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[Closed] Chris Froome Chats about his new bike

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and is not 100% enthused by discs (2.30) or his bars


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 9:21 pm
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Has anyone told him it's the wrong size yet?


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 9:23 pm
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Cue lots of consternation as disc brake fan-bois try to explain why multi-TDF winner Chris Froome is WRONG 😁


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 10:13 pm
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The proportions are fugly, like most new carbon bikes.


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 10:28 pm
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Cue lots of consternation as disc brake fan-bois try to explain why multi-TDF winner Chris Froome is WRONG 😁

🙃

TBF, I am wondering why his disc brakes are "rubbing all the time" do road discs do that?


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 10:31 pm
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Really fascinating hearing him on disc brakes from a pro perspective. Lots of things he says about them don't matter for regular riders of course, but these guys are obviously super picky about stet up.


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 10:34 pm
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It's a bit "dissy" of his new employer's gear, isn't it ?

I wonder if it's part of a marketing strategy - new dura-ace comes out, Froome says "wow - this is it ! All my reservations have been answered, and I've never ridden a stiffer bar than the 150% improved one"

makes you think


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 10:36 pm
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He should have stayed at Ineos then where he could ride a heavy rim-braked bike that is prone to cracking and incapable of avoiding walls.

Isn't this just a repeat of the myths that were doing the rounds 2-3 years ago when all the other teams went onto disc brakes?


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 10:41 pm
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[ video]

]

If i could get embedding to work from youtube, this from Peak Torque is an interesting take on it


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 10:42 pm
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 I am wondering why his disc brakes are “rubbing all the time” do road discs do that?

Mine don't, but maybe that's because I'm not warping the discs. I'm happy that they always work, always slow me down dry or wet.


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 10:43 pm
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My brakes don't rub yet, 3 months in.


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 10:44 pm
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I wondered about his disk comments too. Never really seen many comments on here about Shimano xtr/xt brakes rubbing or warping. You’d think that dura ace/ultegra road brakes are designed with similar tech.


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 10:47 pm
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Maybe if I was as fast & powerful at him then my frame would flex enough for the pads to rub 🤷‍♂️

Overheating & warped discs don't happen in any other sport & disc brakes are nothing new. So, perhaps his sponsors are a little behind in disc technology.


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 10:55 pm
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Cue lots of consternation as disc brake fan-bois try to explain why multi-TDF winner Chris Froome is WRONG

It's not saying they're bad, he was quite open minded about it - he said he's not sold on them. He reported issues, which is fair enough - what's not clear is if it's just those brakes/rotors or if it's just that particular set. We know as MTBers that you can have issues. He does use rotors that most of us probably don't, to be fair.

They certainly work for me, I'm not going back. And of course it's not because of anything the pros do, it's cos I'm an MTBer and the idea of going back to rim brakes seems absurd!

You’d think that dura ace/ultegra road brakes are designed with similar tech.

As above they aren't Shimano, they're Swiss Stop. That said, they aren't some super light thing, they look pretty robust.


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 10:59 pm
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Posted : 08/02/2021 11:03 pm
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Ah hadn’t clocked the callipers and disks were Swiss stop. The odd occasion I get rubbing disks it drives me mad. Imagine you’re a pro monitoring every decimal place of a watt!!


 
Posted : 08/02/2021 11:07 pm
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the calipers aren't SwissStop. Not on that bike next to him anyway (see 2:36).

Sounds like a setup issue, or maybe the SwissStop rotors don't play nicely with the DA calipers??

More interesting to me is reverting back to round rings. As an oval user if I go back to round they feel awful. I almost feel this isn't true, and he's just saying it to sell some Factor bikes...


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 9:57 am
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I've had discs warp and develop rubs during rides, maybe Froome and I have the same (bad?) braking habits? (at last! something in common with a pro rider 😀 ).

In fact, I've had discs fresh out the box develop wibbles just after bedding in, e.g. twenty hard almost-stops on a steep hill but never coming to a complete halt.

The nearest experience I could relate to would be coming off a very steep and braking heavy descent (the road beside Bracklin falls, steep twisty tarmac with loose gravelly marbles on top, you basically never want to build up any speed). The disc developed a wibble and/or a piston didn't retract fully, and I spent the next 20km time-trialling along the road with a constant audible tsk-tsk-tsk as I was riding. For me it was just an irritation but imagine you were an actual pro soloing away from the group and you had that little psychological water torture going on, imagining each 'tsk' as shaving another 1/2 watt or something.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 10:07 am
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Think I saw him saying somewhere that he was looking forward to trying his wonky rings with the ceramic speed jockey wheels etc.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 10:08 am
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That physics video is all well and good, but it's not fair to say that "discs don't work that well on a road bike". They do, for me - there's no question. And Froome also says that the stopping power is great in wet and dry so there's clearly an element of 'working well' happening here.

Of course I'm not doing alpine descents, but I do have steep fast hills, so I'm going to try and see if I can get my cheapo discs to start rubbing.

I'm also quite curious as to what sort of difference the Shimano cooling fins and vanes make. There's obviously a lot more heat being generated so such things would seem to make much more of a difference. TBH if I were on Alpine descents regularly I'd want fins and vanes on my bike. The SwissStop discs and presumably pads have neither of those things.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 10:10 am
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I’d imagine if you’re doing 5-6 mile alpine descents going the sorts of speeds these guys go, on 140/160mm discs, they’re probs going to warp occasionally


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 10:39 am
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As above they aren’t Shimano, they’re Swiss Stop. That said, they aren’t some super light thing, they look pretty robust.

Ah hadn’t clocked the callipers and disks were Swiss stop

Pause it at 2:38 - the calliper is labelled Dura-Ace.

I’m also quite curious as to what sort of difference the Shimano cooling fins and vanes make

I reckon a fair bit - I suspect the shimano system has been carefully designed with thermal management in mind and if you take one component out of the equation it's likely to not work as well.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 10:52 am
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The longest descent I've done on a disk-braked road bike would be the one to Applecross. I had fully loaded panniers etc too. There's a fair bit of braking involved as it's singletrack, narrow, twisty and there's oncoming traffic too. I doubt I set any speed records but, OTOH, my rotors were fine 😊

Surely all these pro roadies weigh so little that the brakes don't have much to do? Perhaps we'll see the introduction of aero drag braking systems.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 10:53 am
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aero drag braking systems.

Maybe they will introduce a wing suit, just fold your arms in to go fast, out to slow down. No need for brakes at all 🤣


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 10:57 am
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He says the rotors and discs are Swiss Stop. I'm assuming he got a bit confused and meant rotors and pads.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 11:11 am
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There’s a fair bit of braking involved as it’s singletrack, narrow, twisty and there’s oncoming traffic too. I doubt I set any speed records but, OTOH, my rotors were fine

If it's singletrack you probably weren't going very fast so the instantaneous thermal load on your brakes would have been less than someone having to go from 70kph to 30kph in a few seconds.

I've got a right turn half way down an 80kph bit of road on my local loop. The problem is I know it's coming up, so I haven't the balls to leave it really late and slam on. But however late I leave it, there's always bags of power in reserve and I could have left it later. But of course my brakes are cold going into it, it's not the 15th such stop in a row on a 35C day.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 11:12 am
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Is that bike his retirement present? 😉

I’ve had discs warp and develop rubs during rides, maybe Froome and I have the same (bad?) braking habits? (at last! something in common with a pro rider 😀

I thought you were banned from talking about disc brakes? 😉🤣😂


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 11:21 am
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I thought you were banned from talking about disc brakes?

Haha, that was just a new year's resolution, they're meant to be broken 😉


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 11:33 am
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Maybe they will stop him bitching and moaning about other people descending faster than him now?


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 11:36 am
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Maybe they will stop him bitching and moaning about other people descending faster than him now?

Froome is one of the better descenders from what I've seen, he's not pretty and flowing in a Cancellara way but he's certainly not slow and I've not seen him lose time on the downhill sections unlike Richie Porte for instance.

That they're using aftermarket pads seems odd, the fins are clearly there on the Shimano pads for a reason, I wonder if we'll see him moving to stock pads in the future.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 11:40 am
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suspect the shimano system has been carefully designed with thermal management marketing and profit in mind


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 11:47 am
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How embarrassing that they spelt his name wrong too. Must feel like he plays for a Sunday league football team where everyone has a y added to their surname.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 11:59 am
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Froome is one of the better descenders from what I’ve seen, he’s not pretty and flowing in a Cancellara way but he’s certainly not slow and I’ve not seen him lose time on the downhill sections unlike Richie Porte for instance.

He does seem to have improved in recent years. I was referring to the tour a few years (2013?) back where he criticised Contador et al for attacking him on a descent. Its what put me off him a rider.... your either racing or not.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 11:59 am
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That they’re using aftermarket pads seems odd, the fins are clearly there on the Shimano pads for a reason, I wonder if we’ll see him moving to stock pads in the future.

Fins are there for marketing. Fins wont dissipate heat instantaneously.

Because of the weight weenie obsession and prolific shit engineering that goes on, the brakes will fade, unless the discs are thicker (see ebike rotors) and larger, along with a bigger braking surface, then the issue wont go away.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 12:07 pm
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I’d imagine if you’re doing 5-6 mile alpine descents going the sorts of speeds these guys go, on 140/160mm discs, they’re probs going to warp occasionally

Whereas with rim brakes it's just the tyres that fall off occasionally.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 12:10 pm
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My Ultegra discs rub like crazy in the wet. One trip through a big puddle results in 30 seconds of horrendous racket. I tend to agree with him in that there’s not enough clearance ‘twixt pad and rotor - I thought Shimano’s Servo-Wave thingummy was supposed to allow a bigger clearance by using a cam to get the piston through the gap with minimal lever throw?

Anyway, I’d rather take my chances with an overheated rotor than repeat the experience of a front wheel blow out on an alpine descent due to an overheated wheel rim.
That was a new shorts job.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 12:12 pm
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It's part of the Roadies philosophy, to completely disregard any technological advancememt that hasen't been developed from within the UCI regulations and road bike world.

Like he says, give it a few years and he'll forget he ever complained about it.

Personally, given the UCI weight limit on bikes, any bike having discs is an advantage over those that don't. If the UCI reduce the weight limit It'll be interesting to see who moves back to rim brakes.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 12:13 pm
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Because of the weight weenie obsession

it's kinda of understandable really no one wants to pay more for a heavier bike no matter how well it stops.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 12:16 pm
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no one wants to pay more for a heavier bike no matter how well it stops

Apart from most of the general public?


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 12:19 pm
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eh? what have ebikes got to do with it ?


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 12:21 pm
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How embarrassing that they spelt his name wrong too.

They did the same with that Bradle chap.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 12:25 pm
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That was a refreshing change for a product endorsement.

You can watch mtb videos all day long and the person will say its the best bike ever.

A new bike for him and:

Its too heavy

Too flexy

Brakes are crap

The new computer is erm 'interesting'


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 12:27 pm
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no one wants to pay more for a heavier bike no matter how well it stops

First time I tried disk brakes, that's exactly what I wanted to do. Same with dropper posts.


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 12:27 pm
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That was a refreshing change for a product endorsement.

It's called "getting your excuses in early".


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 12:29 pm
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Personally, given the UCI weight limit on bikes, any bike having discs is an advantage over those that don’t. If the UCI reduce the weight limit It’ll be interesting to see who moves back to rim brakes.

You're right. JV and UAE both struggled in the last TDF.

Disc brakes don't work for the peloton for reasons that just aren't relevant to leisure riders (including british racers).

1. We don't have any long descents to create a thermal management issue.

2. Tiny amounts of rubbing, losing us <5W are unlikely to impact daily riding as nobody outside of the CTT clubs are really anywhere near the peak of marginal gains.

3. Weight is less important if you aren't racing up long climbs above 5%. Even less when you're 90kg rather than 58kg.

4. Shitty weather means carbon rim braking surfaces are disposable items. Professionals don't pay for new rims.

5. We don't have a car following us with spare wheels. So we ride clinchers not tubs, which means there is a risk of thermal rupture of tubes causing accidents.

As a result, fat dentists and account managers want discs. These people pay Shimano's wages. They want to feel important by association, so it's easier to make pros ride discs than it is to sell the argument that 'You aren't Pogacar, you don't need rim brakes'


 
Posted : 09/02/2021 12:36 pm
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