Why A Bike Fitter Still Chooses To Buy Rim Brake Bikes

[bigbill]

Originally Posted by iwishiwasriding

One thing he said that resonated with me (230lbs), was that if you're a heavier person, then disc brakes will make a difference, especially since I moved to a hillier place. That's one of the reasons why I'm upgrading my bike to a disc model. Di2 upgrade is less justified...

They don't. If you have decent rim brakes, good rims, and a dry road, it makes no difference. I've been as heavy as 266 pounds and was never unable to stop on a steep descent. Now I'm around 210 and I have purchased an Open so I can run bigger tubeless tires. It has disc brakes, but not necessarily for better stopping.

[R3awak3n]

yes they do, as a big rider disc brakes will brake faster and modulate better. Period.

However do you need that? you don't because a good rim brake will stop you just fine on most situations and be totally fine. Also you gotta ride with your means and your equipment.

[tomato coupe]

A lot of people seem think to that "A functions better than B" implies "B doesn't work."

[redir]

Here's a disk brake solution for your fixt.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by tomato coupe

That was pretty much it.

not really.. and if that's all you heard, my feeling is it's because that's all you wanted to hear..

[bikinchris]

Personally, I was good with 9 speed. But, no. Instead of everyone protesting and stopping buying stuff, y'all just went along with 10, 11, 12 and now 13 speed. And components that will NOT last beyond a decade before breaking because they are engineered to light.
I actually don't have as much of a problem with disc brakes as the other stuff. To me, the beauty of disc brakes is the modulation available to control the brakes. NOT the absolute stopping power. Stopping power is NOT limited by contact area of the tire, but weight distribution. Your back wheel will come off the ground LONG before your front wheel skids on a regular bicycle. On a tandem bike, you can make the front wheel skid.

[bigbill]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

yes they do, as a big rider disc brakes will brake faster and modulate better. Period.

However do you need that? you don't because a good rim brake will stop you just fine on most situations and be totally fine. Also you gotta ride with your means and your equipment.

Gosh, I'm humbled. Do all disc brakes work the same? What about the size of the rotors, what about the pads? I have three bikes with disc brakes, each because of the tire size. I have five bikes with caliper brakes which I would not hesitate to ride in any terrain because they have high quality, well maintained brakes.

If I had a tandem, it would have disc brakes regardless of tire size, because they work better in that application. For a standard road bike, discs add complexity and weight.

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by fourflys

not really.. and if that's all you heard, my feeling is it's because that's all you wanted to hear..

He also talked about the rotors rubbing on the pads when the pads don't fully retract. But, he attributed that to hardening of the rubber seals due to exposure to caustic brake fluid, which would apply to SRAM but not Shimano or Campy.

On edit. I assume you're not referring to some of the other things he stated about disc brakes:

Stopping power is fantastic.

People like the light input.

If you ride in the rain, they're brilliant.

If you're a heavy dude, disc brakes for sure

Or his final words:

No, it's not that bad.

[jberenyi]

Since 2007 I've been riding happily with rim brakes. This year I bought a new bike after 16 years of use only because my frames won't take tires wider than 23mm. The new bike came with disc brakes and I'm not complaining but if it came with rim brakes I would be just as happy.

[Peter P.]

Originally Posted by carlucci1106

-This horse is definitely beaten to a bloody pulp...

But I can still beat THE PULP!

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Far too often a rim brake guy is chastised, or criticized for sticking to rim brakes, even here...

I'm waiting to hear reports of riders being chastised on group rides for riding rim brakes, being told their "weaker" rim brakes make them dangerous within the group.

As has been pointed out, back in the day, the majority of rim brakes were 47-57mm reach and could comfortably fit a Paris-Roubaix sized tire. But as roads got smoother and in the search for lighter weight, short reach brakes became the norm. Sure; a short reach brake at max reach could fit a 28 or even a 32mm tire (my bike can), but manufacturers and most custom builders, find it easier to be safe and build their frames with short reach brakes set to mid-slot, limiting tire choices. Also, with the introduction of carbon forks and their larger volume fork crown area, tire clearances were reduced.

I believe disc brakes became the norm on road bikes as a solution when it was discovered rim brakes on carbon rims caused tire overheating and clincher blowouts or softened tubular glue, leading to you-know-what, and improved braking over carbon rims using rim brakes, when wet, along with the specialized brake pads needed.

I just see disc brakes being too technically complicated for something (a bicycle) which I feel should be readily serviceable by the majority of home mechanics. Bleeding hydraulics and the use of fluids which must be disposed of ecologically are big negatives for me.

I also agree with oldpotatoe in that an entire, evolving marketing rationale was created to justify discs and convince cyclists they were needed vs, an option. They've done a good job.

[Spoker]

When the road gets steep it is not if you can stop, but how soon you can stop.

[Kirk007]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

Both options work and have their own merits. That being said I have been accumulating rim brake bikes over the past year.

Sent from my SM-S127DL using Tapatalk

Great minds think alike. I set out to add one rim brake bike this past year but two others followed me home some how so sitting with 5 rim brake bikes and of course wheels and components I think I'm probably covered for the remaining duration of my riding life. I can forsee a day of adding one more bike though and it would be disc, with a motor.... but hopefully that's not until my seventh decade.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by tomato coupe

He also talked about the rotors rubbing on the pads when the pads don't fully retract. But, he attributed that to hardening of the rubber seals due to exposure to caustic brake fluid, which would apply to SRAM but not Shimano or Campy.

On edit. I assume you're not referring to some of the other things he stated about disc brakes:



Or his final words:

my point was was your paraphrase was very one-sided and bit "click-baitish".. Neill was both a little critical and complimentary of disc brakes, depends on a person's needs.. he was saying what worked well for him (and might not work well for others).. for the record- I really have no issues with disc brake bikes and assume I'll have one sooner than later..

[carlucci1106]

Originally Posted by mstateglfr

Why wouldnt a Crux exist without disc brakes? It would have canti posts and use cantilever, mini-V, or V-brakes.

Yeah, some of us have been selling Spesh long enough to remember these (pic inlaid)

Originally Posted by tomato coupe

In all likelihood, in 30 years steel rim brake bicycles will be viewed as curiosities more than anything, because most of the people that presently ride them will no longer be around.

I don't know about you, but I hope to be around in 30 years. And riding my steel rim brake bicycles. There are plenty of young people who prefer them. You may be generally correct for the racer boi crowd, but for the spectrum of the industry, I'm dubious of this prediction. One case in point: In 30 years, people are going to look at a press-in bottom bracket as an oddity.

[Blue Jays]

Best thing about rim brakes is when riding in a tight paceline (see what I did there?) and being able to lightly scrub a very minuscule tiny bit of speed while still pedaling so as to not "slinky" the group. Far easier and more precise than disc brakes.