You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
In mountain biking calipers are gone and forgotten, is this going to happen with road bikes?
Most manufactures offer a disc version and even the small individual companies are offering disc brake versions on their frames.
If you were buying a summer bike would you go disc, or would you only want disc on a winter or four season bike?
Probably, yes. But it will take a long time. I'd be more hesitant about axle spacing and other stds making disc parts hard to come by.
My next roadie for racing will be disc. No brainer for a year round non racer though. For racing lack of rim wear and reliable wet weather performance means that the slight weight penalty wouldn't matter.
No, road bikes will always have rim brakes. In summer they are all you need and they are lighter and easier to maintain than disc brakes.
I know someone with a top of the range specialized road bike with hydraulic brakes. He doesn't like using it incase they stop working and he doesn't know how to fix them.
As a mountain biker, I will always buy a disc road bike and I'm sure roadies will always buy rim unless it's a winter bike.
I would never buy any bike these days without proper hydraulic brakes, technology moves on!
I can't believe that manufacturers are still flogging cable disc and hybrid-hydraulic disc on new bikes, fitting them to bikes with RRP of £500-1000! 😮
Personally I think once all the pros are using discs then most roadies will switch - other than the purists.
Im not sure what I’ll do - I’m due a new summer bike but not 100% set on discs.
Unless you're racing, there's no reason not to have discs.
When the luddites at the UCI get over it, calipers are deader than corduroy .
Christ I hope not. Have yet to see what the fuss is about, have just ridden through the winter on two bikes with rim brakes, and somehow, miraculously survived.
The bike with disc brakes has been left to rot in the garage as I ran out of patience and money trying to figure out how to get the brakes to work as quietly as my rim brakes do. 4 sets of pads, 2 sets of rotors and a completely new set of brakes, to no avail. I'd swear they didn't even work all that much better, rotors still get wet when it rains...
Of course.
1-2-3 in a very very wet strade bianche were using rim brakes (and the 3rd placed guy normally uses disc brakes) So it seems like skill trumps tech.
Probably, by the same logic mountain bikes only need v-brakes in the dry.
I doubt rim brakes will disappear, in the same way shimano have XT V-brakes in their range still, shimano will just keep cosmetically updating the finish to match new group sets. But that doesn't mean any of the big brands will spec them on their best selling bikes.
In mountain biking calipers are gone and forgotten,
Are they? Plenty around with V-brakes and they work fine for those on a budget. I still ride one bike with them.
Road bikes? I think calipers will be around for a while yet, they work fine in all normal roads conditions, are lightweight and simple to fit and adjust I reckon if road gear and brake levers were separate like on most MTBs they would have taken off a bit faster and also road bikes are still very much looks driven - discs just don’t look as good
I’d still be happy riding and buying a road bike with calipers
I think if you could guarantee no punctures ever the pro teams would switch immediately shortly followed by whole bike business for most higher end bikes.
I think I read the other day that 80-odd percent of all new road bikes sales were disc. Says it all, really. No one wants rim brakes, and rightly so. You either have to a racer, someone on a serious budget, or maybe someone who does steady rides in Norfolk to buy a (new) rim brake bike these days.
I’ve no desire to go disc. Happy racing and training on calliper brakes. Couple of racing friends have just bought rim brake bikes for this season for north of £5k.
Just watched a red hook crit on you tube and they don’t even have brakes. Why add weight and complexity for slowing down when the object is to go as fast as possible.
Even if you are a racer in the UK British Cycling allow discs in races now.
Disks make wheel changes a faff, but I reckon that'll get figured out, chamfered callipers and pads could be a solution. And through axles are a vast improvement on QR's in wheel changes.
Just watched a red hook crit on you tube and they don’t even have brakes. Why add weight and complexity for slowing down when the object is to go as fast as possible.
True, but that's just one step removed from a track points race, its not even comparable to most normal crits which do laps of city center and usually involve a hill.
Just watched a red hook crit on you tube and they don’t even have brakes. Why add weight and complexity for slowing down when the object is to go as fast as possible.
Because in racing most bikes are under uci weight and they have to bulk them up.
In a flat out race if anything fails you are done for so comp,exity means nothing, in a big race you have a spare bike on hand all the way.
In the end it comes down to because....
No bikes don’t come under UCI minimum weight racing in the UK. If you are racing in the tour yes but not on British roads.
Having ridden both, I’d say yes in the main stream and for new bikes calipers will become obsolete.
There will always be some people riding someth8ng different I guess so completely obsolete is unlikely.
In the dry performance can be minimal, but feel and confidence can be improved and for many that will be enough for discs to be favoured IMO.
And through axles are a vast improvement on QR’s in wheel changes.
You will have to explain that one, IME changing a qr wheel is a lot simpler
Fair enough but light enough for most people then unless your convincing yourself 12g will help 😉
IME changing a qr wheel is a lot simpler
Watch some world cup xc battery drill 6mm Allen key bit and it's all a bit f1
Never had a spare bike just in case in a race. What races are you doing mikewsmith? Your obviously in a different league to the rest of us.
Speaking to a fellow racer yesterday he’s assembling a nice new road bike with ETAP and calliper brakes, 5.1kgs. I’d rather have that than a disc braked road bike any day.
Think you’ll find calliper brakes will be around for a while yet.
* adds Makita to list of essentials for this years Alps trip*
Is this another one of those threads were people who dont ride on the road tell those who do whats good for them?
Couldn't care less but if you have a nice service truck them your off again, if you don't them I'm guessing fixing that puncture just buggered your race.
As for adding a drill to your packing list...point being watch a xc wc mechanic do a race wheel change it's as fast if not faster than the tdf guys. If wheel change speeds are your concern in a race then that is covered. In the car park is 5s important to you putting the wheel in?
Now the tech has settled down what are the catastrophic failures that occur in disc brakes? How common are they?
Is this another one of those threads were people who dont ride on the road tell those who do whats good for them?
Very happy on my road bike on discs, perhaps it's a case of people with zero experience of disc brakes being a bit scared of the magic and change....
Watch some world cup xc battery drill 6mm Allen key bit and it’s all a bit f1
Assumes you have a service pit or close team car, try doing it between team mates at say P-R where your team car could be miles back and it changes to QR being much quicker. But also well drilled pros even in a normal change with a team car close by, will have the wheel removed from the bike before the mechanic arrives, you can't really do that with bolt through.
Back to the OP for normal riders then discs will be standard for the majority very soon.
My next road bike will have discs. Seems to be loads of rim braked bikes for sale at present, looks like people trying to offload them whilst they are still worth something.
The sheer number of old fashioned caliper brakes out there likely means that spare calipers/mechanical levers/rim brake rims/etc will be available for a very long time, but then I think how quickly 26" tyes seem to have vanished and I do wonder
Hi mikewsmith it’s a case of someone like you who has never competed in a road race in your life telling us we should be using disc brakes when you have no idea of what road racing in the uk is like. Suggest you go and watch or better still help out at a local road race then come back and advise.
Since they failed to replace cantilevers in cross at the pointy end of racing, why will they do so on the road? My mini-v cross bike provides all the braking I need, and in my last cross race in the snow were silent, unlike the continuously rubbing and squealing discs.
As for road racing, pros ride what they are paid to. Some of the cable runs on aero disc bikes look very nice, and that will sell. Having the words Dura Ace on a caliper across the front brake in a head on shot will also sell. There's no performance gain here, unlike mtb.
Recent wheelchange fiascos, including a DQ, will make riders somewhat reluctant, but they are paid to ride. In the amateur market, I'm not seeing a flood of disc brakes in the club or in races.
According to one road bike brand I've spoke to, if uci are happy and fully back discs then within 3 years the company will only produce disc brake bikes. There will be a lot of r&d into the disc brake designs which will make changing wheels quicker and more efficient, looking at the way the pads ping back.
it must frustrate manufacturers having to produce bikes in both brake types, never mind the local bike shops having to have both versions of the same model in stock
Disk brakes would be pretty low down my list of must haves on a road bike. I've never felt I was under braked even in the wet with calipers and I don't ride enough to wear out rims.
They make sense off road for sure, however I did 20 miles today on the roadie and barely touched the brakes..whereas on the mtb I'm a serial brake dragger
At work we sponsor in a small way an amateur road team and The uptake of discs has been a surprise.
Personaly for casual use my nice bike will be Caliper but next years winter bike will be disc if I can
Jonba, second post, spot on.
It's longevity and standards for me.
I genuinely reckon you'll still be able to keep a QR, rim brake, old school roadie going for longer than any disc bike currently in production.
Yes, discs are better. Love my cable BB7's on my tourer, love the Hope hydraulics on my wife's MTB and the older Shimano on mine.
But the MTB manufacturers are just itching for a new standard, flat mount MTB specific brakes next year?
And I'll bet you a pair of unwashed jeans that there's a newer, Flat Mount 2 road standard within two years.
Not for me. I really fancy a new road frame. It will have rim brakes, because I like to keep my bikes and it seems like that's currently the best option in that respect.
I know someone with a top of the range specialized road bike with hydraulic brakes. He doesn’t like using it incase they stop working and he doesn’t know how to fix them.
Hope he never finds himself needing to use a car. Imagine if one of those stopped working and you couldn't fix it.
I don't think they are needed as such but still they become predominant in time?
Very likely would say. It's just about how many years it will take.
A recent 40 mile ride round muddy lanes with puddles in the rain made me reconsider discs. I was on Campag Record calipers and doing fine. My friend was on his new S-Works McLaren Roubaix with Dura Ace discs and the racket they were making was unbearable. We used more water rinsing them than we drank. I've no idea how much that ride cost him in pads and rotors.
Premier Icon
mikewsmithSubscriber
IME changing a qr wheel is a lot simplerWatch some world cup xc battery drill 6mm Allen key bit and it’s all a bit f1
Yeh, I'll carry a cordless drill for next time I get a puncture in the rain out on a club run 🙂 I'm not anti discs on road bikes I'm anti getting reamed by manufacturers changing standards and making perfectly good kit obsolescent to boost their sales
I started (like a good few on here) riding mtb back in the mid ‘90s & have seen the progression of braking from canti through v to disc, each evolution being genuinely better in both power & ease of use as well as allowing development of bike & wheel design.
I’d been riding road bikes since the ‘80s though & the calliper brakes on my current road bike (Ultegra) are better, but not much. They don’t need to be, though. I’ve never felt the need for more braking power on the road. Yes, the lack of rim wear, extra clearance for wider tyres etc are very good things but in my experience the brakes on road bikes don’t need to me more powerful.
I wouldn’t avoid discs on a new build but I’m in no rush to change. The industry seems set on it though so I imagine in a few years 90% or more of new bikes available will be disc.
I fully understand that disc brakes perform better in wet conditions. That's great. That's progress.
I'm all for that. Yet I just built up a new steel frame that I plan to use for club rides, chain gangs and some very limited (!) racing with Dura Ace 9100 mechanical with callipers.
I just don't care about the extra braking performance of discs - braking has never been an issue. More of an issue was a lack of training in my legs.
I also don't believe that (now) the pro peleton will ever fully adopt discs. The penalties for wheel changes and f-ups on changes are too high. The manufacturers don't care if the pros adopt them now - we're in the 3rd year of them trying to get them to change and they have, what, one team sometimes using them? They don't care about this anymore - as someone pointed out, most Freds are buying discs anyway.
What is more odd is the vehemence of those who run discs insisting that all road bikers must NOT run callipers, with a strangely religious zeal. As though they need to justify what they invested in.
For what it's worth, in the saturday morning chain gang, we have one disc braked rider out of 8. We don't give him a hard time. We love all equally 🙂 Even if they do squeal like a piggy.
I genuinely reckon you’ll still be able to keep a QR, rim brake, old school roadie going for longer than any disc bike currently in production.
This is an excellent point and I'm inclined to agree, though it may not really matter for most people who only want to keep a bike for three to five years before getting another.
To counter the oft-cited "but the bikes are under the UCI weight limit anyway" line, I'd say that's irrelevant to the vast majority of us (when not arguing on the internet). What really matters to me is the total bike weight when I'm spending £2k on a new road bike. That's not gonna be under the UCI limit with either rim or disc brakes, but it'll be closer with rim brakes.
In response to "well they disappeared quick enough on MTBs", do you remember using rim brakes on MTB? They were alright some of the time, when your wheels were running straight and the trails were dry - but they were crap for a significant proportion of the time. And they ate rims at a much faster rate than road brakes do.
I've used nice Shimano road disc brakes. They were great. I'd probably get them if buying a new winter bike. But I don't think rim brakes are going anywhere for a while.
They won't become obsolete. Too many traditionalists in road. See above.
No bikes don’t come under UCI minimum weight racing in the UK. If you are racing in the tour yes but not on British roads.
Yes they do. Rule 1.3.019. Minimum weight is 6.8kilos.
And TBH, i agree with mattbee.
Each generation of MTB brakes has given significantly (and measurable) improvements in all types of MTB for the vast majority of users.
The last step change in road brakes was the SLR/Dual pivot generation. Discs offer no significant improvement, unless it's for a wet weather/commuter bike. For anything that looks like racing, i've found no noticeable benefits. Except for frames with funky cable routing. i.e. driven by marketing and a 0.5 watt at 100kph saving rather than engineering need.
Most of the "massive improvements" people see in perfromance is usually down to shockingly badly set up caliper brakes. (either from the shop/far eastern sweatshop or by the home mechanic.)
I'm already seeing the beginnings of "home mechanic" fettled disc brakes which (unsuprisingly) don't work either.
See, people keep trying to suggest a dislike of disc brakes is somehow being a luddite, or a traditionalist, or fearing change, so I'll say it again, I would LOVE to move over to disc brakes, but the red line for me is how noisy they can be, especially in the sort of wet conditions that disc brakes are supposed to be so good in.
If a manufacturer had the balls to come forward and say - 'Here is our new system, absolutely guaranteed to be as silent as those ghastly, clunky awful rim brakes you used to use' then I'd embrace it with open arms.
I don't even care about the extra power etc. I just want to enjoy my bike rides, honking squeeling brakes* are not enjoyable, even if it means having to brake slightly longer and slightly harder with my rim brakes.
*awaits queue of people telling me how I haven't bedded them in properly, or set them up properly, or how I should smear copper grease on the back of the pads, or how the pads have gotten contaminated by diesel spray from the road, making you question their suitability for use on the road in the first place, etc. etc.
Ive had Shimano R785 disc brake set ups on two previous road bikes, one bike was a commuter with 5000+ miles under its belt
Discs are great for commuting, great when its wet, work much better than rim brakes in most cases
My current bike runs Campag super record caliper brakes matched to campag's special pads and a set of Bora one wheels with their 3diamant brake track
Honestly in dry conditions there is not much difference between the two systems, in some cases the campag caliper braking system feels stronger
I'm in no rush to go back to disc brakes on my good weather bike but for a winter bike/wet weather commuter then discs all the way
One thing i do notice when i ride my old 1992 Colnago master Olympic is after a few miles you adjust to the bikes braking ability as you get more involved in the ride
I cant see caliper brakes disappearing completely, even if large manufactures drop rim brakes altogether smaller companies with still produce them for custom frame builds
I cant see caliper brakes disappearing completely, even if large manufactures drop rim brakes altogether smaller companies with still produce them for custom frame builds
Precedent.
Most of the “massive improvements” people see is usually down to shockingly badly set up caliper brakes. (either from the shop/far eastern sweatshop or by the home mechanic.)
100% this, I'm sure if more people had decent rim brakes to compare to, there'd be less fascination with disc brakes. My dad bought an all singing, all dancing new disc brake road bike and after two failed sets of Shimano callipers, he gave it another shot but then quietly just retired it back to the shed and carried on riding his old Mercian with Campag Veloce brakes and Mavic rims.
I don't see much need for disks on a skinny tyre road bike, they just add weight, and a skinny tyre can skid easily enough with callipers, so there's no need for more power.
But I have them on my bike with 2.35" Big Apples because that can use all the stopping power without skidding.
Should go nicely on my pink frameset, ti hardware as well so even less likely to corrode or get sticky when covered in salty grit all winter.
so there’s no need for more power.
Apparently it's all about the modulation.
Which shimano discs are well known for. Or not.
Maybe a cheaper upgrade path for the rim brake haters would be some decent cables and setting them up properly?
For all the posters stating UCI minimum weight limits for road bikes here’s a question. Has anyone ever had their bike weight checked at a race?
Ive been pulled up for a missing bar end cap and I know someone was disqualified for having no rear brake on a hill climb but I’ve never heard of a bike being weighed.
Quite a few top end bikes are now sub 6kg and I’ve seen a few of these at road races last year. The UCI minimum weight is 6.8kgs.
While I agree in theory these UCI rules apply to BC races in my experience I’ve never seen it enforced.
Please prove me wrong or stop quoting a rule that is not relevant.
Has anyone ever had their bike weight checked at a race?
Yes.
UK, Sweden, France, Germany, Belgium. Not for a few years though.
Never failed either. As it actually makes so little difference that it can be quite amusing to see the big deal that some make over it.
Please prove me wrong or stop quoting a rule that is not relevant.
Just because people aren't checking doesn't mean it isn't relevant. It's like 4th cats taking PEDs. It's against the rules but no one checks. So is it irrelevant?
I'm sure if having a light bike actually made as much difference as getting drugged up to the gills did, they'd be checking all the time.
Maybe you should point out that people are using illegally light bikes in races, in writing, to either the chief commisaire or BC and see what happens.
I don’t see much need for disks on a skinny tyre road bike, they just add weight, and a skinny tyre can skid easily enough with callipers, so there’s no need for more power.
Can't believe I'm wading in again, but there's a big difference between locking a wheel on a flat road in the dry and trying to scrub off speed in lashing rain down a 1:5 approaching a roundabout. Speaking from regular experience here. Discs please.
shockingly badly set up caliper brakes
So how do you set up a caliper brake badly?
I n r a t s, and for the pro disc lobby:
1. They are heavier
2. They are more expensive
3. Insignificant benefits in the dry
4. Through axles are slower and heavier, and unless you are incompetent mechanically, offer no benefit.
Not all of us regularly buy £1K+ road bikes. Rim brakes will be around forever .
Shit cables, unnecessarily tight curves/bad routing, overly long cable routing, badly trimmed ends, wrong lubricant, toe in, centering of the caliper, angle the pads hit the rim at, pads too close to the rim, pads too far from the rim, pads just cheap and shit. That's just on new bikes. Once you get the amateur hammer wielding "mechanic" or even the shop pros (LOL) touching them, it can get worse.
And then you have those who seem to think bikes work best with an annual clean and service.
TBH, until i'd done a few seasons working in bike shops, i thought bikes were easy to look after. Obviously not for everyone.
Is a disc frame cheaper to produce than a caliper frame?
Surely manufacturers will push the cheaper option, such as they have with press fit.
Molgrips
Can’t believe I’m wading in again, but there’s a big difference between locking a wheel on a flat road in the dry and trying to scrub off speed in lashing rain down a 1:5 approaching a roundabout. Speaking from regular experience here. Discs please.
I prefer disks too, but the last time I had the problem you're complaining about was with steel rims and cooked brake pads.
Surprised it's a regular experience, surely someone as knowledgeable as yourself would have figured out to approach a problem intersection like that slower after the first incident.
Everything that ghostlymachine said and (IMO) calipers look nice on a road bike.
As for riding in the rain,discs are superb but calipers with decent pads are no hardship ,just ride to suit the surface/conditions an all that.
If disks do become more universal, one thing that can be done is to have the brake hose tidied out of the way, ie run through the frame, and fork.
Add an electronically controlled hubgear and then roadbikes can have the clean lines of a fixed wheel bike. 🙂
as a dyed in the wool MTBer who had years of suffering rim brakes i'd never buy an off road bike without discs but as i only tend to ride the road in fair weather i'd go rim brakes for a nice lightweight summer bike. i'f i had to commute on one all year round i'd go disc, so two bikes please, make it three if there's a gravel bike option too
I would LOVE to move over to disc brakes, but the red line for me is how noisy they can be, especially in the sort of wet conditions that disc brakes are supposed to be so good in.
i can't say i've ever suffered squealy brakes that haven't been caused by wear or poor set up, but you are saying yours squeal when they are perfect? that's a warranty issue. or are you saying every pair you've ever tried squeal? if that's so even with you disclaimer stating someone will say they are set up wrongly, they are set up wrongly
I've got discs (BR685s) on my winter bike, Super Record calipers on the summer one.
No 2 ways about it, the caliper system is a HELL of a lot lighter, and to my hands, better modulated. In the dry, they're as usefully powerful as the discs are (ie I can pull stoppies and I can hold the back wheel on the point of lockup), in damp conditions, I actually really struggle with the feel of the discs and finding the lockup point - I've dropped the rear to a 140mm rotor which has helped, but I still find I mince downhill in slippery conditions more on the disc bike than I do on the caliper one (same brand of tyres - winter bike has slightly wider ones).
Where the discs win is guaranteed minimum performance in piss wet conditions, plus not having to wash grey filth off the wheels and frame every time I go out in the wet to keep some kind of stopping power. I've had no noise issues.
but you are saying yours squeal when they are perfect?
Squeal only in wet, until they heat up or dry off. Work fine in the dry which I think rules out most of the common complaints (contamination, dirt, alignment).
I don't pretend to be a professional mechanic, but I have the correct tools (Hayes alignment gauge, various brands of disc brake cleaner) and know most of the common tricks. I've frequently sanded rotors back to original finish, I bed in by performing frequent hard stops but not completely locking the wheel, I deglaze pads frequently, etc. etc. Had the shop face the post mounts so I know they're flush.
I've used SRAM brakes with stock centreline rotors which were heinous in the wet. Changed to sintered pads (shop recommendation) which were unbelievably pad, and also made noise in the dry. Changing pads to Uberbike kevlar improved it slightly. Changing rotors to Magura Storm SL improved slightly again. Eventually changed brakes to TRP Spyres. Still fairly bad (again, just in the wet).
Even if I AM doing something wrong, I think it completely belies this notion that disc brakes are maintenance free, and I'll be ****ed if I spend any more money changing pads, rotors or brakes in an effort to solve the problem. It shouldn't require this much effort and guess work to get a set of brakes working properly.
I'll say this, if I can ever be bothered I'd like to go to a demo day and ride a high end bike with some high end shimano discs, see what they're like in the wet. From the noises I hear on my commute I know there are plenty of other people with discs that honk in the wet.
edit: oh, and although I don't have much faith in the mechanics at my local Alpine Bikes, when they eventually returned the bike having given up trying to silence the brakes, they admitted that something like 50% of their time was spent trying to silence disc brakes...
Another thing to bear in mind is the plethora of OE branded brakes that seem to be fitted to so so many low to mid range road bikes these days.
They're, on the whole, utterly dire.
What would you expect from a pair of calipers that the manufacturer is probably paying (significantly) less than 10 dollars a pair for? Rather than paying 20 dollars a pair for 105. (or 30 for ultegra to match the groupset.)
I'm not surprised that people say that disc braked bikes are essential on the road, when a lot of the bikes they have come from (or would be comparing to) have sub 10 dollar brakes, with pads made from compressed yogurt pots.
I’m not surprised that people say that disc braked bikes are essential on the road, when a lot of the bikes they have come from (or would be comparing to) have sub 10 dollar brakes, with pads made from compressed yogurt pots.
Hey. That's a bit unfair.
They're more-often made from melted down wheelie bins.
but the last time I had the problem you’re complaining about was with steel rims and cooked brake pads.
Hard to explain then isn't it?
Surprised it’s a regular experience, surely someone as knowledgeable as yourself would have figured out to approach a problem intersection like that slower after the first incident.
Well I do, that's why I'm still alive. But I don't fancy heaving hard on brakes whilst trundling slowly down steep descents in case my speed gets too high and I can't stop, and worrying what happens if someone pulls out or some other emergency happens when I'm already on max braking. I'd rather have brakes that just work properly like I do on my MTBs.
It shouldn’t require this much effort and guess work to get a set of brakes working properly.
Wonder why it's so hard on road bikes when it's easy on MTBs?
I really hope that calipers don't die off in the road bike world for two reasons:
1. I am one of those traditionalists that molgrips referred to, and
2. The introduction of new technology seems to work on a steep curve. For decades, road bikes hardly changed. Then, within 10 or 15 years, they have gone through so many changes, it has impossible to keep up.
I know it is magical thinking, but I wish developments could happen on a more evolutionary, as opposed to revolutionary, scale.
Some brake pads, earlier.
Wonder why it’s so hard on road bikes when it’s easy on MTBs?
Who knows, lighter frames allowing more resonance? Less grit and mud acting to disrupt the film of water between pad and disc? Maybe MTBs use their brakes more so they actually heat up a bit (I know I had issues with my brakes over heating on the MTB, never an issue on the road bike, who actually brakes that much and that hard on your typical British roads? Cairngorms and Lake District excluded...). Maybe road discs actually are constantly covered in oily grime from the roads when MTB discs aren't.
Maybe when I rode MTB I was more inclined to put up with squeely brakes as the benefits of disc brakes on an MTB actually made it worthwhile...
I'm about to build my third road bike with disc brakes. First was a donor for the second, second was stolen. In shitty conditions I'd prefer to stick with discs... I've had one too many times when I've barely stopped for a junction or corner on steep hills around here and although discs are not perfect, they're better than rim brakes.
As for the screaming, sure, it happens sometimes but by no means all the time.
MTB disc brakes used to be much squealier, I'm sure.
Thinking of Avid Juicies in particular.
I think it’s a cultural thing.
I have no desire to buy any bike with rim brakes and so won’t. For me, even cable Spyres are superior in every way, but that’s a personal choice
I also have no desire to ride in a club peloton so don’t need to pay as much attention to the opinions of others.
If people want to stick with rim brakes then that’s their decision IMO.
I guess I’m a road bike traditionalist. Still on capilpers and cable gears rather than discs and electric gears. The reason why discs are so good on MTB is that they work so much better than v brakes in the mud and keep working. However its not the same on road bikes. 25years of racing, riding all over Europe, have I every felt that I couldn’t slow down and stop sufficiently? No. Have I seen plenty of people who couldn’t modulate road discs lock up and crash (yes one in front of me at the Hell of the Ashdown a couple of weeks ago) yes. So not really for me. Maybe there are some small advatanges to lack of maintenance on a disc winter bike but I don’t exactly spend lots of time fettling my rim brakes and when I need to change pads it’s as quick as discs
I can't see calipers going away in a hurry: commuters, hybrids, just plain and simple 'bikes' will have them for years to come if you ask me. However I think we will see a shift (and we are) towards discs on road bikes, certainly at the general consumer rather than racing market.
An eye opener for me was a gravel rally down on the med coast last March. It was a one day event with rally style timed gravel sections and non-timed transitions on the road. The weather was atrocious: really heavy rain and the local red earth getting washed out- the area is notorious for flooding damage. The event got cancelled around lunch-time. Most were on drop barred bikes equipped with discs and most had gone through numerous sets of pads, and lots had in-operative brakes. I was on my Uncle John with cantis which performed faultlessly.
Getting hold of pads seemed a real issue: there were that many different types.
The reason why discs are so good on MTB is that they work so much better than v brakes in the mud and keep working. However its not the same on road bikes.
No, it's heavy rain that does it on road bikes. If you never ride on steep hills in heavy rain then you'll probably not have experineced it.
I was on my Uncle John with cantis which performed faultlessly.
I've found that my Avid cantis are pretty poor in the dry and very poor in wet, and often wonder if people who clamour for discs are recalling their canti experience. My TRP mini-Vs are magnificent off-road on my cross bike. My dual pivot Dura Ace, Ultegra and long drop R650 calipers are magnificent and stop me in all conditions on the road.
I brake on alloy rims, except in road races, where I run carbon. I'm not racing down the alps though. Skinny carbon low profile rims? Discs may have a place, and I would always want small unobtrusive 120-140 mm mechanical for maintenance. Alloy rims and UK hills, not found the need.
And I like the shiny of the Dura Ace - I know, shameful!
For me, braking performance isn't the compelling issue. The real wins for discs are the lack of constraint on tyre size, the lack of rim wear, and—probably most of all—the lack of horrible black rubber-and-aluminium paste that endlessly coats and stains everything.
But then any obsolescence of calipers will be driven by suppliers' economic imperatives and consumers' desires: actual performance is only one part of that balance.
Personally I don't see them becoming obsolete, but I do see them becoming niche.
Molgrips. I’ve ridden plenty of big hills in the rain on calipers - come off alpine descents in torrential rain, raced big hills in torrential rain and never felt that braking was an issue. Lack of tyre grip is the issue in those conditions not brake bite. Read back and see just how condescending your message was.
These Weinmann Centre Pull brakes are what I have on my commuter (well, just the front as it's fixed wheel). Ancient but still more powerful than the Campag Record on my other road bike. I got my first pair in about 1966 and I still think they're lovely. And, for rim brakes, never beaten.
In response to “well they disappeared quick enough on MTBs”,
In a similar vein, look at the uptake of suspension on road bikes - and that's been available for a lot longer.
It's a different bike for different things.
The brakes on a road bike don't allow you to go faster - and discs add a little weight and a little aero penalty, and extra cost, so why would you buy them if you're going to race? Also, they work adequately in the wet - perhaps with a bit of rim wear, but they work well enough - MTB rim brakes never did for any length of time.
They're great for an all season bike - I run them on the commuter - but I wouldn't put them on my summer bike unless they ceased to exist on decent quality bikes. And I only run them for the decreased rim wear, the power on rim brakes was fine on all my previous commuters.
Hydraulic integrated rim brakes might be a top level option as I can imagine you could make them lighter and more aero than a traditional caliper, and many TT/aero bikes already do funky things with the brakes for aero purposes. The availability of hydraulic road brake levers can only be an enabler for this.
Anyway, those that say I need discs on my road bike, you don't know me and maybe you don't know how to maintain a brake. 🙂