…did poxy six bolt rotor retention system gain dominance over the much superior and user friendly Shimano centre lock? Grrr… bloody hate the damn things!

Do you take a lockring tool out on the trail with you? I bet you have the right tool on a multitool though 🙂

How are you struggling with 6 bolts?

6 bolt was arround for years and is just a miniturised version of what’s on your car/motorbike and relies on the friction between the rotor and hub to keep it in place (perpendicular force proviced by the 6 bolts). It’s the commonly used system before shimano came out with centerlock, Hope used to use a similar system. The downsides of those systems is they rely on the two parts matching together perfectly, whereas a 6-bolt disk just needs a flat surface. So there’s your answer, it’s just an older standard, and it works well.

I’d rather have six different fixings holding my disc on than one, it’s what they use on motorbikes too which is probably why.
Only issue I had was having to machine the bolt heads down a little to clear fox 36 fork leg when using a king front hub as they fouled.

Never had any major problems with 6 bolt, other than stripping Hope cheese-based bolts years ago.

Does you car have Center (Sic) Lock hubs as well?

As above, stronger fixings, easier to service with ordinary tools, and also easier to transfer/move as it’s a universal standard.

i actively avoid anything center lock

You’re having technical difficulties with a 6 bolt hub?

Hmmmmmm… I may not be the most mechanically inept person on here after all. Are you using a hammer?

i actively avoid anything center lock

6 bolt cassettes?

however, I’d say anyone who can’t cope with a 6-bolt disk is probably best leaving maintenance to their lbs.

6 bolt Standard was First to market….

That and manufacturability, it’s much easier / quicker to turn/cast/forge a basic hub shell and then drill and tap six M5 holes than make a spline (you’ve got to drill the spoke holes anyway)…

I agree splined interface is better, but harder to produce and hence hasn’t been on the market since about 1998 like 6 bolt/IS…

6 bolt works well enough it’s not that hard to operate really.

I can’t remember ever having to tighten/adjust centrelock rotors on the trail- fit and forget, (nor have I with 6 bolt to be fair)
Centrelock allows for quick changes of rotors if using the wheels on bikes with different brakes, adaptors allow you to use 6 bolt rotors except some floating ones. I am with the OP on this one.

I am not mechanically inept, more engineering oriented and splined system is more elegant and works very well. Constantly taking stainless bolts in and out of aluminium hubs is a (admittedly minor) concern to me

jimw all you have to do is get the same sized adapters on both bikes and you don’t need to swap the discs around.

Centrelock allows for quick changes of rotors if using the wheels on bikes with different brakes

Who on earth swaps rotors on wheels to run the same wheels on different bikes, with different brakes? Has there ever been a recorded incidence of this happening? Ever?

And if so, well…. I’m not the sharpest tool in the box, but even I could readily come up with a couple of not-too-complicated solutions to that particular problem

the most mechanically inept person on here

Here sir! Though I can just about manage 6 bolts, I did consider taking a bike to the LBS to get the calipers aligned, after much swearing.

Well i’m definitely in the minority then 😕 It’s not so much struggling with the 6 bolt system, it just that:

1, it takes longer to remove rotors
2, it’s more fiddly and the damn bolts roll under things in the garage
3, i’ve rounded off the bolts before
4, removing a rotor on the trail has never ever been a consideration to me

For me centre lock is quick, easy and less problematic, 6 bolt fans carry on!

Point 4 surely makes the other 3 redundant, the rotors come off/on after I’ve built the wheels, so once every 3 years or so.

How often do you change your rotors?

Apparently i take my rotors off my wheels more often than some then 😳

I have two 29ers at the moment, on geared HT and one SS rigid, i only have one set of wheels, they use different brakes, i swap them about, they have 6 bolt fitting and annoy me!

Bazz just follow my earlier advice.

I_Ache – Member
jimw all you have to do is get the same sized adapters on both bikes and you don’t need to swap the discs around.

POSTED 36 MINUTES AGO #

You can use rotors that are a different brand to the brakes so no need to swap rotors.

I would get adapters for one of the bikes and save myself from suicide.

BEHOLD!!!!!….. The answer to all your prayers

I have two 29ers at the moment, on geared HT and one SS rigid

Hang on a minute…. with the same wheels? are you swapping cassettes too?

Are you:

a) A guilty feeling catholic, engaged in a punishing mission of self-flagellation, as a penance for real or imagined misdemeanors that have offended God?

b) An academic?

I have snapped one of those piddly little hope bolts but never mangled a centre lock. Using any Allen bolt smaller than a 4mm should be a crime.

the play between shimano rotors and their hubs is horrific – sometimes even from new.

hate the things

Both of my bikes use CL. Not out of choice, just the way it worked out and I don’t have a problem with it, or 6 bolt I’ve had before.

The best thing about CL is you can often pick up the rotors nice and cheap as people hate them. You can also use 6 bolt rotors using an adapter.

I’m sure early Hope hubs (pre ’96 IIRC) used a splined interface for the disc but they moved away from it to 6 bolt for some reason.

Can’t think why that would be if it’s such a good method……

Are you using a big enough hammer?

😆

6 bolt is OK. And yes, they do use the same system on motorbikes, but they have far bigger, better bolts….
I’ve seen stripped 6 bolt threads too. You have to be a bit careful with it.

The reason why CL was invented was speed, and to lock you into the ‘Shimano way’ as well I suppose.

From a mechanics point of view, CL is far easier and faster to assemble, and just as secure if properly torqued down to 40Nm
Personally, I prefer it. I even prefer CL with 6 bolt rotors and a decent adaptor. The Mavic adaptor is fantastic and very neat. That’s what I use. It’s also handier because the hubs are generally cheaper in sales….. 😉

There’s other things that have been designed with speed and ease of use in mind too:
Post mount callipers. Lots easier to set up than IS with shims. I liked IS and found it very accurate, but you need to face the mount to ensure perfect alignment, and it is a bit of a faff to set up.
Press fit BBs: No thread to cut into the frame, faster to fit and easy to knock out, and if (As always happens) only the non drive side wears out first, you usually end up with loads of good, but useless, drive side bearings (I have 3 I think) But with press fit, you can fit the same cup either side, so no wastage!
🙂

Binners,

By a set of circumstances that are not really relevant, I had two frames a FS and a hardtail and one set of wheels, one bike with Hope 183 rotors, one with avid 185. As I had CL wheels, the rotors and adaptors, I could change cassettes and rotors in less than 5 minutes. With 6 bolts It would have taken longer and with a much higher chance of damage, IMHO of course. Much cheaper than buying a second set of wheels or new brakes. I am not a good enough rider to be able to ride two bikes once, so this arrangement suited me well till I did eventually get other wheels and other bikes. I still have the CL wheels as spares- if needed I can quickly put them on all but the 29er- it might not work so well on that bike

Does this answer your question?

I’d use either happily.

one bike with Hope 183 rotors, one with avid 185

Can you really not interchange rotors where the brake track is 1mm further out on one than the other?

I should have said that the HT can only accept 160 rotor on rear due to its age, a 160 on the FS left it under braked for me. changing the rotors, which I already had, was so easy, why bother using anything but the right ones?
It worked for me, It might not for others, its only my opinion afterall.