What

[dirtrider]

Ok' date=' I am a bit confused here, but it seems that I am set for disappointment buying a MTB to commute in rainy weather.? I was under the impression I would be better of in traffic on a MTB with disk brakes than on the road bike in the rain with cars around me.[/quote']

 

 

 

Commuting on MTB is blerrie hard work . Commuted a few times between Eldoraigne and Sandton City on MTB . After hopping the 23th pavemunt it gets a bit to much .

[Jules]

Even experienced riders will be grabbing handfuls of brake on certain downhill. The Subaru Sabie downhill springs to mind. At the bottom of that downhill my hands were exhausted with V brakes. I haven't tried it on disks yet, but I'd imagine the fatigue wouldn't be as bad. The reason for this is fairly simple to understand. Disks have lower tolerances and hence higher leverage. Therefore less hand power needed to stop.

 

 

 

There are other advantages which have been mentioned.

 

 

 

My pet hate is the cables starting to develop friction in the housing and then the brake lever not springing back.

 

 

 

Another is that when you ride through a river and get sand on your rims. The first few times you brake sounds horrible. Yes, a bit of a silly gripe, but it can't be good for your rims.

[Johan Bornman]

It is not a technique ' date=' it happens out of panic cause the brakes does not want to work !!! Johann as I said that book stuff is a load of sheeet . [/quote']

 

Learn to control your panic and learn how to read the conditions on the road. Technology is not a solution to IQ problems.

 

What do you mean book stuff is crap. Are you suggesting that science doesn't count when it comes to discussing the merits of different brake technologies. If that's what you're saying, why then don't we just see who can come up with the cleverest marketing quote?

 

 

[dirtrider]

That is what I am saying yes ! White coat sience does not apply to real world situations ! A marketing quote would just be another lie !

[MintSauce]

In very wet conditions v's do make more sense as JB rightly states that a set of disc pads can be worn out in a single ride.

 

As a sidenote, it must be said that the nature of the terrain plays a role here. How exactly I can't quite explain as I haven't really investigated. I have had this happen twice on 90-120minute rides in Tokai. On the other hand, my pads showed no ill effects after a pissing wet 2h30min ride on Table Mountain....?

 

 

As for the stopping power argument, I will say this as long as you guys state that "enough power is enough" or more braking power is useless.

 

The more power the brakes have, the less hand force is required to activate the brakes. Saying that if you can skid the wheel or lob yourself over the bars then you have enough power is a little short-sighted.

 

If you don't ever suffer from forearm pump or stiff fingers from hanging onto your brakes then it makes no difference to you.

 

Throw yourself down Plum Pudding on Table Mountain and we'll talk again. You can barely hang onto the brakes by the time you reach the bottom.

 

I'd gladly take all the power I can get.

 

 

 

[TNT1]

 

White coat science does not apply to real world situations

 

OMG... So all those airliners really do stay in the air on prayer alone?

 

[Nancy Drew]

I am a girl..... I know nothing about bicycle science or mechanics, but what I do know is that when it rained on the 4th stage in the Sabie Experience a few years back I had absolutely no/nada/zip/zero way of slowing down on the downhills as my V-brakes failed me... I have ridden in the same conditions with my disks and can breathe easy that I am able to slow down or stop on a muddy downhill... my 0.02c Nancy Drew2008-09-30 08:39:41

[Jules]

Yep, one needs to differentiate between braking force and required hand power. I've done downhills where my hands are aching afterward.

[dirtrider]

 

White coat science does not apply to real world situations

OMG... So all those airliners really do stay in the air on prayer alone?

 

 

 

History, and many aviation experts, said it couldn't be done.

 

 

 

It was not possible to design a commercial jetliner that could travel at nearly the speed of sound and be efficient enough for airlines to want to buy it, and affordable enough for ordinary passengers to fly on it.

 

 

 

 

[Jules]

I am a girl..... I know nothing?about bicycle science or mechanics' date=' but what I do know is that when it rained on the 4th stage in the Sabie Experience a few years back I had absolutely no/nada/zip/zero way of slowing down on the downhills as my V-brakes failed me... I have ridden in the same conditions with my disks and can breathe easy that I am able to slow down or stop on a muddy downhill... my 0.02c [/quote']

 

 

 

ND you're not alone. There were similar comments made by novice testers in the Bicycling's review of entry-level MTB's.

 

 

 

If it's just the marketers that have made the disks popular, then they've done a helluva good job. Now if only it was possible to find a set for under R1k and preferably under R500.....

[TNT1]

 

 

White coat science does not apply to real world situations

OMG... So all those airliners really do stay in the air on prayer alone?

 

 

 

History' date=' and many aviation experts, said it couldn't be done.

 

 

 

It was not possible to design a commercial jetliner that could travel at nearly the speed of sound and be efficient enough for airlines to want to buy it, and affordable enough for ordinary passengers to fly on it.

 

 

 

[/quote']

 

And then the men in white coats, armed with science came and made it happen....

 

[dirtrider]

Once again you are so right , after they foooked it up first ! BTW maybe you should go and read up the the first pioneers of flight and see how much paper work they actaully did .

[TNT1]

I'm sure they made plenty of paper airplanes....

 

Thanks for the answers guys. Appreciate it.

 

Going to burn rubber on the hondazooki now.

 

[jabbathemutt007]

 

 

And then the men in white coats' date=' armed with science came and made it happen....

[/quote']

 

Next you'll be telling me the earth isn't flat and is only 10,000 years old.

 

[Johan Bornman]

I am a girl..... I know nothing about bicycle science or mechanics' date=' but what I do know is that when it rained on the 4th stage in the Sabie Experience a few years back I had absolutely no/nada/zip/zero way of slowing down on the downhills as my V-brakes failed me... I have ridden in the same conditions with my disks and can breathe easy that I am able to slow down or stop on a muddy downhill... my 0.02c [/quote']

 

Nancy, your example is relavant, but not necessarilly valid. I'm taking a guess but you probably had standard brake pads in there as supplied by the bike manufacturer. There's a big difference between a salmon Koolstop and a Shimano pad. A very big difference.

 

Further, today's bikes specc'd with Vs are lower end ones fitted with non-parallellogram Vs which are quite a bit worse than XT or XTR Vs with paralellograms. This special linkage keeps the pad square on the rim and makes for even wear and prevents pad dive, a serious performance reducer.

 

I guess you had a combination of both.

 

The biggest enemy of Vs lies in the cables. They're inefficient and prone to grit and muddy water that makes them sluggish. A gritty cable can make the difference between stopping and not stopping on long descends. As Mint describes, they tax your forearm muscles.

 

I'd love to try some hydraulic Vs lie Maguras one day. That would be a direct comparison.

 

[Jules]

JB, surely it is the extra leverage offered by disks that saves the forearm muscles more than gritty cables?

 

 

 

Similar to V brakes vs cantilevers. The former have more leverage than the latter.