V-brakes or cable Discs

[Elvis]

I want to buy my son a Merida matts 40. But I'm not sure if I should take the V-brakes (shimano) or the cable Discs (tektro). Which is better?

[droo]

Can't give you an honest opinion, never tried cable discs. I can say though that if you go for v-brakes, make sure the frame and hubs are disc ready so when you upgrade to hydraulics it's just plug and play.

 

 

 

If you choose the cable disc option, you may get a disc-specific frame and fork, which looks better than having canti bosses once you've upgraded.

[Elvis]

Thanx a lot. Can anybody tell me why Cable disks are better or worse than V-brakes?

[GTfan]

The only reason I can give why I think cable disks are better, is because you don't have that grey/black rubber mark showing along your whole rim. 

[Elvis]

What about the Rim getting hot? People told me that they saw a tyre burst because the rim got so hot? Doesn't make sense to me...

[GTfan]

What about the Rim getting hot? People told me that they saw a tyre burst because the rim got so hot? Doesn't make sense to me...

 

Me neither

[Fleming]

 

What about the Rim getting hot? People told me that they saw a tyre burst because the rim got so hot? Doesn't make sense to me...

 

People rode v-brakes and cantilever brakes for years and never had problems with rims heating up to the point that the tire explodes.

 

What can happen is that the braking surface on the rim wears thinner with use and eventually gets too thin/weak to hold the tire pressure and the tire "explodes" off, ripping the braking surface on the rim apart. This doesnt happen often though, you really need to ride hard in muddy conditions alot for this to happen and even then you can easily tell when the rim needs replacing long befor it gets this bad.

 

[Johan Bornman]

V-brakes, especially the top-end parallellogram ones, are excellent - in my biased view, better than most disks. Their weakest point is the cable, which through dirt intrusion becomes gritty and sluggish.

 

By going cable disks you are getting the worst of two worlds. Discs' most redeeming factor is the hydraulic hose, that alone is worth putting up with the extra cost and weight and enernal squealing and all the other disc ailments. By swapping that for cable you're doing yourself a disservice.

 

Rim wear is mentioned as a V-brake problem but it isn't. Rims are abraded away by poor pads (older Shimano and other rubbish black pads) and by perpetual wet conditions. The latter doesn't happen in ZA and the former can be fixed with Koolstops.

 

Make sure you buy top-end V's with parallel linkages and you'll be fine.

 

 

[Johan Bornman]

What about the Rim getting hot? People told me that they saw a tyre burst because the rim got so hot? Doesn't make sense to me...

 

Well, wheels do get hot from rim brake use, but not to the extent that it is a problem.

 

It is prevalent on tandems where poor teqnique has the captain drag the back brake to scrub off speed. This easily overheats the rim and the tyre bursts quite easily under these conditions. It can be remedied by using the more effective front brake (more stopping for less heat) and only using it in short bursts instead of dragging it.

 

On a road bike you can also burtst the tyre - again by dragging the brake whilst slowly going down a steep mountain.

 

On mountain bikes the margin of error is larger and bursting a tyre through heated rims is neigh impossible. The tyres are too soft to start of with and their volume is much more forgiving than a 23mm road bike tyre pumped at 110 PSI.

 

 

[Christopher Brunsdon]

Who sell Koolstops in Cape Town and anybody know what price?

[Johan Bornman]

Koolstop is imported by Cape Cycle Systems in Cape Town. Hower, distribution is poor and they don't understand the power of that brand. I just about never see it in stock in shops.

 

I suggest you import a few pads from someone like harriscyclery.com. Make sure you get the salmon coloured pads. The come in all sorts of iterations for MTBs, Shimano, Campag, generic etc etc.

 

 

[Christopher Brunsdon]

Anybody know how good RavX pads are then? I do a steep downhill on my way home and do not feel like loosing grip and smashing into someone wall or car.

 

Asking about RavX as one of their reps is my neighbour.

 

[Bos]

V-brakes' date=' especially the top-end parallellogram ones, are excellent - in my biased view, better than most disks. Their weakest point is the cable, which through dirt intrusion becomes gritty and sluggish.

 

By going cable disks you are getting the worst of two worlds. Discs' most redeeming factor is the hydraulic hose, that alone is worth putting up with the extra cost and weight and enernal squealing and all the other disc ailments. By swapping that for cable you're doing yourself a disservice.

 

Rim wear is mentioned as a V-brake problem but it isn't. Rims are abraded away by poor pads (older Shimano and other rubbish black pads) and by perpetual wet conditions. The latter doesn't happen in ZA and the former can be fixed with Koolstops.

 

Make sure you buy top-end V's with parallel linkages and you'll be fine.

 

 

[/quote']

 

I dont Totally agree Johan. I have had cable discs for a while before upgrading to hydro's.

 

Firstly If the cable getting sluggish is a problem then It is no different with V brakes, also all the tire crap flies straight into your brakes at the back and not to much better at the front.

 

My experience was that even pertty poor quality cable discs is not bad, and in wet or slight mud, always better. Most of the problems with the pads wearing in the wer that I had once was solved by getting new pads.

 

also, the possibility of upgrading to Hydros are much more viable when all you have to get is brakes, you already have disc wheelset.

 

Re-sale value is higher with disc- wheels and discs

 

your Laaitie is probably going to buckle his wheels sometime or another and then get home with his brakes undone because they kept rubbing against his brakes, so he has to get a new rim or ride without brakes.

 

Get discs.

 

[DawieO]

Seriously, spend a bit more on entry-level hydraulic discs.

[Johan Bornman]

 

I dont Totally agree Johan. I have had cable discs for a while before upgrading to hydro's.

 

Firstly If the cable getting sluggish is a problem then It is no different with V brakes' date=' also all the tire crap flies straight into your brakes at the back and not to much better at the front. I agree that crappy cables on either are the same disadvantage but I'd still go for V-brakes over Cable discs. Rim contamination is just not an issue. Unless of course you are riding through 6-inch mud that would obviously overwhelm rims but not discs. Anything in-between, rim brakes are fine.

 

My experience was that even pertty poor quality cable discs is not bad, and in wet or slight mud, always better. Most of the problems with the pads wearing in the wer that I had once was solved by getting new pads.

Some discs are not rated for sintered metal pads and you have to use resin pads which perform much, much poorer than good V-brake pads. Resin pads may last only 30kms in wet conditions whereas V-brake pads and rims will last many tens of thousands of KMs with lost of wet rides thrown in.

 

also, the possibility of upgrading to Hydros are much more viable when all you have to get is brakes, you already have disc wheelset. I agree fully.

 

Re-sale value is higher with disc- wheels and discs  Good point, never thought of that.

 

your Laaitie is probably going to buckle his wheels sometime or another and then get home with his brakes undone because they kept rubbing against his brakes, so he has to get a new rim or ride without brakes. That is a valid point. Disc brake wheels are less susceptible to wheel imperfections. Unfortunately most wheel manufacuters think this is a license for producing poor wheels.

 

Get discs. If the choice is cheap discs or good V's, get the latter.

 

[/quote']

 

 

[Konaman]

I have been using Avid SL v-brakes with koolstop pads for years. They work great.