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TECH NEWS
trek domane disc 2.pngVideo: Trek's experiment with disc brakes in professional racing
2015 will be remembered as the year the professional peloton first raced disc-equipped bikes raced in anger. Trek Factory Racing experimented with disc brakes during the recent Vuelta a Espana stage race, and in this video GCN takes a closer look at the bike in question.
Trek Factory Racing put just one rider, Markel Irizar, on a Domane Disc for a couple of stages of the Vuelta, to gather feedback on the use of disc brakes in a racing situation. There's been lots of speculation about disc brakes in the pro peloton over the last couple of years, but there's nothing like actually putting a pro on a disc-equipped bike and sending them into the professional peloton.
His feedback on the experiment was positive.
"Of course it’s a little more heavier and to change the wheel [in case of a puncture] is a little more difficult, but I think that this is the future," he said.
“Today in the heat already the difference was already really big I think it’s the same when the electronic shifting came, it had a negative reaction at first, and now everybody loves it. I think that in a couple of years for sure everyone will love it. This is the first step, of course, there are some things we can improve, but this was Shimano’s goal, to have it tested in races to have the information."
- Trek trials disc brakes at the Vuelta - and reaction is positive from the pro riding them
Why was he racing a Domane? Because that's currently the only road bike in the company's range that is offered with disc brakes. Away from racing, endurance and sportive bikes like the Domane have been selling in big numbers and it's the disc-equipped versions that are proving to be the most popular, certainly here in the UK where the poor road conditions and bad weather makes disc brakes an attractive option over conventional rim brakes.
- Trek gear up for the disc brake revolution with new Domane Disc
We're seeing more new disc-equipped road bikes being launched all the time, this guide below provides a good overview of just a few of the highlights in this growing category.
Oh, it's worth pointing out that Dan in the video up top gets the description of the IsoSpeed decoupler a little wrong. There is no elastomer, it's a simple seal designed to keep the IsoSpeed clean and dry, all the action comes courtesy of the carbon layup and the decoupler itself. The decoupler is a pair of bearings with a bushing in the middle that provides a mechanical connection between the seat tube and top tube.
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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10 comments
I spent 8 months riding a Defy Advanced Pro with hydro discs and cannot say it was any more difficult to remove wheels for punctures than for any caliper brake bikes I've owned; just make sure you don't grab the brake lever once the wheel is removed
the bike was a little heavier than the equivalent price point TCR, but this was mainly felt in the wheels approx. 1800g vs 1500g on the Defy and TCR
I've ridden the higher spec Defy with the carbon rim wheels and the big drop in weight brings the bike much closer to "race bike" feel
Like for like you have to spend more when compared to a caliper brake bike, but otherwise many advantages to the non-racers
Precisely, the wheels! stick some light wheels on the defy (am classic Argents for example) and it would perform just like the TCR in terms of speed and handling, but would out perform it into corners thanks to the better braking performance.
i do like Treks red bikes....
600 gramme heavier though, assuming a caliper pro bike'd come in around 7 kg.
But that is the static weight. Once the wheel manufacturers get their heads around building rims without braking surface, the wheels will become as light or lighter than the current wheels - but they will feel as light or lighter once actually moving due to the weight distribution moving from the rims inwards towards the hubs.
Frame manufacturers will begin to reduce the material in the traditional calliper brake areas meaning frame weight will end up all but the same or quite possibly lighter than equivalent calliper brake frames (see my previous ref re Giant Defy disc).
The disadvantages of a bike that is very slightly heavier are far outweighed by the performance advantages of disc brakes (unless you only ever ride on the flat and/or never touch the brakes, obviously).
Having used disc brake wheels on my mountain bike for years it came as news to me that they were somehow difficult or time consuming to remove and replace. I thought maybe it was just a road bike thing, but honestly they are just as straight forward to take off and put back on again. So maybe it's a pro peloton type of thing where every second really does count, disc brake wheels actually are more difficult to change whilst hanging out of a car window and another permutation really is an inconvenience.
For the rest of us though, this perceived issue of changing disc brake wheels is a complete red herring perpetuated by simple ignorance and a vocal minority who just don't like them for some reason (but may well change their minds when they can buy a campag version).
Trek employee in singing praises of employers new product shocker.
interesting...
he was hardly going to say it was rubbish as that would impact sales.
Current format are too heavy and too slow to change.
Really!? The giant defy disc is the lightest frame they've made (although new tcr may have just beaten that, but not by much) and it's as stiff as the tcr.
The uci weight limit means that riders add ballast, and so a disc equipped bike won't be a problem so long as it's at or below the weight limit.
Where I agree is on the wheels, as I haven't seen any of the main manufacturers make use of the fact that a brake track is no longer needed on the rims, potentially freeing up design to improve aero further as well as reducing weight. Disc wheels will become as light, or even lighter than non disc wheels, but as the weight will have moved inwards towards the hub, they will feel lighter, even with wheels where static weight is slightly higher.
The issue in the pro peloton is I believe more about changing wheels following punctures etc.
Functional benefits aside, these things are hardly grossly overweight as it is and already getting lighter - something I doubt will stop anytime soon. I'd also have a decent wager that with a small amount of practice I could change a hydraulic disc front with something like the Focus RAT thru-axle far quicker than a rim braked QR setup. Back, i'm not sure - if I had to guess i'd say probably the same as there's no lawyer tabs to unwind past and most of time is spent elsewhere anyway.