extra weight. 
there are enough boutique brands building rim brake bikes for the component manufacturers to continue to offer solutions for both rim and disc at top to mid range so it’s not a dead end if you go with rim brake options 

 

e.g. you can still buy dura ace rim brake shifters in Di2 for 12 speed and also ultegrs. Distributors won’t tell you this because it doesn’t promote the sale of whole groupsets 

I'm pretty sure you will be able to get rim brake options for a long while. The calipers are surely easy tooling, same with the sti shifter compared to hydraulic. 

 

Even if sram and shimano got together in a basement and chose to shut it down third parties would jump in. I'd be mostly worried about quality wheel sets in a few years time, but there should be demand there too

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, Shebeen said:

I'm pretty sure you will be able to get rim brake options for a long while. The calipers are surely easy tooling, same with the sti shifter compared to hydraulic. 

 

Even if sram and shimano got together in a basement and chose to shut it down third parties would jump in. I'd be mostly worried about quality wheel sets in a few years time, but there should be demand there too

For carbon wheelsets in SA for sure. Alloy would be a direct import ex china but those parts will remain available. 
our trouble in SA is everyone wants to look pro but slow 

[shaper]

11 hours ago, Shebeen said:

I'm pretty sure you will be able to get rim brake options for a long while. The calipers are surely easy tooling, same with the sti shifter compared to hydraulic. 

 

Even if sram and shimano got together in a basement and chose to shut it down third parties would jump in. I'd be mostly worried about quality wheel sets in a few years time, but there should be demand there too

SRAM are already rolling back on tech for MTB it seems, a new mechanical RD https://www.pinkbike.com/news/spotted-a-mechanical-sram-transmission-derailleur.html, so who knows in time they may also look at rim brake again 

[DieselnDust]

2 hours ago, shaper said:

SRAM are already rolling back on tech for MTB it seems, a new mechanical RD https://www.pinkbike.com/news/spotted-a-mechanical-sram-transmission-derailleur.html, so who knows in time they may also look at rim brake again 

You know…., their caliper rim brakes were actually bloody good. No issues and they were easier To set up than Shimano’s. 
the hydraulic caliper  rim brakes were also very strong but it very popular. That could be a good route to keep older frames going. For now it’s only Shimano and Campagnolo that still offer rim brakes for new groupsets or you have to buy ltwoo, Microsoft, trp or cane creek.

 

PS: mechanical Transmission was always going to happen to keep cost in check. Its either this or loose the value end of the market to Shimano and SRAM knows that the high end market only has so A fixed capacity to absorb new parts and bikes. For now they have to rely on 10year old deraillleur tech for bikes specced With hangers

Edited Friday at 09:42 AM by DieselnDust

[Mook]

2 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

You know…., their caliper rim brakes were actually bloody good. No issues and they were easier To set up than Shimano’s. 
the hydraulic caliper  rim brakes were also very strong but it very popular. That could be a good route to keep older frames going. For now it’s only Shimano and Campagnolo that still offer rim brakes for new groupsets or you have to buy ltwoo, Microsoft, trp or cane creek.

 

PS: mechanical Transmission was always going to happen to keep cost in check. Its either this or loose the value end of the market to Shimano and SRAM knows that the high end market only has so A fixed capacity to absorb new parts and bikes. For now they have to rely on 10year old deraillleur tech for bikes specced With hangers

Since it's Friday the 13th .........................................

Those Microsoft brakes sounds quite cute. Ctl-Alt-Del and your brakes are cool again ............ 😝

[DieselnDust]

3 hours ago, Mook said:

Since it's Friday the 13th .........................................

Those Microsoft brakes sounds quite cute. Ctl-Alt-Del and your brakes are cool again ............ 😝

Microshift 😂