hydraulic vs mechanical disc brakes? Least maintenance?

[mistermo]

I know most will argue that hydraulic discs have a better feel and may be more effective than mechanical discs. BUT, is one or the other more reliable or have fewer service needs than the other?

[d_douglas]

I love hydro brakes and have had good luck with them from the maintenance perspective, but assuming that others might have a few more issues than I have, I would guess that cable actuated brakes require less maintenance. More importantly, though, is that any incompetent mechanic could replace the cable vs having to bleed brakes (hard to do while out in the wild).

I personally have never have this issue, but it is something to consider.

[Mark McM]

Well, they are ... different. So service needs aren't 100% comparable. But if I were to attempt to sum it up, I'd say that the maintenance tasks on cable operated disc brakes are more frequent, but easier (and requiring fewer specialized tools), than hydraulic disc brakes. Pick your poison.

[d_douglas]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

Well, they are ... different. So service needs aren't 100% comparable. But if I were to attempt to sum it up, I'd say that the maintenance tasks on cable operated disc brakes are more frequent, but easier (and requiring fewer specialized tools), than hydraulic disc brakes. Pick your poison.

That is what I meant to say, said eloquently...

[CAAD]

After working at a shop for a number of years I'm not at all interested in road hydraulic levers no matter who makes them. Uneven lever pull, no lever pull adjustment, mushy lever, pads sit far too close to rotor and rub, pistons not fully retracting, random dead levers, rusty bleed ports rendering lever trash, bleed procedure. Yes, they require less lever force to operate and feel smooth but they are not for me. BUT not many options for road mechanical brake levers unless you go used or low end. My mechanical disc brakes (Growtec) with compressionless housing provided more than enough stopping power.

[fmradio516]

My 2 cents:

Cable: Set it up and forget it. Few years down the line, replace a cable.

Hydro: Everything is more complicated. Hoses are too short? Isnt as easy as just replacing housing...
One of the levers or calipers may develop an issue right out of the box, or shortly down the line.... either way, you dont know until it happens. And a lot of issues arent so simple to track down.


I try to avoid hydraulics whenever possible, but for actual mountain bike trail riding, i think you need it. Commuting/road riding; its just a "nice to have". I have never done gravel, so i cant speak to it, but i assume hydro would be good.

[CAAD]

Mountain bike hydro disc are pretty bombproof. Rairly re-bleed unless just maintenance.

Also have seen more than once hydro hoses failing at the caliper banjo from stress due to tight cable exit ports on internally cables frame/forks.

[Likes2ridefar]

Shimano hydraulic brakes have, by a landslide, required far less work and maintenance than any disc brake I’ve used. Most have been set and forget requiring only new pads. SRAM dot requires my attention at least once a year. Still better than cable actuated which requires constant adjustment as the pads wear, something I felt I was doing nearly every ride on my mountain bikes at times. The lever pull never felt as good after initial setup. Hydro feels the same every time I squeeze the levers.

I would only use a cable actuated disc brake if i had no hydraulic option.

[tellyho]

Interesting the variety of experiences here. I own 4 bikes with discs. 2 are Shimano hydraulic and I've had mixed experiences. They've all had leaky calipers of one sort or another. I just replaced two on two bikes and they're pretty solid now, but I've been through 4 calipers in my 10 years of ownership. Also I hate bleeding brakes.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

Shimano hydraulic brakes have, by a landslide, required far less work and maintenance than any disc brake I’ve used.

Originally Posted by tellyho

Shimano hydraulic and I've had mixed experiences. They've all had leaky calipers of one sort or another.

My wife owns two bikes with Shimano hydraulic disc brakes.

One of them has been absolutely problem-free; they worked great right out of the box and haven't required any maintenance in the ~1 year she's owned it.

The other took over a year to get working acceptably -- including two items that Shimano had to replace under warranty, after six (!) trips to four different mechanics to try to diagnose/repair the issue -- and even now, almost 5 years on, they're still kinda dodgy, not the most confidence-inspiring sensation when grabbing a handful of brake.

So we're batting .500, and I'm not sure if that impacts my thoughts on any future bike w/ hydro. I've never owned a bike with hydraulic disc brakes, just had one with mechanical disc brakes (which I no longer own). It needed the same routine maintenance as my rim brake bikes: Change the pads occasionally, adjust the cable barrel nuts periodically.

[TheseGoTo11]

Originally Posted by CAAD

Mountain bike hydro disc are pretty bombproof. Rairly re-bleed unless just maintenance.

Also my experience.

[vespasianus]

Originally Posted by CAAD

Mountain bike hydro disc are pretty bombproof. Rairly re-bleed unless just maintenance.

Also have seen more than once hydro hoses failing at the caliper banjo from stress due to tight cable exit ports on internally cables frame/forks.

Agreed. The only issue is that Shimano brakes don't like to not be used. I get reservoir leaks on the bikes I don't ride much. LBS said it is common and told me to ride my MTB more.

[m_sasso]

If you think about this debate there is a reason so many vehicles, besides bicycles have cable acuated emergency brakes. Because they are far more reliable and require less maintance when you need them!

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by m_sasso

If you think about this debate there is a reason so many vehicles, besides bicycles have cable acuated emergency brakes. Because they are far more reliable and require less maintance when you need them!

My car has an emergency brake? Oh, there it is. I wonder if it works? Apparently it will based on above

I can’t recall the last time I used my emergency brake. 20 years ago parked on a steep hill maybe?

It’s electric so not sure it even uses a cable anymore.

[gravelreformist]

Originally Posted by m_sasso

If you think about this debate there is a reason so many vehicles, besides bicycles have cable acuated emergency brakes. Because they are far more reliable and require less maintance when you need them!

There is a reason why nobody refers to these as emergency brakes any more - they are parking brakes. Hydraulic brakes are much more reliable than cable actuated. I don't think I've ever had a cable-actuated brake on a car older than 5 years that worked properly living in a snow and salt state. And that's just to hold the car properly while parked on a hill. It'd do absolutely nothing in a real emergency!