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Solution to squeaking disc brakes on my commuter? Replace pads with organic Clarks
I'm on my third or fourth set of new pads, second or third tin of brake cleaner (oops, sorry CHF, that's an exaggeration, lets say my second tin of brake cleaner) and third set of rotors.
Maybe I just brake wrong, or there's some weird harmonic resonant bollocks going on with my frame.
I'll find out soon enough, I've overcome my objections enough to commit to a new disc braked gravel/CX frame since there are bugger all non-disc options that I can afford. Soon I'll be entering the sunny uplands of never having to replace rims and being generally BETTER somehow 😉
I ride two different road bikes - one with and one without discs. I ride each about 50:50.
My Shand has slacker all-road / gravel geometry and is intended for riding year round in all weathers. It's fairly light for what it is, but not a racer by any means. It wears mudguards and Ultegra R8000 discs - it's the more stable and comfortable bike, with the sort of riding I do on it complemented by discs.
My Trek Emonda is really a dry weather bike. It's intended for faster commutes and dry road riding. It's pretty light and has Ultegra calipers, which are very good at stopping in the dry. For its intended use, I can't see that I'd benefit from discs.
If I were to combine the bikes, I'd go for a disc-equipped one... but only if I were commuting, touring and riding in poor weather.
Added weight? It's a bit like the weight "saving" in going to a 1x drivetrain, yes there's a difference but it's not massive, in a blind test lifting them I'd doubt anyone would be able to tell the difference between two bikes that were identical apart from the brakes, there are other benefits.
I'm on my fourth set of wheels on my rim braked road bike because the rims have worn and the cost of buying a new rims and rebuilding the wheels is so close to buying a new set that it's just as simple/lazy to buy a new pair. Throwing away a set of hubs (Hope) that are nowhere near their end of life is stupid. Effectively I'm replacing one consumable (the rim/wheel) costing a lot of money with a cheaper one (the rotor).
If I break a spoke and my rim goes out of true, or the rim goes out of true for any other reason, then with disc brakes I've still got a working system. With rim brakes you'd have to loosen them off so that the wheel would turn (depending on the deflection of the rim of course).
Squealing brakes? I've had those with discs, V-brakes, cantilevers, etc. Yes it's a bit annoying but useful to let phone zombies know that you are there 🙂
Disc brakes on a road bike aren't a panacea to all braking problems in the same way that tubeless isn't the solution to all tyre problems but overall they are, IMO, better than rim brakes.
I’m on my third or fourth set of new pads, second or third tin of brake cleaner (oops, sorry CHF, that’s an exaggeration, lets say my second tin of brake cleaner) and third set of rotors.
Maybe I just brake wrong, or there’s some weird harmonic resonant bollocks going on with my frame.
105 Hydros, fitted from new never squealed even in the mud and wet of the Hope peaks ride, or the long wet Tour O Borders so maybe your just unlucky or can hear in the same range as dogs.
2 pages. Everything is going well here.
How about dropper posts on a road bike? Will that blow foo-foo valves?
How about dropper posts on a road bike? Will that blow foo-foo valves?
Already in use, Mavic neutral service bikes have the lever operated KS posts fitted.
@mike, indeed. Was just wondering what explosions it might cause amongst some, seeing as they have so many issues with disc brakes.
I've had none of these issues in 19yrs of hydro disc use - then again I'm not mechanically incompetent.
I've got a reasonably nice bike with a discs and a nicer one with rim brakes. I prefer the nicer one in all aspects other than the brakes. I took the less nice one to the Alps because I wanted the better brakes, and whilst I spent the climbs thinking "I wish I had the nicer bike", seconds into every single descent I was so pleased I had the discs. If I were going again I'd take the heavier bike in a heartbeat.
To that end, if I bought another 'nice' bike (or any new road bike frankly) it would have discs, they're just better, and I don't really get any of the issues.
Discs for me because I wanted one bike to ride all year round. Starting to see the rim wear as a bit of a negative just at the moment. I could easily lose 500g off the wheels for just over £300 but can't justify to myself replacing something that works perfectly well. I might just have to wear the hubs out to justify new wheels 🙂
Here to stay, but at any given price point you’ll be buying a slightly heavier slightly less aero bike with better brakes. The standard (flat mount, through axle) is probably relatively settled for now at least (and tbh you can work around the older standards).
The aero thing was a red herring put forward by bike companies who'd invested years and $$$$$ in aero framesets. Magically when it came time to re-design them they decided to go disk only as all these concerns disappeared.
If I was buying a new bike, it would probably have disks. Yes you might get 105 disks vs Ultegra rim brakes, but 105 disks are better.
If I was buying a s/h bike I'd rather it had disks but it's not a must have, it would come somewhere after aesthetics.
I wouldn't sell a current bike with rim brakes to pay for a new one with disks.
I'm after a new winter bike as my cross bike is a PITA having to sacrifice riding gravel/cx to have a road bike with guards even with two wheelsets. I'm really not fussed whether it's a newer disk bike or some old audax bike.
I’m on my fourth set of wheels on my rim braked road bike
Is that on a bike you ride all year round on dirty steep lanes. I've done 8,000 miles (not much compared to some I know) on my summer road bike ans I'm still on the original brake pads.
I don't think anyone doubts disc brakes aren't the best all year round solution. Only whether for many on a summer use only bike their the best option.
A quick Google turns up research saying that the claimed aero advantage of rim brakes is a myth.
https://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Disc_and_Rim_Brake_Aero_Drag_6073.html
https://www.parcours.cc/pages/aerodynamics_disc
https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/a20005113/brake-aerodynamics/
@taxi25 - it started out as summer only but it does get ridden in more inclement weather these days. Most of the riding is in the Dales so lots of hills - checked on VeloViewer, a total of 306,000 metres of ascent so similar amount of descent. The roads are rarely "clean", lots of agricultural traffic etc.
they bring a whole load of negatives also: the brake squeal, brake rub, added weight, ugly tall/long hoods, added weight, faff of rerouting & bleeding.
interesting that only a few teams are using them in the Vuelta.
I don't get any brake squeal or rub on my 105 hydraulics, and I really like the hood design; nice wide platform for the heel of my hands to rest on for normal riding, and the front bulge provides a good positive hold when stretching out on the hoods. I'm more interested in whether my brakes make the bike better to ride, or easier to maintain, rather than worrying about whether the hoods are "ugly", though!
Rerouting and bleeding faff? How often do you do that?
Pros generally ride what they are paid to ride. If the manufacturers decide they want to prioritise selling disc equipped bikes, you'll see more of them appearing in the peloton.
interesting that only a few teams are using them in the Vuelta.
Sky ride Pinarello's [if emoji's worked on this forum I'd put a vomiting one here] , which pretty much nullifies any idea that the Pro's would ride whatever is best.
Why would you want 2 pieces of stale bread rubbing against the rim trying to stop you...
I only have 1 bike out of 5 with no discs