The value of rim brake bikes seems to be plummeting

[Jeff N.]

I remain firm in my conviction... No road bikes with:
1. Fat tires
2. Battery-powered groups.
3. Disc brakes. My motto: "Keep it simple, people!"
I know...I'm hopelessly old-school.

[PaMtbRider]

As the owner of a new Di2, hydraulic disc, gravel bike I can say the technology is fantastic. Any new bike I purchase will most likely have both of those attributes. That doesn't mean I am going to give away any of my rim brake bikes to fund a new purchase. For now I plan to keep and ride the bikes I have and wait for the next great must have thing.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by mtechnica

Yeah the trend towards bigger tires is probably a significant contributor as well. I was taking to a guy who rides for some team, he says many people are racing on 28c tires now.

I've gone through my pics from last years Tour of Utah and really don't see hardly anyone on discs or larger tires.



I see one on discs in the breakaway group.



This was a mountain stage with a fast, steep, curvy descent.

[oldpotatoe]

i don't think people worried about having the best brakes, but they sure as hell didn't want bad brakes. and the accompanying levers are actually the uglier versions. but those wheels.....
once you convinced the new bike buyer, new years resolutionist, tri guy, mid life crisis guy, etc. it was done.

Campag Europe asked the big boy pros ALL the time, what could be improved about their stuff. 'Better brakes' never came up. But marketing is a powerful tool..Creating demand works everyday. By saying 'discs more better' implies there is something wrong with rim brakes on a road bike..
'Alloy chainring bolts are way lighter'..but steel CR bolts aren't 'heavy', type thing..Win on Sunday, sell on Monday...

Without starting ANOTHER disc brake thread..Disc brakes have advantages AND disadvantages(weight, complexity, cost)....throw in axle standards, etc..

They are here, for good or ill..even my 8YO grand daughter's $500 24inch bike, 'Cleary', 5 speed internal rear hub..has Hydro Disc Brakes...

[cash05458]

Agree with most here...more than fine with all my rim brake setups...just great deals as well all around and they will prolly get even better as this thing goes on...hell, I still am fine with 23 mm tires and couldn't really care less about gravel...the bike industry has a long history with bandwagons...all aboard I say...

[coolplanetbikes]

I spend approximately equal time on my road, commuter, mountain, gravel and fat bike. And I can honestly say I have zero interest in adding the hassle of disc brake maintenance, weight and cost to the only bike that really doesn't need them. I get the tire clearance thing, and have discs on my gravel bike, but they really don't feel all that different than a nice set of TRP Mini Vs. Seems like every year I have to figure out how to bleed a new piece of hydro equipment... TRP makes a cable op hydro caliper but they're bulky and kinda ugly.

[Red Tornado]

If I were in the market for a new bike, MTB/road/whatever, sure I would consider one with disc wheels. Also like the thru axle concept, so there's another point in favor of. However, that's only if I am buying an ADDITIONAL bike. No way I'm getting rid of an existing rim brake bike to replace with a disc bike. I don't have that kind of disposable income.

I have one disc bike (1X MTB), and I like it. The other MTB and road bikes are rim. Next road bike might be a disc.

[colker]

The biggest revolution in road bike technology is something really simple: the wide rim. It´s game changing. Finally clinchers catch up to tubulars.
Next huge advance is tubeless but the technology still asks too much of the rider.

Discs are a solution to a problem that never existed in road riding. It only destroys what is already working making great bikes obsolete and heavier bikes the new norm. It makes great wheels obsolete and gives very little back.


So instead of complaining i try to make the best out of it: buy rim brake stuff when it´s cheap. Buy tubulars... and be happy.

My bikes are not investment. I use them. If it´s not as "valuable" as before i won´t be as mad when it breaks.

[kppolich]

2 years ago I didn't own a single disc brake, electronic shifting bike for road or cx. The writing on the wall said flat mount disc, 12mm TA's are coming and the looming value of rim brake bikes was unknown. I'm super happy with my decision to liquidate my rim brake stuff when I did. I basically got two lightly used hydro disc/electronic bikes for the equal value that I sold my used rim brake bikes/wheel sets for. If I did that today, it wouldn't even be close.

Road:
TA is just easier. Safer? Maybe, but nothing is safe when going 30mph and having sharp edges exposed at the TA lever or disc rotor.

CX: Everyone knows the fastest cross racer is the one who slows down the least. The bike does not matter, nor do the brakes rim vs. disc. I've won many CAT3 races on a single speed, steel, canti bike.


Overall, I really enjoy this current standard of 12mm TA and disc brakes. I went a bit further and have the exact same 140mm SRAM rotors on my (3) wheelsets for easy plug and play between bikes if needed. Compared to rear spacings and such with QR it's really no different, except it stops better when it's wet, if you are into that.

Electronic - pretty cool, i just wish frame makers would design the cable inlets a bit bigger so I could run a hose with the compression fitting and barb/olive installed so I didn't have to cut/replace those each time.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

I've gone through my pics from last years Tour of Utah and really don't see hardly anyone on discs or larger tires.



I see one on discs in the breakaway group.



This was a mountain stage with a fast, steep, curvy descent.

Dude on discs is winning. Discs are for winners...

[commandcomm]

I have a BMC Road+ that is disc and TA that I use for a commuter. I like the TA, but no won over on the disc. I feel it is not necessary on a road bike for my riding. Overall, a rim brake is nothing more than a really large disc.

I have been watching the rim brake bike market and it is going low and lower. Especially the steel rim brake market. I have seen bikes that are hanging out there for sale that would have been snapped up quick at the prices offered in the past.

[weiwentg]

Let me throw out a tangential question: any speculation on when the component manufacturers cease making high-quality rim brakes? (i.e. at least 105/Centaur/Rival level brakes)

I'm going to guess SRAM stops first, and Campy stops last. I have no idea when that will happen. I prefer for any new performance-oriented bikes I buy to be disc and not rim brake, but I'd like to keep my current rim brake bikes, thanks very much. I'd like to update my roadie when the R8000 groupset wears out.

[benb]

Originally Posted by davidb

From the bicycle sales side, rim brakes are fading away fast. Many brands are down to few if any rim brakes. Bicycles with 7,8 or 9spd. drivetrains are often rim. Above $5,000 almost nobody is looking or asking about bicycles with rim brakes. Try a thru-axle, just as quick and almost foolproof. No more bicycles coming in with QRs spun tight, wheels in misaligned. To the OP yes, prices are falling. Maybe people are buying the dream bicycle now that it is second hand.

I don't even really understand how the bike shops are staying in business with the % of big ticket bikes on the floor these days.

It seems like the bike shops even 10-15 years ago were like 90% affordable simple bikes with a small selection of fancy expensive stuff for the hardcore dedicated cyclists.

Now you walk in and the # of $5000+ MTBs is crazy. And they've got all these $5000+ eBikes sitting on the floor, and almost all the road bikes are super expensive too.

I've yet to see anyone riding one of the $5000+ super fancy Trek/Specialized eMTBs or commuting eBikes out in the real world and yet they've been taking up significant floor space for years now.

If the stuff is selling there's gotta be another weird cycling fad going on and we're going to see disc road bikes & super fancy MTBs and eBikes get dumped on the use market in a few years too.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by benb

I don't even really understand how the bike shops are staying in business with the % of big ticket bikes on the floor these days.

It seems like the bike shops even 10-15 years ago were like 90% affordable simple bikes with a small selection of fancy expensive stuff for the hardcore dedicated cyclists.

Now you walk in and the # of $5000+ MTBs is crazy. And they've got all these $5000+ eBikes sitting on the floor, and almost all the road bikes are super expensive too.

I've yet to see anyone riding one of the $5000+ super fancy Trek/Specialized eMTBs or commuting eBikes out in the real world and yet they've been taking up significant floor space for years now.

If the stuff is selling there's gotta be another weird cycling fad going on and we're going to see disc road bikes & super fancy MTBs and eBikes get dumped on the use market in a few years too.

Seriously

The shop I currently (ugh) work at is more traditional in that sense. Given the push and bombardment we get almost daily, I think many shops are really selling the financing angle for these bigger ticket bikes. Bikes and the bike industry are all over the place right now. It's also funny that some people scoff at a $850 basic bike but seem to think a crappy $1500.00 E-Bike is a bargain worth considering.

Bikes are so weird.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by weiwentg

Let me throw out a tangential question: any speculation on when the component manufacturers cease making high-quality rim brakes? (i.e. at least 105/Centaur/Rival level brakes)

I'm going to guess SRAM stops first, and Campy stops last. I have no idea when that will happen. I prefer for any new performance-oriented bikes I buy to be disc and not rim brake, but I'd like to keep my current rim brake bikes, thanks very much. I'd like to update my roadie when the R8000 groupset wears out.

Great dual pivot brakes have been made for over 30 years..so a 'few' of them out there. I wouldn't worry about it but yup, sram first to make a lot of their own stuff obsolete, shimano well after and Campag last...