Lets see your race CX bikes please (also canti vs disc for racing question)

Don’t have a picture to hand but mine is a Kinesis Pro6. Definitely not an all out racing fram as it has rack and bottle mounts. Fast though, I really like it.

As for the cantis vs. discs. arguement I’ve run discs, vees and cantis. I replaced the vees after a few muddy races where they balled up and jammed the wheel. Cantis were fine for racing and passable for general riding. I wanted a new frame and decided to go with discs. Love them, much prefer them, don’t need them for racing but it isn’t just about need. Although they did help massively on the three peaks.

If I wanted a pair of all out race bikes I think I would go cantis for the weight of the brakes and frame but also the massive choice and better prices.

Heres mine. Ridley X-Ride.
I did not want the disk option .. its a race bike after all.

That said. The canti brake pads do dissolve pretty quickly .. 2-3 wet rides.

But a race is only an hour .. so no probs

Now with hope hydraulic brakes Slr saddle. I love this bike!!

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Kinesis Five T[/url] by South Downs MTB Skills[/url], on Flickr

I’ve just swapped the cantis out for mini v’s and it is much better, front brake judder has been eradicated at last.

My Kona Major Jake – great bike, not used for races but weapon of choice for cheeky expeditions along the coastal path on Gower!!

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james 025[/url] by jamesanderson2010[/url], on Flickr

For racing canti’s are fine. For more extreme days out discs are better. See, you need two cx bikes now!

Felt F6x for me…

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Muddy Cross[/url] by simondbarnes[/url], on Flickr

Mine, well I only own 1 CX bike so it’s for racing, commuting and general road riding. I can’t see how the pads would wear any quicker than they would on an MTB race, if anything the discs are further away from the mud than they would be on 26er..

Ok no good if you want a bike with snob value, but its very nice to ride.

I’m still on my first set of pads. Done one CX sesason, the 3 peaks and probably a few hundred miles of road and bridleway.

See, you need two cx bikes now!

N+1 always holds true!

Thanks all. Loads of nice bikes there. Most likely go cantis based on what I’ve read here and elsewhere. And as it so happens by LBS have a Giant TCX in my size that they are kindly building up for me to “have a look at” but not buy. Most definitely absolutely positively not to buy. Hmm though it would go nicely with my TCR 🙂

Edit: Nice Crosslights too. High up on my list.

Any Spesh Crux’s out there…? Seems like a nice racey bike.

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This is one of Helen Wymans old bikes so it’s been well raced (she’s currently ranked 4th in the world), see http://www.helenwyman.com/

Currently in it’s hacking around the woods mode. I find that canti’s are OK if you are mechanically minded enough to set them up properly, otherwise I’d definitely go for disc brakes.

I can’t see how the pads would wear any quicker than they would on an MTB race

The theory is that cable discs work differently from hydralic discs. They only move one pad and they don’t self adjust. The pads are also apparently thinner because of this.
I have no idea of this is true or not.

Yes, only one pad moves, to press the disc into the other.
They are, however, the same thickness as hydro (Often the same actual pad)

DrP

Pads are the same on bb7 as one of the other avid brakes.

I have a theory…

There is now a bit in the 3 peaks about disk brakes and the ability to maintain them on the course. I wonder if people are using them and the pads are wearing and they are trying to adjust them using the barrel adjusters. On bb7s I’ve found this to be insufficient as one side wears much faster. While most of the time it works occasionally you need to wind in one side or both. I thought I’d nearly worn out my pads on the 3 peaks as I was adjusting them with the barrel on the move. Got to the bottom and the finish expecting to be nearly at the metal but there was loads of pad left. Wound them in and they are fine. They don’t self centre like people are used to with hydraulics.

TBH I suspect that it’s more because CX races are more commonly muddly than mtb races – not so much here because it’s always muddy here but more in the US and Europe. As such, they’re just seeing what we often see in the UK (eg non-sintered pads killed by 1 wet/muddy/sandy ride) but aren’t used to it.

Yes, only one pad moves, to press the disc into the other.

Anyone know why they work like that? Surely it’d be pretty simple to make a cable-pull calliper where both pads move? Like.. err.. rim brakes for instance?

There is now a bit in the 3 peaks about disk brakes and the ability to maintain them on the course. I wonder if people are using them and the pads are wearing and they are trying to adjust them using the barrel adjusters. On bb7s I’ve found this to be insufficient as one side wears much faster. While most of the time it works occasionally you need to wind in one side or both. I thought I’d nearly worn out my pads on the 3 peaks as I was adjusting them with the barrel on the move. Got to the bottom and the finish expecting to be nearly at the metal but there was loads of pad left. Wound them in and they are fine. They don’t self centre like people are used to with hydraulics.

Which is why I’ll be going for a V-Twin set up on my new bike. Note though, that they never previously said anything about being able to maintain rim brakes and mine were destroyed last year…

Anyone know why they work like that? Surely it’d be pretty simple to make a cable-pull calliper where both pads move?

There are a few options out there, but most people wont look beyond BB7’s

Why is because it’s simpler and in the real world it works well enough. Given that mechanical systems don’t self adjust, there’s less benefit to having two moving pads.

That said, the new Tektro Spyre is mechanical and has two moving ‘pistons’.

My old disco…

… forget that… probably better to start another thread!

Why is because it’s simpler and in the real world it works well enough.

Yeah, my BB7s work really well, I like em, but I do get the occasional “skiff” from the rotor brushing the un-retracted pad.

not enough to make any impact at all on speed – just enough to make me wonder about the design reasoning.