Mainstreaming the disc brake

[bthornt]

Specialized Allez sprint will move to disc brakes in 2019.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/...disc-for-2019/

[Burnette]

I really like it in the Sagan Collection color, "Dark Teal/Charcoal".

$1,750. At some point it will be on sale at an even lower price.

[ptourkin]

According to Road Bike Action, the product manager says Spec road will be all disc in the very near future.

[BdaGhisallo]

The industry is doing their utmost to shift everyone to discs. Their efforts will only accelerate I fear.

[ultraman6970]

Spech wants to pull cr@p again eh?... well no comments...

[dddd]

I see this as being like the clothing industry, which manages to sell many times more clothes by managing an endless calendar of "runway" events intended to encourage buyers to want something different each year, leaving last year's style to gather dust in closets and thrift stores.
Once the disc changeover reaches it's peak, a new system will already have been planned and designed to take it's place, to make buyers want something different once again. The industry players work in secret to build their better mouse traps, but are willing to collude in order to assure that standards exist for interchangeability between brands, and also license their patented technology to one another.

I could see hydraulic pistons being incorporated into the forms of fork crowns and seatstay arches, essentially making the frame and fork into the calipers, squeezing on new-tech rim brake surfaces.
Marketing would then tout the suppleness of the front and rear ends, as the new system would allow symmetric loading of the fork legs, allowing more flex to be designed in (just as today's rim brake framesets can be designed). And the media would be tapped to generate a unanimous chorus of approval, so all of the advantages of rim brakes could now be used to promote a new, standardized system that has been carefully engineered with a new rim diameter to be incompatible with any existing parts.

There will still be plenty of parts available for repairs to all existing bikes, just as with 27" rims today (you can still buy wheels, rims and tires, just not the highest-level ones). The parts supply market for old bikes still generates money after all, but the competitor and the affluent poseur (fashion competitor) will be buying the new stuff, and that's where the big money comes from.

[EDS]

Originally Posted by dddd

I see this as being like the clothing industry, which manages to sell many times more clothes by managing an endless calendar of "runway" events intended to encourage buyers to want something different each year, leaving last year's style to gather dust in closets and thrift stores.
Once the disc changeover reaches it's peak, a new system will already have been planned and designed to take it's place, to make buyers want something different once again. The industry players work in secret to build their better mouse traps, but are willing to collude in order to assure that standards exist for interchangeability between brands, and also license their patented technology to one another.

I could see hydraulic pistons being incorporated into the forms of fork crowns and seatstay arches, essentially making the frame and fork into the calipers, squeezing on new-tech rim brake surfaces.
Marketing would then tout the suppleness of the front and rear ends, as the new system would allow symmetric loading of the fork legs, allowing more flex to be designed in (just as today's rim brake framesets can be designed). And the media would be tapped to generate a unanimous chorus of approval, so all of the advantages of rim brakes could now be used to promote a new, standardized system that has been carefully engineered with a new rim diameter to be incompatible with any existing parts.

There will still be plenty of parts available for repairs to all existing bikes, just as with 27" rims today (you can still buy wheels, rims and tires, just not the highest-level ones). The parts supply market for old bikes still generates money after all, but the competitor and the affluent poseur (fashion competitor) will be buying the new stuff, and that's where the big money comes from.

Sometimes it is fun to buy new stuff.

[dustyrider]

Originally Posted by ptourkin

According to Road Bike Action, the product manager says Spec road will be all disc in the very near future.

This has to be fake news. Every single thread on the paceline about disc brakes has multiple people saying, “caliper brakes arent going anywhere” or “you’ll always be able to buy caliper brakes.”

[quickfeet]

Originally Posted by dustyrider

This has to be fake news. Every single thread on the paceline about disc brakes has multiple people saying, “caliper brakes arent going anywhere” or “you’ll always be able to buy caliper brakes.”

Can you still buy rim brakes in mtn and cx?

[dddd]

Originally Posted by quickfeet

Can you still buy rim brakes in mtn and cx?

The difference here with off-road bikes is that a good percentage of such bikes will be ridden in conditions where mud will grind away at the rim's braking surfaces, and where dings in the rims will be an expected result of riding over rocks with lower tire pressures.

So rim brakes will generally exist on mtbs only at the lower end of the price spectrum and with bikes such as "comfort bikes" that are not expected to be used for challenging off-road riding conditions. The disc brakes found on box-store bikes are often bad enough that rim brakes would be a huge improvement! One should not dismiss the influence of the wide range of box-store bikes that millions of Americans buy as their entry into off-roading, some of which are an excellent platform for upgrades as needed (such as the stock 6-pound fork) as the rider reaches higher levels of ability.
I bought this one at WalMart, it had disc brakes that HAD to be replaced once I was doing serious riding on it. Rim brakes would have been better from the get-go but It had no provisions for such and the "Plus"-width rims appear to be painted.

[duff_duffy]

I’m waiting for coaster brakes to make a return. No levers, no cables, no brake shoes, no rim rub and so many other benefits. The marketing people will have a field day! I don’t think my average speed or overall enjoyment on my next ride will change at all whether I’m in disc, rim, or coaster brake for that matter. Fixed gear is a different story...

[duff_duffy]

I’m waiting for coaster brakes to make a return. No levers, no cables, no brake shoes, no rim rub and so many other benefits. The marketing people will have a field day! I don’t think my average speed or overall enjoyment on my next ride will change at all whether I’m in disc, rim, or coaster brake for that matter. Fixed gear is a different story...

[Burnette]

"Rim brake lovers fear not, the disc-less version of the bike is still available and it’s available both as a frameset in lairy Red Hook Crit colours, and in Comp spec with Shimano 105 and a rather fetching, Bianchi-esque paintjob".

[mcteague]

Originally Posted by ptourkin

According to Road Bike Action, the product manager says Spec road will be all disc in the very near future.

In that same issue they reviewed some new Mavic wheels. Mavic told them to bring their own bike and that it had to have rim brakes. Turns out RoadBikeAction did not even have a rim brake frame in their bike stable. Guess they are fully on board with discs. Not surprising as bike mags seem to exist mostly to push new products. Still, I won't be surprised to see most manufacturers go full disc brakes on nearly every model before too long.

I tend to hold onto my bikes a long time. My Seven Axiom is now 16 years old and my 622 SLX is 5. If my 622 went away, I certainly would consider discs on the new bike mostly for their ability to take larger diameter tires. That is one recent trend I fully support.

Tim

[Burnette]

Originally Posted by mcteague

In that same issue they reviewed some new Mavic wheels. Mavic told them to bring their own bike and that it had to have rim brakes. Turns out RoadBikeAction did not even have a rim brake frame in their bike stable. Guess they are fully on board with discs. Not surprising as bike mags seem to exist mostly to push new products. Still, I won't be surprised to see most manufacturers go full disc brakes on nearly every model before too long.

I tend to hold onto my bikes a long time. My Seven Axiom is now 16 years old and my 622 SLX is 5. If my 622 went away, I certainly would consider discs on the new bike mostly for their ability to take larger diameter tires. That is one recent trend I fully support.

Tim

I remember your 622 SLX, awesome bike!