I built up a road bike for commuting a while back with 160mm discs, but i’ve got a bit more into road biking than i thought and now considering a trip to the Alps.

BUT will the brakes hold up ok? I’ve experienced heating issues with 200mm rotors with the MTB so on the face of it there could be some worrying fade. I guess on the MTB brakes will be dragged a lot more than on the road, plus an MTB weighs (a bit) more. However, a road bike is going to be going a heck of a lot faster and my GCSE physics tells me this will be a problem.

hmmm…

They’re going to fade a lot less that rim brakes would…

I use rim brakes on my road bike in the Pyrenees, and don’t have too many problems with them.

Obviously braking distances increase going down mountain roads, so you have to compensate for that, but fade isn’t a major issue.