[Closed] Disc Brake injuries at Paris Roubaix

Coaster brakes work in the wet and don't ruin you rims.
Just saying.

Now this would make for more spectacular descending. Especially if they had (as is traditional with Coaster brakes) ornamental or non-existant front brakes. Definite benefit for spectators.

nearly, if not all circumstances, all wheels are stationary in a split second as the wheels and tyres inevitably touch something and then stop.

I always thought it was the heat of the disk that was the issue.

Was just fiddling with bikes in the garage, stood my bike up and ran (gently) into the back of it astride my other one. I can't get my left leg anywhere near the disc rotor on the other one while still astride the bike. You'd have to have to be a contortionist or go-go-gadget legged. I can barely get the knee onto the disc off the bike, you're practically astride the back wheel and need supermodel long femurs

Four hour ride this morning, quite hilly, constant rain, lots of gritty farm roads, not once did I want for better brakes. Legs, lungs for sure but the brakes worked perfectly every time they were needed.

I dont know why that bother people, if you like bikes with discs buy one, if you dont, dont but one.

Christ, I'm beginning to look like a zealot here (and I really don't care what the pros use*, honest)

However: This afternoon I went out on the road to watch a mate who was in a race. Relatively dry roads but I didn't trust the weather (had hailstones just before I got out) so took the winter bike. I was genuinely amazed at how "instant" and good the braking was, 'til I remembered which bike I was on (BB7 discs, nowt flashy)

*as long as I can soon buy a cheapish, dependable and good-feeling road (race) aftermarket through-axle disc fork to fit my current "best" bike

BB7 discs

Got them on my steel stead and tbh I wouldn't go out my way to buy a bike with rim brakes again.

Cheers, Steve

philjunior - And you know Sagan is going to deliberately lock up the back end for skidz on some big hairpin..,

All mountain bikes should be red because I've got a red car and its my favourite car.

So you were amazed by BB7's performance in the dry, while handily ignoring the fact they are just essentially calipers, albeit ones with disadvantages over the traditional rim brake.

Scaredypants yes a mtb race starts like that for about 2 minutes with around ~50 riders, but compare that with road that will have ~200 riders riding like that for 5-8 hours, really not comparable at all.

So you were amazed by BB7's performance in the dry, while handily ignoring the fact they are just essentially calipers, albeit ones with disadvantages over the traditional rim brake.

Yes, correct - though I didn't need to ignore anything as this was an observation based on my actual experience. Weird isn't it that they were that much better even in conditions where rim brakes work "best"?

Scaredypants yes a mtb race starts like that for about 2 minutes with around ~50 riders, but compare that with road that will have ~200 riders riding like that for 5-8 hours, really not comparable at all.

Well, I'm just mucking about there really 😳 (though it is patently true that, contrary to the initial statement, pretty much every pro xc race starts with riders sprinting (often 12 or more abreast) before slamming on the brakes as the bunch funnels (or fails to) into a much narrower track

So you were amazed by BB7's performance in the dry, while handily ignoring the fact they are just essentially calipers, albeit ones with disadvantages over the traditional rim brake.

And big advantages. Leverage ratio on the pads, mainly. And a dedicated braking surface, that's away from water on the road surface.

Discs are better. End of. No arguments.

TBH the anti argument seems largely based on there being simultaneously a performance advantage, which is dangerous because of different braking capabilities in the peleton, and also being no performance advantages.

Oh and as it turns out, also the ability for brake discs to cause injuries even in crashes where none of the bikes had brake discs.

Cheers popped in to see how this got to so many pages

Who could have guessed it would be such a STW thread.

Bike companies obviously desperately want all pro's to use discs. To them it's irrelevant if they work better, it just means they sell more bikes.

Does appear that the pro's don't want them. As to why? Dunno any pro roadies on here?

I think both crazy-legs and Njee are proper racers and both have already commented on this thread.

Personally, I couldn't care either way, but I do hate seeing technology stymied by perceived flaws that hold little relevance to real world events.

Thanks for the complement Daffy, not entirely sure i can call myself a proper racer, done my share though 🙂

I can't decide how I feel about discs on the road, I don't think they're [i]necessary[/i], I built up a new road bike last year with rim brakes, which are fine 99.9% of the time, but for the 0.01% of times they're inadequate. I really don't understand everyone saying discs are no better, you can lock wheels with rim brakes etc. It's exactly the same arguments as on an MTB 15 years ago. Do none of these people ride MTBs? Discs are better, I'm entirely convinced of that, just whether we need better, or whether it's a worthwhile improvement.

In racing... Dunno, I'd never thought of the 'circular saw' thing until this, I'm not entirely sure the alleged injury was caused by a rotating disc, as it looks rather 'teethy', and being a left leg a cassette interface feels more likely. From a plausibility perspective, I Agree they don't have much momentum, but they probably don't need it - we're not talking decapitation or anything, just nasty flesh wounds, I suspect when bikes are flying around, potentially with people still pedalling them you could get some nasty injuries.

Back to the original point of whether they're necessary... Seems stupid not to listen to the riders. Do those that have tested them in races think they're unnecessary? Are they doing it through sponsor obligation? Curiosity? Or because they think they have something to offer? I genuinely don't know. Obviously the open letter from Fran whatshisname decries their use, but I think there's a degree of reticence to change.

My next winter bike will have discs on it though, 100%, and I'm mildly twitchy at the thought of taking my Chinese carbon wheel, rim brake shod, bike to the Alps.

TL/DR: discs are better, you're an idiot to suggest otherwise, I don't think they're necessary most of the time, but they're a nice to have and I'm undecided for racing.