Disc brakes to be permitted in peloton in 2017

I'll wait 3 years to see what's become standard before deciding whether to change. I prefer the look of caliper brakes to be honest ( so much so I won't buy Super Record until Campag realise black brakes look crap) and after buying mini disc and then mini video I'm just glad Sony aren't making disc brakes...

Switched to discs for X this year and would never go back to cantis on basis of performance . Don't look nice though so understand why people don't like them.

Lot of top X riders carry on with cantis as have to replace all your wheels and interchange ability is a real issue with discs . Suspect this will be an issue that limits take up for road racing as can't just wack any wheel in

@CXR94Di2

yeah its balls. I've been using disc brakes on mountain bikes since 1995, and no complaints here. Disc brakes were as much of a game-changer for MTB as the introduction of the suspension fork, and later the full-suspension frame.

I have ridden mountain bikes with disc brakes all over the World including multiple vacations in Whistler Bike Park, Canada which is one of the most punishing tests of brake equipment.

@Millskid

if you are having issues with the disc brakes on your MTB, find a decent mechanic to sort it out.

Apart from cleaning the brakes, and changing pads once worn, they require little maintenance.

Most problems are due to poor setup, or a defect in a specific brake.

Disc brakes on road bikes?

I've been riding a 2015 Giant Defy Advanced Pro 1 with Shimano hydraulic discs since last year. No interest in ever riding a caliper brake road bike ever again, they are that good, especially in our wet climate.

Descending on discs gives much more control meaning you can go quicker, more safely. I come from a mountain bike back ground specifically downhill and freeride (at a professional level) and am not shy going down hills:

" My main concern, one that I'll need to see proven beyond doubt before I buy, is how they'll tackle brake fade on the lighter and lighter rotors the road industry will demand. Heavy rotors aren't really an issue on the other examples mentioned - but if a long descent can generate enough heat on a rim to burst tyres as was the case in Oman recently, I don't feel too optimistic about discs right now. " -

Trust me - not a problem with 140mm Shimano IceTech rotors. I built a Specialized Roubaix last fall, with HED Ardennes + wheels, Di2, and Shimano hydraulic disc brakes. Took it on it's first ride - the Unknown Coast in Northern California, with extremely steep descents of thousands of feet. Would have scared the crap out of me on rim brakes. Actually did scare the crap out of me, but the brakes worked absolutely fine. If you ride in the mountains like we do in Northern California, hydraulic disc brakes make perfect sense.

And my rotors never rub - not sprinting out of the saddle, not ever. Just FYI.

Only noise I get from my disc brakes is a tiny tinkle from the Shimano Ice-Tech cooling fins on the brake pads, but no rotor rub - if the rotors were rubbing something has gone very wrong with either the brake or the wheel axle!

My comment was merely relating to what I noticed when watching the Superprestige & World Cup races this winter. I was expecting to see more disc brakes on show but usually there was only one or two of the frontrunners (i.e. the ones that were getting air time) running discs. I suppose it's only a matter of time until the vast majority switch to discs, but my point was that it's not been a rapid changeover. And brakes are used more regularly and more heavily in CX than they are in road races.

I have a mtb with through axles. Absolutely no alignment issues. I have road bike with quick release again no issues dropping the wheel back into the mounts. Disc brakes have a a small pull back on the pads just like motorcycle car brakes.

My mtb has seen 3 winters and one set of pads, no other servicing has been required. They are no issues with disc brakes.

Quote:

I have Avid Juicy Hydraulic Disc Breaks, trust me they rub.

Juicys will, yes.

No offence, but you're commenting on disc brake technology from the position of someone whose only experience of it is using a set of brakes so criminally shit that SRAM has completely re-designed them and dropped the Avid name from the range to try to exorcise the shitness demons.

Use something other than Juicys, like the rest of us have been for about 5 years.

So for all those people saying they don't get brake rub, I take it you've never had to retrue a brake disk. This happens to me from time to time, it's easily fixed with an adjustable spanner but a nuisance nonetheless. I tend to get it from the bike racks at work as they interfere with disks when parked.

I personally like disks, but don't like the fact the manufacturers will likely stick a couple of hundred £ premium on disk equipped frames.

http://i2.wp.com/www.flowzone.ch/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/DSC_0054.jpg...

thought i would dig this photo out again.

Discs make a lot of sense in bad weather, in mud, etc, they are not a panacea, if the road surface is covered in shit, you are going to have traction issues.

Discs do ping and do make more noise than calipers, particularly if you get some contamination and end up with a pair of banshees, you can get away with a bit of oil on rims and cleaning, discs and a bit of oil, tends to result in a pair of trashed pads.

For those commenting on weight saving, light mtb rims weighed c400grams before discs and still weigh c400grams. Think of it like this, Mavic GEL280's how many rims can you buy now that are lighter? do you really think you can make a aluminium structure any lighter if you remove the braking surfaces. (Carbon is a different question)

You will have people whinging and there will be the constant, bleed your brakes comments.

Are they a game changer, in my opinion no, on an mtb the increased clearance was for me the major selling point.

My next road bike will have discs, why? Because the market has decided that discs are the way forward, so no point fighting the facts. Same reason that there is no point buying a 26" wheel mtb anymore. Why buy technology on its way out and where spares will be an issue in the near future.

I'd just like to keep repeating disque braix, dysc braykz, dizk breacs, dissk braiks until someone explodes.

disc breaks is something you get at greek weddings not on bicycles!

My concerns are
Impact of having a mix of caliper and disc brakes in a group, especially technical cornering - it does not sounds like a good pairing whether in pro or local amateur races.

Danger of injury from discs in a crash, again specifically within the peleton.

brakes out performing the wheel/tyre

More pressure on us mortals to upgrade and the hassle of doing so - frames, wheels, all obsolete.

I'm in no hurry to switch my road bike

BRAKES, the word is BRAKES. It really isn't difficult.

As noted a number of posts above, if you want disc brakes, you can have them. If you don't want them, you don't have to have them.

Cyclists are like the bastard sons of train spotters and golfers.

Hydraulic disc brakes for road bikes have been around for 40-50 some odd years. Now figure out why has it taken so long for them to be adopted for racing? Some of you already know the answer. The rest never will.

I can already lock up both wheels on my slick tyres easily enough if I jam on the brakes at high speed. Where is the advantage of carrying extra weight for more braking power? All you do is move the limit to the tyre rather. I would have to go to heavier tread tyres, with more rolling road friction, and between the weight and the friction, surely I must be giving up more than I can save by braking later into a few corners? Are the heat dispersing characteristics really worth it?

Mountain biking, discs make sense.
Cyclocross, discs make sense.
Commuting, discs can make sense depending on weather and tyres.
Road racing in summer, I am not really seeing the point.

If you go and cycle some of the very severe hills in Exmoor or over the Strines or any place that contains lots of short sharp hills, disc breaks are better on a road bike. In traffic disc brakes are better, on longer gentle descents disc brakes work better. In wet or dry discs are better, sometimes they squeal in the wet, so what? they still work better!

I have new Campag Veloce on one bike and avid BB5s on another, I know which I would rather have on all my bikes if I had too pick!

Quote:

Yeah, because a pair of track rims save a good kilo compared to road rims don't they.

Your sarcasm is wasted - track wheels are built for stiffness and aerodynamics, weight is very much a lesser issue in the controlled environment of a velodrome.

Removing the brake track from road (or CX,/MTB etc) wheels is a massive boost to performance, you can build the wheel stiffer, more aerodynamic, stronger, lighter, wider...
All without the constraints and fragility of a parallel machined rim.

It's not solely about weight.

I can already lock up both wheels on my slick tyres easily enough if I jam on the brakes at high speed.

far too true and it is possible with disks too but is a harder to do - feel and consistency is so much better - I went to disks on my cx stylee aka drop bar hybrid when I noticed that on some hills I got to higher speeds on my disk braked MTB simply because I knew that i could scrub the speed safely when I wanted to

as said above this is a proposed change in rules for the pro-peleton - it won't be compulsory

Another commercial move to get more dosh out of cyclists, should be some real bargains on future near redundant road models with traditional brakes. Just go with whatever you are comfortable with.