New Road Bike: Disc or no Disc

[Thrillho]

I'm sure this has been covered many times before--but its new bike time and I am trying to decide between disc or no disc. The frame will be the same either way (either disc version or rim brake version)--and likely will be built with campy eps either way. This will be the bike that I race on next year. Most of the the races in the parts are "hilly." I am 150 lb, all-arounder type. I like the weight savings and traditional look of the rim brakes--and I like the idea of using my current wheels. But I also don't want to plunk down on a bike that is almost immediately obsolete. Give me some wisdom and insight.

[eddief]

Unless you ride in the wet, can't understand why you'd do disc. Oh yeah, maybe you want to do wide tires. You can go bigger than 28 mm with medium reach brakes and Whisky medium reach caliper fork. Less parts, less weight.

On the other hand, I was doing an 8 kilometer, 8% descent last month in France on my medium reach travel bike and I was wondering if my brake pads would catch fire or my rims would melt. I was thinking disc brakes would have provided a sense of safety in that situation.

[FlashUNC]

Campy hydro is pretty awesome, for whatever that's worth.

[Thrillho]

Originally Posted by eddief

Unless you ride in the wet, can't understand why you'd do disc. Oh yeah, maybe you want to do wide tires. You can go bigger than 28 mm with medium reach brakes and Whisky medium reach caliper fork. Less parts, less weight.

Good points. I should add that I have another bike for the wet and I have a bike with 28s and another with 32s. So we're talking strictly road racing and training--although sometimes the racing may be in the wet.

[R3awak3n]

this is a question only you can and should answer.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by r3awak3n

this is a question only you can and should answer.

+1

[hummus_aquinas]

Disc!
Consider that the only tubeless, wide rims worth using are disc-only. Even though I'm not in the market for a road bike with disc brakes I'm totally swooning over the City + County Road One:

[David Kirk]

I think it completely depends on where and how you ride -

- do you ride hilly or mountainous terrain in all weather and use carbon rims? If so get the disc.

- are your rides done on flat or rolling terrain and the only time you get wet is when you run through someones sprinkler to cool off and the main use of the brakes is so that you don't hit the garage door when you get home? If so rim brakes are the ticket.

dave

[pdmtong]

If you are going to get discs, make sure you go hydro not cable.

IMHO the only disadvantage of discs is the added weight. That is a tradeoff you will need to decide.

I do not think rim brake bikes will be obsolete. So focus on what is important to you.

And, if you have never ridden a disc road bike, go ride one before deciding. too many people have opinions on disc or electronic and never used either.

[John H.]

I say disc- mostly because I just went through this exercise and decided on disc for myself.
I am gong to sell my last rim brake bike and be 100% disc.

My reasons are:
1.) Bike are so light anyhow these days. My new Scott Addict disc is slightly under 16 lb. with a heavy cassette, and a couple parts that could be lighter. I could get it close to 15 lb.

2.) Dura-Ace 9170 disc stuff is the s**t! Light, lever feel just like the cable actuated levers, no buzz or rattle from the shifters- pretty much just like the rim brake group- only disc.
I am sure that the new Campy disc is equally cool.

3.) I am not a huge fan of rim braking on carbon wheels- especially when it is wet or even damp. Therefore, I never ride carbon rim brake wheels as daily drivers.
But all this changes with disc- I don't hesitate to run carbon wheels for disc brakes- In fact I run them 100% of the time- road, cross, everything.

4.) Now I have wheels that work across all of my bikes- fender bike, cross bike and now race type bike.

5.) Forgot this- Tire size. New Scott Addict disc comes stock with Conti GP4000 II in 700x28mm. As many of you know, this is a huge tire- almost 32mm in width. This tire fits and fits correctly- not pinched in there. This is with 410mm chainstay length.

What frame are you considering?

[mhespenheide]

In my opinion, it comes down to the rims that you want to go with. If you're planning on going for carbon rims, I'd go with disc brakes so that you don't have to worry about brake wear to the sidewalls of the rim. If you're going with aluminum rims, I'd stick to rim brakes for the ease of setup. My $0.02; your opinion may vary.

[Mikej]

disc

[54ny77]

i would wait until electromechanical braking comes to market. because it'll be 40% better than caliper systems and 17.9% better than disc. it's true, i read about it on the internet.

[m4rk540]

I have yet to see an amateur podium on a disc race bike. You may be the first, but since you're on Paceline, probably not.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by pdmtong

IMHO the only disadvantage of discs is the added weight. That is a tradeoff you will need to decide.

That's not the only disadvantage. The OP stated that this bike will be specifically for road racing. Therefore, another issue will be quick availability of spare wheels in case of a flat tire in the middle of a race. Do the races have mechanical support (wheel van)? Will there be a wheel available of the right type to fit your frame and brakes? A quick wheel change can save a race. A slow wheel change (or having to fix a flat tire due to a lack of wheel availability) can ruin a race. To ensure wheel availability, there's a good chance the OP will have to buy not just one new set of wheels, but two sets.