now i'm a fully signed up hydraulic user but why do we mtbers subcribe to using something that, after one crash could mean no brakes and an end of the ride.

i've recently got myself a cheapo battereed cable disc for a jump/street/play/commute bike even tho i figured it would likely be crap but bearing in mind its application i figured cheap would be good rather than performance. now this brake caliper is second hand, has seen some neglect and is generally a bit shabby but was dirt cheap.

however now its bedded in it atually works really bloody well. better in fact than much much more expensive hydraulics i've ridden in hte past.

so why do we go for oil filled tubes with their bleeding hastles, intricate parts and boiling oil?? is it in search of the ultimate pimp? is it marketing? weight?(can you get a light weight cable disk setup?)

i`m sure someone in the STW massif can enlighten me.

cheers,

(a very suprised) mark

Cables stretch. Oil does not compress. The result is power and modulation if you use hydraulic. So they are better.

Never known anyone rip a hydro pipe out.
Not to say it doesn't happen.
I've just never seen it.
After fitting & fettling, I've never had to touch a hydro disc.
And that's probably why they reign supreme.

I run BB5's on my HT and when correctly setup the power is ridiculous for 160mm rotors. However, they don't tend to stay that way for very long which is why I'll be upgrading when I get the money together. Fit and forget rules*

* Apart from bleeding of course.

There's nothing really in it on the power stakes between hydro and cable, and I know of guides out in France that are using cable Avids. The downsides are the same as any cable system I guess, stretch, dirt, and so on. I think the hydro market took off so fast, and coupled with that fact that the bottom end hydro prices are pretty close to cable prices means that they didn't really catch on. Plus of course the advantages of hydro are pretty hard to resist, for the same weight as cable, get consistent one finger braking power, that's virtually maintenance free

Fit and forget. Had my hopes on 3 bikes over 10 years and never had to bleed them until I boiled the rear in the alps.

Cables also snap.

Wheels can snap in a crash, leaving you with no wheels after one crash and having to push home. Doesnt mean they're wrong. Or are we being pimp and markety for having these new fangled spoked wheels, should we all be using solid discs of steel? 😆

Cables stretch. Oil does not compress. The result is power and modulation if you use hydraulic. So they are better.

oil can leak though. Cables don't leak. So cables are better.
and so it goes on… 😉

Hydro brakes on bikes for the same reason they are on cars/motorbikes/other vehicles:

They work well with hardly any maintenance.

p.s. I've never known anyone to damage a hose either.

hydraulics – maintenance free? my formulas have been ok but hopes i've had have been a nightmare.

as for one finger braking i've got that with my cable disk!

i dunno. i guess i'm liking the simplicity on hte cable setup. simple and effective. dont need to strip and bleed the brake at bike changes. stretch is minimal and with a twist of the cable adjuster it is sorted.

i agree that new the cable brakes are quite expensive ( i was suprised) considering. but i'm sure if there was a demand then prices would fall as they are so much simpler.

i just figured for a 6yr old caliper it works so much better then a equivalently aged hydraulic.

i use formula hydro disc brakes on my all terrain/light weight commute bike. complete overkill, max pimp. and still squell when wet

I've never known anyone to damage a hose either

Ive had a Hope leak at the lever end of the hose, after clobbering a tree. It had pulled the hose clamp/screw thingy off a bit over the threads somehow…

Van Halen, I agree with most of your points, there really isn't a lot in it, hydro just seems to have cornered the market in disc brakes for whatever reason. Pimp value, upgrade one-upmanship points, techno-babble marketing, take your pick…

hydro have more potential to go wrong.

cables have less power.

You makes your choices….

I am yet to see a set of cable disc brakes that work anything like a set of hydro disc brakes.

Its a myth as far as i can see. They take more effort to pull for less brake action. Obviously pad performance isnt any different.

hobo – you can come ride mine if you like.

i am properly suprised. i`d never given cable disks a thought before.

>I run BB5's on my HT

allegedly the BB7s are a fair bit better – I've got one to put on one of my recumbents, so I can't yet comment (and it's to go on the back anyway, so it won't get heavy use..)

I've played with hydros and cables, never liked the cables for power or modulation, but it was a few years ago.

i just figured for a 6yr old caliper it works so much better then a equivalently aged hydraulic.

I'll show you my Hope DH4 (8-10 years old?) handing your cable caliper it's arse with zero maintenance in that period. I've just bought a set of old Hope C2's for my trials bike, they work wonderfully….

BB7 here, 185 front 160 rear, perfectly happy thanks

ive seen both a hydro brake hose ripped out in a stack and a mech disk caliper ripped apart in a stack.

its not like its the only breakable part on a bike is it.

My hydros (Hayes) have been maintenance free in the two years I've had them, unlike all the cable-operated bits on my bike. Sure they could be broken in a crash in the right (wrong!) circumstances, but then so could pretty much every other part on your bike so why single them out?

I cracked a banjo at Fort William during a fairly innocuous tumble, it took 5 minutes to replace the hose and re-bleed after I'd rolled to the bottom. What's the problem?