Does anyone ride a disc brake on the road bike?

[Kane]

It is obvious to me that mechanical disc brakes are infinitely superior to rim brakes and only slightly heavier. A front brake would be the only one needed since the rear brake does very little other than lock the rear wheel.
I have seen some litespeed touring frames with disc brakes but in a world of tradition, it is time for a change.

Of course 98% of the forks used today are carbon and the question is a mute point in that application. But, it may be another valid point in favor of the superiority of steel forks vs. carbon. Maybe Douglas will weigh in on this issue.

-Welding on a steel fork $100
-Single Avid brake $100
-Disc road wheel with disc hub $200 to 500.

It is starting to get expensive unless you are integrating the purchase with a new custom frame. I have $450 invested into my Stainless steel custom fork with Cantilever tabs. The fork was made by a local builder Jeff Richmond and he did a beautifull job. I'm not sure that it is thick enough to mount a disc tab on the distal end of the fork stay. I'll get by SyCip one of these days to have them answer the question.

I just put some Ritchey Red pads (Mattenhouser compound) on my Cantilever XTR brakes that I use on my Blue Ridge Litespeed bike. The black Koolstop pads did little to slow the bike from day one. The Ritchey pads work a lot better. Ironically, they are manufactured by Koolstop for Ritchey.

[DfCas]

I've had them on a cyclocross bike and I use them on mtb's,of course.They bring some conditions with them that make their use a harder choice.

The dropouts should not be normal,rear facing.There have been cases of the wheel pulling out under heaving braking,so simply adding on disc mounts on an existing fork is dangerous.They should be stright or forward facing.

The legs on an existing fork are not designed for the forces,and will flex or chatter under heavy braking.This brings up the question:do you beef up both legs,or one?Obviously,ride quality will not be the same as a rim brake fork.

As far as carbon versus steel,I've had both in disc form and the carbon was far better.Less chatter,and better ride quality.I didn't care that the steel was twice as heavy,it just rode like a tank.

Radial lacing is not compatible,so most road wheels out there can't be used.

I don't think a rigid fork is a good platform for disc brakes,in my experiences.

[gdw]

Disc brakes are fine for some mountain biking but overkill on a road bike. The weight penalty is real - special hub, rotor, brake, cable housing, beefed up fork- and they really don't have any great advantage over conventional brakes in performance unless you ride in the rain regularly or constantly make panic stops. Why go through the expense and hassle for so little gain.

[David Kirk]

Disc brakes are very cool. The larger the disc the better the braking. Can you imagine if the disc was as large in diameter as the rim. That would kick butt.

Oh wait...never mind.

Dave

[christian]

I agree with Dave.

Discs may have a point for really really muddy conditions, but I've never found that the "compromise" that the rims work both as brake rotors and tire-attachments has any impact. And that includes a full-on-gonzo descent from Fuschertorl to Fusch. Even after that, I could touch my rims bare hands without a problem.

- Christian

[dirtdigger88]

Warping and Brake Rub-

You can't avoid them with disk brakes- spin a car or motorcycle wheel with disk brakes- you can hear and feel the rub- same thing with bicycles- That rub is a loss of power on every rotation of the wheel. The stopping power is stronger with disk- but is it needed? I stop just fine with my rim brakes- I also may be incorrect- but I dont think disks are legal on road or cross races- though I have never seen an official toss someone out of a race- Disk are kinda cool for someone else- I will stick to rim brakes and be just fine

Jason

[Sacha White]

In my opinion, it really comes down to the conditions you will be riding in. If you are regularly riding in foul weather, then the responsiveness of a disc brake IS better than a rim brake. In wet weather your rim will pick up road grime, mud etc. Disc rotors do not pick up road grime and mud, so your braking is not affected. Also, rims can be worn out rather quickly if you are riding (and braking) a lot in foul weather, due to the abrasiveness of what your wheel picks up from the road.

Having said that, I would go for a disc set up on a commuter/ training bike, but if weight was an issue ie; cross racing, or road racing, I would stick with rim brakes.

[Brian Smith]

I just put some Ritchey Red pads (Mattenhouser compound) on my Cantilever XTR brakes that I use on my Blue Ridge Litespeed bike. The black Koolstop pads did little to slow the bike from day one. The Ritchey pads work a lot better. Ironically, they are manufactured by Koolstop for Ritchey.

The red compound is not the compound used for the long-produced Scott-Mathauser pads; that compound is living on in Kool-Stop land as "Salmon." The salmon compound lasts longer than the red and stops as well. The black is a Kool Stop product too, just different spec.

[Kane]

Brian,
Thanks for the red vs. scott/mattenhouser info. I knew Mattenhouser from my days in Sun Valley. He used to do the timing on our Wednesday time trial in the summer. Interestingly, his 'real' invention was a hydrolic rim brake circa 1972. The pads were invented to improve the durability of the parts associated with the hydrolic brakes. Mr. Scott (of Scott goggle fame) bought the invention and got his name on the product. Scott was a Maseratti owner an a local curmudgeon (sp?). His letters to the editor of the local paper were brilliant.

Frankly, I think that unless you are racing the disc brakes on the front end would be an improvement for everyone. In my case forearm tendonosis was aggravated by the really poor quality black Kool Stop Cantilever pads. I have serious doubts that more than 1% of the forum readers would be greatly hindered in their performance by the weight penalty of a mechanical Avid on the front end of the bike. Although, it is likely that more 1% would feel the novel feeling of the rear wheel lifting off the ground during an already anxious moment as they adapted to the added power of the brakes.

Cheers,

Kane

[kenyee]

I'm sure Beloki would wish he could do that descent from a few years ago again w/ disc brakes :-)

It adds a little bit of a safety margin, assuming road forks are strong enough to sustain the extra stress...

[zap]

You bring up a good point. Disc brakes will not heat the rims so tub. glue won't get soft therefore added protection from tubulars rolling off.

If I were specing a tandem today, I would go for f & r disc brakes. I seriously considered it back in '92, but the technology just wasn't there.

I would love to work with a framebuilder to design and build a clean internal brake line system, but our tandem still works quite well.

[vaxn8r]

You bring up a good point. Disc brakes will not heat the rims so tub. glue won't get soft therefore added protection from tubulars rolling off.

If I were specing a tandem today, I would go for f & r disc brakes. I seriously considered it back in '92, but the technology just wasn't there.

I would love to work with a framebuilder to design and build a clean internal brake line system, but our tandem still works quite well.
A new tandem is not on our radar but I am always thinking ahead. I personally can't get used to discs on a road tandem. They look so clunky. On a mountain bike they are so cool. Anyway, I know the tandem/disc brake is a perfect marriage, especially for long winding descents like I like. If I can get over the "look".....

[zap]

VAX-I agree the "look" would be a little odd. But I wonder if one could smooth out the transition some on the fork and rear stay to the calipers.

I better stop :rolleyes:

[ols]

Dirtdigger - you are correct that the UCI disallowed disc brakes for international cyclocross races after November 2003. I think they may be OK at the non-elite level though (but I'm not sure)

http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=466

[vandeda]

Disc brakes are fine for some mountain biking but overkill on a road bike. The weight penalty is real - special hub, rotor, brake, cable housing, beefed up fork- and they really don't have any great advantage over conventional brakes in performance unless you ride in the rain regularly or constantly make panic stops. Why go through the expense and hassle for so little gain.

ahhhhh ... i've ridden in the rain plenty on my '88 Centurion, even though it had the original cheap Araya rims, super-flexy Dia-Comp brakes, and no-name brake pads. Braking was pretty much the same in the rain as in the dry ... never saw any real downgrade, only when a bit of grit/dirt made it's way onto the rim. Of all the downpours that bike has seen, never once have i wished i had disc brakes. Plus .... disc brakes would make mounting my front pannier rack & bags tricky, and probably expensive as the rack at the very least would be custom.

On the mtn bike yeah, especially in our muddy muddy springs ... and one of my favorite trails has mud nearly year round ... there the disc brakes really shine.

Why not some hydraulic rim brakes ... :D

dan

[Too Tall]

It is interesting "hearing" the responses and knowing that each has regional and use-specific bias. Sasha rides in nasty wet muck...I used to race Mtn. in similar conditions in West Va. and no question you could wipe out a set of pads and do some serious wear on your rims in one race, in that case a disk would be welcome :)

A dual pivot road brake with proper pads and a tall'ish alum. rim is all you need on a tandem. This setup is good for everything except loaded touring where weight and momentum will likely overcome your ability to manage rim/heat buildup. In that case a simple drag brake or mechanical disk makes sense. I remain suspect of torsional stress on a tandem fr. wheel using a very strong disk brake. Without an overbuilt wheel I might be leery. Can others with insight help me out on that?

Haha, you wanna talk about my fav. brake of all time? Riding my Raleigh Tourist to the Post Office using solid rod brakes bwwwwaaa hahahaha...yeah braking is "conceptual" at best...they are waaay better than any disk fer sher ;) whooopieeee

I'm not being a retro-grump just think disk technology still is not "there" as a replacement for rim brakes in many instances and it is not a no brainer replacement for road bikes.

[Russell]

might not be a bad idea on a fixie if you have a lot of rolling terrain

[zap]

TT-front wheels with 36 spokes and 3x lacing is sufficient if using a 160 or 180 disc. Not sure about 200+ monster discs though. Torque still has to get to the hub one way or another (rim or disc).

I agree that for most riding canti's or dp are sufficient. But when going up and down Blue Ridge Parkway, I just have visions of scaring the .... out of zip on descents when using disc's to brake at the last moment.

By the way, discs are back in for UCI cyco events.

[Ahneida Ride]

I'm runing Mavic CXP-33, Record Dual Pivot up front and single Pivot rear
with KoolStop Salmon pads.

After cleaning the rims with a Mavic Eraser/alcohol to remove the old black Campy Pad Crud. My brakes may work a bit too good. I'm afraid to activate the front dual pivot, and I'm pedaling around 280 pounds.

But there is a heat issue. Decending Okemo Mt in Vermont, I must stop
2-3 times just to let the rims cool off.

I've often comtemplated a rear disk, if for not other reason then to just
dissipate the heat.