Brake disc… Upgrade

I am looking to improve my brakes performance.
I have sram guide re. 180 mm on the front, 160 mm on the rear. Clark rotors.
Looking to upgrade to 200 mm fronts. 180 mm rear.
Is it worth it? Will it improve performance?
If so, are the more expensive disc’s worth it?

Yes
Yes
To a point, but not really.

I run 203 f&r, never had a problem with brakes being too good.

generally there is very little difference between rotors unless you go really cheap or have very little surface area for the pad to grip.

Thanks for the quick reply guys.
Any brands/models you would recommend?
Would a shimano/magura disc fit my sram kit?
Needs to be 6 bolt mount.

I recently put my 180mm front rotor on the rear with a fresh set of clarks sintered pads, and a new shimano mt66 200mm rotor on the front with a fresh set of resin pads. The difference was night and day

I’ve always had decent performance with Sram Centerlines with Guides or Codes. I don’t think the rotor cost makes a massive difference really – as long as you avoid cheapie stuff. Decent pads also worth the money – I’ve always found Sram genuine sintered pads are decent – but at a lower cost uberbike race matrix have been decent too

The size upgrade is well worth it. I’ve not found any noticeable differences between cheap and expensive disks. The only disks I’ve had issues with are Hope, twice. I’m willing to accept there were other factors rather than just manufacturing issues but there are enough other brands for me to not need to try another one.

I asked a similar question about the G2’s the other week. After that I have swapped to 200/180 with Kevlar gorilla pads and they are much improved. I’d already got 180 on the back so I think the pads made more of a difference, but didn’t try 200 front with the SRAM pads so couldn’t say for sure.

Yes do the rotors, I went from 200 front and 180 rear to 220 front and rear and love it! I went for Magura MDR-P rotors in 6 bolt, they work fine with my SRAM code brakes (your Guide RE’s will have the calliper)

i have been looking for some new disks recently and the whole world seems to be sold out – 200mm centrelines – any clues to who has some?

As everyone else has said, upsizing discs does make a noticeable difference. Pretty cheap to do and only real downside is a few more g of weight.

I’ve become completely indiffent to disc design now – pretty much convinced any difference is indistinguishable from other factors and far far less significant than choice of pads.

There are some really cheap SRAM/AVId discs around in the design that pre-dated centreline (I picked up a new pair of 160mm for my road bike for £10). And there are some cheap centrelines on Ebay. even if fake I can’t see that they’d actually be dangerous and the ones I’ve seen LOOK authentic with all the right laser etching on etc. BUT 200mm discs don’t seem to get discounted or be in stock…

@porter_jamie I had one on back order from Tredz, they were due in stock on 1st April but got delayed (by a certain ship/canal interface issue I assume!) and it got to me on the 9th.
Still in stock Tredz

Thanks guys. There seems to be overwhelming support for the upgrade.
A minimal increase in weight is worth it for a decent performance upgrade.

My next question is 200 vs 203 mm?? Are these totally different discs? Or are the same thing?
I have an On-one Scandal V3 btw

Another noob question. I will need a 20 mm adapter right?
Such as THIS LINK

I just buy the bottom end Shimano discs – unless you’re racing (and getting the discs really hot) there is no benefit in spending more.

They’re all laser cut from Stainless sheet in the same way.

You’ll definitely notice an improvement from sizing up though – a worthwhile upgrade.

My next question is 200 vs 203 mm?? Are these totally different discs? Or are the same thing?
I have an On-one Scandal V3 btw

Hmmm I’ve got the same, it’s not quite as straightforward as it should be.

1) Rear clearance isn’t the best around the caliper, so you need the right adapters to make it work (there’s 3 styles of +20mm adapter). The one you linked to should work, although you can usually find them for £5 rather than £20.

2) You need a 200mm rotor, 203/205 will be too big for the SRAM caliper.

I went with Shimano Ice-Tech rotors as I think they make a slight difference to the brake feel, being more consistent over a long decent as they don’t heat up. They are expensive though and have a more finite life. That meant using +20 addapters and some shims to lift the calliper the last 1.5mm to clear a 203 Shimano rotor.

In general, most rotors are much of a muchness. Some are noisy, some cause pulsing, some just don’t seem to grip the pads. I tried the superlight ones that are more air than rotor and eventually decided they were pointless. The best rotors are the ones with the most surface area. The more solid the brake track the better they work and presumably the more heat they can reject to the air. That’s why I prefer Shimano rotors over SRAM and others.

Owning one – I would be surprised if you can get a 200/203 in the back of the scandal. The disc will clear but the caliper is going to end up in a funny position and you might not be able to get the bolts in, or tighten them.

I just buy the bottom end Shimano discs

There is a difference between cheap Shimano discs and the ice-tech ones. The cheap ones have ‘organic pads only’ written on them, whereas the more expensive ones don’t. There’s been a lot of debate as to how important it is to follow this rule. However, I noticed a good deal of flutter on the cheaper discs which disappeared when I upgrade to ice-tech. Feel was much better.

The cheaper ones are also stamped rather than cut out, which means that the edges are a little rounded. If your pads are close to the top edge then you might end up wearing a slight lip on the pad. I have a feeling this is what’s causing the slight rub issues on my road bike.

I wont be putting 200 mm on the back, just 180 mm.
200 or 203 mm on the fronts

Owning one – I would be surprised if you can get a 200/203 in the back of the scandal. The disc will clear but the caliper is going to end up in a funny position and you might not be able to get the bolts in, or tighten them.

The cheaper ones are also stamped rather than cut out, which means that the edges are a little rounded. If your pads are close to the top edge then you might end up wearing a slight lip on the pad. I have a feeling this is what’s causing the slight rub issues on my road bike.

I think the difference is the expensive ones are milled flat and heat-treated after being cut which hardens the surface.

Doesn’t need to be ice-tech though, there’s (at least) 4 or 5 tiers of shimano rotors. All but the cheapest share the same brake track shape.

Cheap stamped ones
Normal ones
Normal ones with an alloy center
Ice tech
Freeza (ice tech with more fins)

Owning one – I would be surprised if you can get a 200/203 in the back of the scandal. The disc will clear but the caliper is going to end up in a funny position and you might not be able to get the bolts in, or tighten them.

The other way around I think, I don’t think a 200mm disk fits. But getting the bolts in for even the stock 160mm rotor is tricky, for 180 I put some tape on the frame to save the paint! A +40mm adapter would space it forward a bit and actually buy you some space.

Moot though, the guides on a 180 rotor have the back tyre skipping along nicely with only light pressure, going bigger would just make it harder to control. The only place I can see that being necessary might be something like the Megavalanche where need to control your speed in big groups down a long decent and the biggest issue is managing the heat.

Big discs for the win. There is a Pinkbike or Enduro mag write up about disc size and how bigger on the back is better than the front for long draggy decents (you heathens).. I’m a 203 front and 180 rear type of person, not least as as i never do any majorly long decents anymore :( (damn family)

Also, it’s not true about thickness – some discs are different and they will affect how the brakes work if they are too thin. Hayes for instance have thicker discs, though if you’re using them it’s probably not an issue anyway- so do double check as at some point of the caliper is designed around a certian thickness pad and disc, you will get a bad wondering bite point.

The cheapest Shimano ones are no good, the rest are fine.

2) You need a 200mm rotor, 203/205 will be too big for the SRAM caliper.

I went with Shimano Ice-Tech rotors as I think they make a slight difference to the brake feel, being more consistent over a long decent as they don’t heat up. They are expensive though and have a more finite life. That meant using +20 addapters and some shims to lift the calliper the last 1.5mm to clear a 203 Shimano rotor.

In general, most rotors are much of a muchness. Some are noisy, some cause pulsing, some just don’t seem to grip the pads. I tried the superlight ones that are more air than rotor and eventually decided they were pointless. The best rotors are the ones with the most surface area. The more solid the brake track the better they work and presumably the more heat they can reject to the air. That’s why I prefer Shimano rotors over SRAM and others.

When I look at the spec for Scandal they have a 203 mm disc listed as an option.
SCANDAL
This contradicts what you say then.
Or do you have a Scandal also? And can confirm 203 mm disc wont work without shims?

Its getting confusing this

I’ve a latest Scandal. and had a bit of a struggle getting a 180mm rotor into the rear, and getting it correctly aligned.

I’ve also added a standalone 4mm allen key to my pack as once I got the 180 working right I couldn’t get my mini-tool 4mm in to adjust it.

I just bought so cheap unbranded ones on eBay (about £12 with brake mount adapter). They turned up with Avid written on them and seen to be performing as well as any of the more expensive ones once had in the past. Previously I’ve usually bought Superstar unless it’s the wife’s bike (she likes to replace like for like on her bikes).

As said above. I’m fairly unconcerned about the actual design nowadays.