8 reasons not to get disc brakes — find out the hassles before you switch

What a load of guff. Done 5k on my disc bike now and can say that hydraulic discs are objectively better in almost every respect than all other forms of braking. Not necessarily enough to make you sell a bike and buy one with discs, but definitely reason to never buy a new rim brake bike again.

Actually one thing they are worse at is being twatted by idiot baggage handlers. Arrived in Bormio ahead of the Stelvio Santini and discovered a bent rotor. Managed to get another one OK, no problem with fit, just whacked it in there and was great, no rub or owt (existing shimano ultegra calipers, new dura-ace rotor as that's all the shop had). I always take them off before travel now.

Mechanical discs are a bunch of arse though, and the hybrid mechanically activated hydraulic caliper thing that TRP do is only marginally better.

Long drop calipers are really useful (28s and full guards) but absolutely jarg at braking. Been doing a lot of miles on the disc bike recently, got back on the kinesis with long drops and rode into the back of a van at some traffic lights. Night and day difference.

in summary:

hydraulic discs >> rim brakes >> mech discs >> long drop rim brakes

What a load of guff. Done 5k on my disc bike now and can say that hydraulic discs are objectively better in almost every respect than all other forms of braking. Not necessarily enough to make you sell a bike and buy one with discs, but definitely reason to never buy a new rim brake bike again.

Actually one thing they are worse at is being twatted by idiot baggage handlers. Arrived in Bormio ahead of the Stelvio Santini and discovered a bent rotor. Managed to get another one OK, no problem with fit, just whacked it in there and was great, no rub or owt (existing shimano ultegra calipers, new dura-ace rotor as that's all the shop had). I always take them off before travel now.

Mechanical discs are a bunch of arse though, and the hybrid mechanically activated hydraulic caliper thing that TRP do is only marginally better.

Long drop calipers are really useful (28s and full guards) but absolutely jarg at braking. Been doing a lot of miles on the disc bike recently, got back on the kinesis with long drops and rode into the back of a van at some traffic lights. Night and day difference.

in summary:

hydraulic discs >> rim brakes >> mech discs >> long drop rim brakes

Disc brakes - unnecessary hassle with virtually little improvement in braking - in the wet.

I have a hydaulic disc brake Winter bike. It would be fine if it was rim braked like my other bikes.

I was out on a rainy, muddy, gritty ride in North Norfolk with a mate yesterday. We both have Ultegra Di2. He has discs. I have rim brakes - on alloy wheels for rain riding.  

His braking ability was far superior to mine, and though I'm the taller, heavier rider I don't think that this is the major factor.  

I didn't like the grinding noise coming from his disc area as the grit started to get stuck between the discs and pads....I could barely listen to it.   When it happens on my brakes they get a squirt from my water bottle... whatever is in it...

Why is noise such a big problem?

If it was an article about a Campag freewheel, y'all would be waxing lyrical that the sound of a washing machine full of bricks is actually one of Italy's most treasured exports, and it would bring a tear to old Tullio's eye when he recognised the telltale sound - like a misfiring cement-mixer crossed with a hippo firing a machine-gun - from 10km away.

Yes, disc brakes sometimes make noise in the wet. No biggie. So do rim brakes, quite often. I prefer disc brakes because they're better at braking in the wet, and surely braking performance when you need it most is a pretty important criterion when you're choosing the brakes on your next bike.

Disc brakes: What a faff! 

I've only had one bike with disc brakes- I had never even tried any out until it arrived. TRP Spyres were immediately a revelation. The original pads lasted a year of heavy use over a lot of hills and big trips with a trailer- to my surprise the front and rear expired at the same time. They're much easier to change and centre than rim blocks. The front squealing in the wet soon abates on any individual occasion, but I used to have insoluble squealing problems with rim brakes. Mainly, the braking is always there, wet or dry, road muck or no, and that rim-destroying grinding noise is gone. I don't even get any rotor destroying noise because it's only a gravel bike which hardly even goes through off-road mud. I'm not intending to ever buy a new bike without discs.

Most of my cycling is urban commuting.

The main benefit (for me) of disc barkes is the almost instant stopping power. 

1:and?

2: correct setup and maintenance eliminates brake rub, period..

3: disk brakes are known to be aerodynamically efficient because frame builders can make frames aerodynamically efficient BECAUSE of the presence of disk brakes

4: choosing pads? Come on, it is not health insurance plan to choose! There is one type that fits your calipers, you know it, you buy every time, thats it.

5: yes you have to bed them in but that is not rocket science, a few brake pulls during ride will bring them to adequate shape, and after a couple of rides in full shape.

6: yes, you need some skills, as with everything on modern bicycles. You will gain some level of wisdom too..

7: they will squeal, maybe, (mines don't, I don't know about yours) but they will brake! Rain snow, you name it. Regular brakes? Oh noooo...

8: yes they will, thank God! Imagine that your rims wear! Oh wait...

Disk brakes decelarate better and linearly that rim brakes, pads wear out faster on hilly and mountainous areas than rim brakes, the do brake when wet, they are more prone to overheating, they are more expensive, they have cleaner cooler looks, they help wheel manufacturers build better and stronger wheels that look cool too, and at the end of the day, they help us move forward into the 21 century cycling.

Disc brakes from my experience have been an absolute nightmare, and personally would never have a road bike or commuter bike with them again. Oil leaks, padd contamination, rotor replacement, disc brake replacement, rubbing, ive had it all and its expensive. Especially as i commute through urban streets where pads get easily contaminated with various residues from vehicles, and when that happens you might as well have no brakes.. Im happy with rim brakes, they have always worked fine, are cheap and easy to service. But the bike industry have to keep selling you something dont they, from lightweight carbon bikes to aero bikes to (now) all round bikes, gravel, tubeless (also a waste of time on high pressure road wheels)

Never had a disc brake bike, but hired an orange alpine 5 2018 for a day in forest of dean, that had discs and it was awesome. Offroad we are never going to see a serious bike with rim brakes ever again. Dont recall any brake squealing and it was a bit drizzly on the trails. I find with sti levers i cant get enough leverage to fully apply mechanical rim or disc brakes when on the hoods, so next drop bar bike i buy will probably come with hydro discs. Also when grit gets caught in a rim pad and grinds a chunk of rim away, that is super annoying. Had to replace a couple sets of hydro discs for mechanical discs for some friends that used their mountain bikes so infrequently that all the brake fluid drained out between using them. One bike had hope hydros and the other i think shimano, but both suffered the same fate of disappearing brake fluid. Biggest problem with discs and rigid forks is that the only practical fork is carbon and i dont trust forks held together with glue.

If you have a great bike with rim brakes there is no need to bin it and buy a disc brake bike.

If you're in the market for a new bike, not buying one with disc brakes is like asking for a car with drum brakes.

Road CC Luddites best sums up this article.

I have tried disk brakes and apart from for wet, off-road, they are a pain in the arse.  For road bikes I'd always recommend rim brakes.

Lighter, easier to maintain and more aero (on most framesets).  I use Campag Skeleton brakes and can stop hard enough to throw myself over the bars.  I definitely have no need to brake harder.

If you cycle in heavy rain a lot then get disks.  If not then don't waste time, money or add weight to your bike.  There is no point on a road bike.!

And don't tell me that Ineos don't use the best equipment.

Trivia question:  How many grand tours have been won on disk brakes?

I'm not going to get into any debates about how effective disc brakes are in comparison to rim brakes but I haven't seen anyone write about the aesthetics. 

It's only my opinion but I find frames without rim brakes ugly. It looks like something's missing. I assume this is due to a half century of only having and seeing rim brakes but I can't imagine changing my view now. 

Rim brakes have served me well so I'm sticking to them - and I prefer how my bike looks with them. 

It's been a couple decades since I pinned a number on, US Cat. 2 when I retired, but I've come to be very skeptical of what comes out of the industry as 'the next big thing', and disk brakes and tubeless tires validate my suspicions.

I haven't tried either simply because they both appear to unnecessarily complicate and pollute what for me, was the beauty of a bicycle; its simplicity. I did graduate to brifters and find them adequate, though when I had to pay US$200 for a new right Shimano lever (because I went a step too far in trying to repair it and rendered it useless, because I didn't have the insanely complicated machine required to reassemble it), I seriously questioned why these were that useful. If I still raced maybe I'd see it.

Another thing I've come to learn about the industry is that they see cyclists as a demographic with money to spend and googly eyes for shiny things (which is somewhat true). So I see them a bit as predators, in that sense.

Now give me back my beautiful Modolo carbon downtube shifters!

I prefer rim brakes:
1. If disc brakes rub slightly it can be hard to detect, rim brakes much louder and I will stop and adjust.
2. I can stop perfectly OK with rim brakes to the point of locking up both wheels. I can't see disc brakes doing any more than that.
3. I can modulate my braking power more effectively with rim brakes.
Horses for courses: I have rim brakes on my road bike, hydraulic discs on my MTB, and cable operated hydraulic discs on my loaded tourer.
They all work OK - the latter option gives me the finer control of cable with power of hydraulic.

I wanted some rirm brakes but

I have been finding  that my wheel bearings have (mavic aksium) been wearing out as fast or slightly faster than my wheel rims so I guess disks would not provide the longievity that I had hope from them (unless I find a way of chaning bearings).

I find that tyre to road traction is the limiting factor when braking -- I can make myself skid with my rim brakes -- especially in the wet, so I wonder how rim, or any other, brakes would improve stopping speed.

I am lucky enough to have 2 road bikes at the moment. But no space :).

1 bike has some well regarded dura ace 9x  rim brake callipers. The other with Ultrgra disc brakes. Both have carbon wheels. 

The braking performance is barely comparable  between them. In the wet it's not fun at all on the rim brake bike 

if the discs and callipers are not set perfectly though then the braking can be ineffective, noisy or both on the second bike. I've owned 2nd hand bikes with the same ultegra disc setup previously where the brakes were worse than good rim callipers.

No need to change your bike unless there is a problem, or attempting to ride carbon wheels in the wet! (Mine are Roval clx32 without the special rims like zipp etc)

I worry that these types of articles, including the "Why your next bike should be an XYZ bike", could be potentially misleading to beginner cyclists who are actually looking for proper advice? Just the headline alone might be all some people look at!

Obviously this is a contentious subject and everyone has their preferred system but I think a more balanced headline and article could be more useful? For those of us who already have our opinions it is obvously just good 'clickbait' for the site, to drum up a bit of healthy 'debate'!!

At the end of the day, in dry weather (i.e. most rides that normal people participate in), disk brake road bikes are basically slower.  They are heavier and less aero.  so considering rim brakes are easier to maintain, cheaper and don't make irritating noises there are plenty of reasons to prefer them.

The industry trying to force us onto a slower technology is irritating.  Expect to see companies that support riders who prefer rim brakes to sell a lot of bikes.  I have a Merck bike which has threaded bottom bracket, external cable routing and rim brakes.  It is lighter, more aero, easier to maintain and doesn't squeal when you brake, creak at the bottom bracket, cause me problems installing new bottom bracket, need hydraulic fluid, I don't have to faff about guiding cables inside the frame, its cheaper to maintain, the brakes never rub, I don't have to clean rotors etc., etc.

Loads of modern "improvements" are being pushed onto you by manufacturers.  The latest is 12 speed.  Not needed.  Electronic shifting?  Not needed.  More expense for zero performance improvement and additional maintenance requirements like batteries.  You can build a 10 speed bike lighter than the UCI weight limit without any of these expensive rip -offs.  And it will be quicker to boot.  And you can just get on it and ride.  Stop feeding the monster.  I'm all for technologies that are a genuine improvement in performance.  But not if they are just hassle.

Oh, and the answer to my trivia question below:  How many grand tours have been won on disk brakes?  The answer is none.

Are rim brakes an advantage? Well the team who focuses most on marginal gains (Ineos/Sky) think so.  They are convinced that rim brakes are faster than disks when it isn't raining on any parcour!  That is the truth.

It's a while on this topic since we had one of these, so it's time for a balancing refresh: for people riding routine non-flashy bikes in rural areas with muddy roads in what might well turn into bad weather it's no competition. Disc brakes are the biggest cycling safety advance for decades. I have a cheap bike with cable TRP Spyres- absolutely wonderful, trouble free, no grinding noises from the rotor, hardly ever squeak, much easier to adjust for perfection than the rim brakes I have had to put up with for 50 years. I have just had to do something to the rear hub, and found the disc rotor was in a slightly different position and was rubbing on the inner pad. I thought I might have to alter the cones a tiny bit on the 14 mm hollow axle (which takes the 12 mm through-axle), but Mr Shimano thought of this when he invented the flat mount: loosen the bolts with 4 mm hex, nudge the caliper a bit, job done. All this and reliable braking whatever the weather. Joy!

I wouldn't go for disc brakes, after I've finally worked out how to fettle V-brakes to my liking! 

Not taking sides in the disc brake safety debate as I have never personally used them. But several years ago when the pro peloton started to use them the mantra then was that it would make riding in the peloton much safer. What a load of bollocks that turned out to be!

Happy to see both sides on this. I'm a converted disc braker after 5 years of all weather commuting and about 15500 miles and three pairs of wheels.
Same mileage 2 pairs of discs circa £90 v 3pr wheels at circa £825. Try getting rims on their own plus build costs....nah!
Performance is waayyy better on discs but yes binding rub and damp sqeaking are irritating. Rims squeal is as bad.

Just traded in my 2021 TCR Advanced disc on the previous model so I could get one WITHOUT disc brakes (The only 2021 Advanced available in Australia is the SL).  Despite 12 months of repeated visits to my bike shop, they were not able to eliminate disc brake rub.  It was only intermittent, but came at the worst time - climbing at maximum effort.  I am surprised that Shimano took a product to market with an unfixable problem.

I've got a word of warning about rim brakes. I used them for 40 years with only one problem, buckled rims, so I just had my local bike shop build me wheels with the cheapest alloy rims and got them trued if needed.

Then I converted one of my bikes to a front motor e-bike and fitted Schwalbe Marathon Tour Plus tyres as they can take a lot of weight (heavy e-bike & fat me).

In a few months my rear rims braking surface was about 50% worn and it exploded around the wear line nearly spearing me in the leg. I'd just left work and had barely touched the brakes and i put it down the the high pressure in the heavy duty tyres, high weight and cheap rims. I had the wheel rebuilt with a cheap but name brand rim and in less than a year that rim had a small crack at the wear line so I binned that rim too. I ended up with a Ryde Andra 30 CSS rim which has never worn at all but it put me off rim brakes forever.

I know most cyclists aren't over 17 stone, don't ride heavy commuter e-bikes and probably don't put the max pressure in their tyres like me but personaly I'd never buy another bike with rim brakes, whatever the downsides.

I thought I had made peace with disc brakes, after all, nobody is forcing me to use them.

Oh, but wait, they are 😖😖 Basically any frameset I might want to buy that would fit me and I can afford is now disc only, so I am now being invited to spend significantly more on a heavier system (wheels brakes and frame) that I neither need not want. Not impressed.

Am still baffled that people struggle so much with rim brakes, I somehow survived some mad, rubble strewn descents during a biblical downpour at a recent Lake District gravel event on my rim brake gravel bike, and with zero squealing, unlike most of the folks with disc brakes 🙄