Riding around in rain makes me think discs might b good on road bikes

[bicycletricycle]

I commute year around but it's flat so I never get into too much trouble in the rain. I was just out on a ride and got stuck in a downpour and my brakes didn't really work on a descent. Wasn't super bad but got me thinking, maybe discs on the road will be nice. If they can't get rid of the weight penalty than maybe racers will just use them on rainy day race bikes.

[ultraman6970]

Some regular brake pads are just bad for rain. My personal view of discs is that now you will need to change the pads maybe yearly or each 2 years (maybe even together with the discs) versus 7 or 10 years in a set of campy or shimano brakes. Caliper is still way cheaper than discs IMO.

[fiataccompli]

I have a road bike with disc brakes.....can't say for riding on roads and with aluminum brake tracks there's a great advantage. Type of pads with rim/caliper brakes can make a world of difference, but comparing most the pads I have on calipers with my disc roadie, my conclusion is "Nyah..." What IS nice with the road disc setup is that on a particularly gritty, wet ride I don't end up feeling like I just machined 6 months of normal use our of the braking surface of the rim. In my case, the grit and any-surface-with-impunity was a factor...

[jtakeda]

Some regular brake pads are just bad for rain. My personal view of discs is that now you will need to change the pads maybe yearly or each 2 years (maybe even together with the discs) versus 7 or 10 years in a set of campy or shimano brakes. Caliper is still way cheaper than discs IMO.

I have to change my brake pads every 6 months. What kind of pads are you using that last that long?

[Ken Robb]

I have to change my brake pads every 6 months. What kind of pads are you using that last that long?

More hills in Oakland than Rhode Island?

[ultraman6970]

Campagnolo ones. But sincerely? I never had to change pads ever, got a set of brakes from a forumite like a year ago and those pads are way far from the "swap me now" marks.

Even when I was racing zillions of years ago I never changed pads, in a matter of fact I sold my 20 y/o 105sc calipers to somebody like 4 years ago maybe, the pads were still in almost new condition even the guy thought were new.

If you ran out of pads quite fast wonder if its a riding style thing?? I barely use brakes, actually only when needed, even down hill I just touch the brakes when needed.

[jtakeda]

The pads run out the fastest on my work bike so it probably is a riding style thing.

Still 7 years is a ridiculous life span for pads.

[ultraman6970]

Dunno what to tell you man, well I barely ride compared with many of you guys so that have some impact but even when racing I never had to get new pads.

For example if i get 1500 miles in a year is way too much, so obviously the stuff will last a lot longer than your case.

[jtakeda]

Makes sense. I usually ride about 800-850 miles a month.

[ultraman6970]

envy you... well when I was racing i was getting like 500 km per week that is not a lot anyways, but even that way never had the necessity to change pads. In a matter of fact remember guys liked shimano pads way more than the campy ones because performed better in wet conditions. Campy remember had pads for rainy days back in the day from what somebody told me.

[jamesau]

Pads matter. Koolstop Salmons for rim brakes. It's not like braking when dry, but they'd be worth trying if you haven't before.

[mudhead]

+1 for koolstop salmons or dual compound. They work very well with clean machined sidewalls and their lifespan seems decent. I like the concept of disc brakes for mixed use riding - dirt/gravel/road, not certain I'd find a big benefit on a road only bike.

[MattTuck]

The pads run out the fastest on my work bike so it probably is a riding style thing.

Still 7 years is a ridiculous life span for pads.


When I moved from Boston to the country in New Hampshire, I was amazed at the difference riding. On a good day, when riding in the city, you still need to stop probably 4 to 5 times per mile on average. There are days that I can go do a 20 mile loop here and touch the brakes maybe 2 or 3 times. One of which is to slow down at the end of the ride.

[Peter P.]

Another benefit of discs is no brake dust. In the rain that can make a bike messy, requiring more frequent cleaning.

[KidWok]

What IS nice with the road disc setup is that on a particularly gritty, wet ride I don't end up feeling like I just machined 6 months of normal use our of the braking surface of the rim. In my case, the grit and any-surface-with-impunity was a factor...

I went to disc brakes on my Seattle commuter bike specifically for this reason...I was killing my old wheels commuting on them. Fortunately at that time I was working at a publication and had test product to wear out instead of my own stuff.

Some regular brake pads are just bad for rain. My personal view of discs is that now you will need to change the pads maybe yearly or each 2 years (maybe even together with the discs) versus 7 or 10 years in a set of campy or shimano brakes. Caliper is still way cheaper than discs IMO.

IMHO...tektro black stock pads are the WORST. So hard and metal-attracting. I've got a nice collection of them here because I always swap out and been wondering if someone with those Mavic Exalith rims would want to burn through them.

If under the above-mentioned wet gritty conditions, disc brakes would be a bit more cost-saving I think. Rebuilding a worn out wheel would be a lot of money and time. I've seen rims worn out from two winters of commuting. Replacing pads and rotors would at least save the cost of rebuild and rim.

Tai

[Mikej]

Do any of the city commuters on discs have problems with oil / petroleum / street residue contaminating the discs? As an off road mtb disc user, I love them, but it does not take much to contaminate the surface. I have been using xtr w/ metallic pads and have had to "cook them off" several times this year due to my double duty street use, which I suspect is supplying the grime.

[Mark McM]

Dunno what to tell you man, well I barely ride compared with many of you guys so that have some impact but even when racing I never had to get new pads.

For example if i get 1500 miles in a year is way too much, so obviously the stuff will last a lot longer than your case.

I just recently replaced a set pads on one of my bikes after 16 years and approx. 25,000 miles. During the same interval, I've replaced countless sets of pads on my MTB, and a few sets of pads on my 'cross bike.

In my experience, in addition to riding style, environment and terrain are larger variables than time/mileage. Wet, gritty conditions can wear out pads in a very short time. The bike with the 16 year old pads was ridden in hilly terrain, but rarely in the rain.

[rice rocket]

I commute year around but it's flat so I never get into too much trouble in the rain. I was just out on a ride and got stuck in a downpour and my brakes didn't really work on a descent. Wasn't super bad but got me thinking, maybe discs on the road will be nice. If they can't get rid of the weight penalty than maybe racers will just use them on rainy day race bikes.

You can buy 12.x lb off-the-shelf bikes now, even with a 2 lb penalty, you'd still be ballasting to meet the (arbitrary) UCI 15 lb limit.

[Sheldon4209]

I ride a tandem with a rear Avid mechanical disc brake. It does stop in the rain much better than rim brakes. A few years ago my stoker/wife and I were on a week long tour and rode down steep hills in the rain. On one hill, a car turned in front of us. The disc brake got us stopped and avoided an accident.