Artichokes make me fart something rotten.

Not sure what that has to do with discs on road bikes, but just thought I’d let you know.

I do too.

Ok, maybe I’ve gone off on a tangent, not the first time. But I thought I read the thread well enough to comment.

Wouldn’t the addition of a disc on the front inhibbit the wheelie option? You know with all that weight up front??

Just sayin. 😛

Or is I talking Mental?

No, imo it’s a sound idea in theory and was something considered for the first Croix de Fers with steel forks, but we though that the demand for adding calipers + 25cs to a sturdy bike that takes discs and bigger tyres would be minimal. If you wanted a race bike for racing you’d not have much interest in discs (or have a second winter bike with or without discs) and if you don’t race, you prob have no desire to swap brakes. Also, if you like the lines of a caliper braked bike, unused disc mounts and cable guides would look messy.

Just depends whether you like the beauty of an uncluttered hub, or uncluttered fork crown and stays.

The whole aesthetic debate summed up well there.

bikebouy – Member

Wouldn’t the addition of a disc on the front inhibbit the wheelie option? You know with all that weight up front??

Just sayin.

1) i’m rubbish at wheelies.

2) my commuter has disc brakes.

3) i can wheelie my commuter for several metres at a time.

conclusion: road bikes with discs are easier to wheelie than mountain bikes, maybe…

I can’t wheelie at all.. 😆

obviously you need a road bike with disc brakes.

Cheers jameso, I can see the logic there, the CDF is perhaps a different market to the latest bunch of big brand, disc specific road bikes, the point about clutter is probably the main thing more than the two 6″ stainless steel disc stuck to either hub Roadies won’t be keen on lots of Cable/hoses all over the shop…

Aesthetically “Clean” bikes generally appeal more, TBH hydraulic, hidden rim brakes should have a better chance in that respect but I doubt they’ll take the market by storm…

nedrapier – Member
Just depends whether you like the beauty of an uncluttered hub, or uncluttered fork crown and stays.
Given that the rear hub is pretty cluttered anyway, you’ve got a 2/1 win for discs on the clutter front.
POSTED 38 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Using that logic, the new crop of aero frames with hidden calipers trump the lot.

CDF is a different kind of bike yes, I think the logic still works though as I did consider the same ‘feature’ on a recent Alu framed disc bike for Pinnacle – came to the same conclusions 6 or 7 years later, rightly or wrongly. For a carbon frame it makes more sense, for current market conditions having made a frame work with both would have saved the cost of a set of molds, but I think most brands now see a clear line between disc and non-disc road bikes, non-disc is fast becoming the mark of a race-spec bike or a lighter bike where gearing / frame+fork spec VFM is important, discs for anything else a drop-bar bike can do.
I don’t think aesthetics come into it, there’s good examples of both now (ie I think that new Spesh looks fantastic, fwiw)

Using that logic, the new crop of aero frames with hidden calipers trump the lot.

Several of them have rubbish (but aero!) braking as a result…

I don’t think aesthetics come into it, there’s good examples of both now (ie I think that new Spesh looks fantastic, fwiw)

+1, I’d love one of those.

My main worry about discs is that they haven’t been around for long (on road bikes, obvs), I think it’s still early days to be able to offer real guarantees about how they’ll hold up in all conditions.

Give them a couple of years to sort out any bugs, and the clear advantages disks have (better control/modulation, less maintenance) will lead to the death of callipers.

They may not have been in use widely but I reckon they’ve been in use long enough that the major issues (though I can’t really think of any) have been found. BB7 roads have loads of miles behind them for example.

You’re talking more specifically of hydraulic versions I reckon, a la SRAM which unquestionably are new.

You’re talking more specifically of hydraulic versions I reckon, a la SRAM which unquestionably are new.

Sorry, should have been clearer – yes: I’m talking about the hydraulic ones.

And that’s sort of a fair point though it still looks like that was an issue of specing seals that weren’t up to the job rather than a fundamental issue. After all, they’re essentially no different to mtb brakes.

I think it’s still early days to be able to offer real guarantees about how they’ll hold up in all conditions.

Aren’t Shimano making them? Who have quite a lot of experience making disc brakes to be fair.

So do SRAM, though. And weren’t there problems with the first generation of “Ice Tech” rotors that Shimano brought out?

So do SRAM, though.

Avid disc brakes aren’t known for being reliable, are they?

Dunno, always used Shimano 🙂

Well the SRAM 2014 disc equiped bikes had to be recalled (my TCX Advanced1 is part of the recall… and still waiting 5 months on…. cough) because they blew a seal at -6C when the Euro CX boys started treating the brakes with less respect than SRAM thought they ought to.
We’ve all been assured the 2015 set will be sorted out and well, work propers like, yet until we receive them, we can’t tell and our bikes sit lonely in the corner of the spare bedroom whilst SRAM sit drinking coffee.

It’s a little annoying to say the least, but a plus point is that my SRAM Red22 equiped roadie has been rattling on fine and dandy in the Downs.

Sometimes (most of the time) simple things just work.

Be prepared for another recall or two I say. 😉

Those with discs, what pad life are you getting?
I did a big day in the Pyrenees last year, four cols in horrendous weather and the front pads were almost on the wear limit at the end. Had I been using discs, would I have had to change pads on the road? Not trolling, just curious as I’ve done a pair of MTB pads in a day in gritty conditions.

I have a bike for wet weather riding commuting and the winter it has disks because they work great when the weather is filthy and I have 15kgs of groceries on my back.

I have a lovely road bike that only ever gets used in the summer for unloaded riding, it certainly doesn’t need disks even Zero Gravity brakes seem to be enough to stop even my level of fat incompetence in dry conditions.

IME it’s the grit that kills MTB pads when it’s wet enough for a film of water to sit between pad and disc holding grit. I doubt you’d see than on road ever.

Short answer for me is “loads” I recently swapped calipers from BB7s to TRP Spyres and expected the BB7s to be worn nearly to the pad and they’re 50% worn I reckon. That’s at least 2 years’ use on and off road (it’s a winter road bike and CX bike)

bob_summers – Member

Those with discs, what pad life are you getting?

about 5000km hilly commuting – about 1 year.

or, just doing some maths…

about 1000x 25-0 (mph) stops.

(i live at the top of a big hill, there are lots of traffic lights / junctions between me and the bottom of the hill)

yeah I get about a year on the commuter. It’s not an issue in the slightest.

just to illustrate the difference, in 2013 I rode the Fred Whitton on a Giant TCR with rim brakes and descended Wrynose in the wet in 4.07 mins. This year I also descended it in the wet but this time I ran hydro discs. My time was 3.07.

This isn’t willy waving. I’m just trying to interject some objectivity into this. Discs are faster, and thus safer.

Bit more tech detail on the Tarmac disc. I must say it looks on paper and pic, pretty good.
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/specialized-tarmac-disc-and-new-rim-brake-tarmac-released-40998/

just to illustrate the difference, in 2013 I rode the Fred Whitton on a Giant TCR with rim brakes and descended Wrynose in the wet in 4.07 mins. This year I also descended it in the wet but this time I ran hydro discs. My time was 3.07.

This isn’t willy waving. I’m just trying to interject some objectivity into this. Discs are faster, and thus safer.

It shows absolutely nothing as you’ve ridden the course before and know what’s coming up. There is no way that using disc brakes account for over 1 minute of difference on such a short descent.

The problem with the tarmac, (apart from the fact that’s pretty plain looking) is that the rim braked one looks better.

This is the old one but the point stands. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mariohartmanncom/4510814848/in/photostream/

It shows absolutely nothing

well it shows I was quicker on the disc bike in the wet….

On a different day with non-identical conditions, different riders around you – oh and as wnb mentions different levels of experience. Not exactly a double blind trial is it?

There is no way that using disc brakes account for over 1 minute of difference on such a short descent.

Yes there is. If your brakes are shite you can’t gain speed, cos you know you’re not going to be able to lose it again so you have to mince.

BORING

Thread is about aesthetics, it does not require logic.

Yeah, but the title of the thread has already been well proven, so the disc brake disciples are having to try and prove there is some point to them.

Bless. I still think disc brakes look cleaner then fussy old calipers.

[/url] image by N Paul Evans, on Flickr[/img]

I bought this with the 2014 Fred Whitton in mind. I have to say, having come from an mtb background it was remarkably comforting to have the disc brakes on the descents of Hardknott and Wrynose. I am by no means a good descender on the road bike but I certainly overtook more riders on these two descents than those that came past me.

the disc brake disciples are having to try and prove there is some point to them.

It’s not that. It’s just that I can’t stand bollocks 😉

So many riser bar’d mega gates….not really helping the cause.

That Roubaix looks alright. It’d look a lot better if you put it in the big ring and slammed the stem…

And yes, I know it’s an “endurance” bike, it’s just that those high front ends look a bit wrong. IMHO. That’s more offensive to my eyes (and my OCD) than discs!

Also, what brakes are they? Looks like Di2 so are they the new Ultegra hydraulics? What are they like?

And yes, I know it’s an “endurance” bike, it’s just that those high front ends look a bit wrong. IMHO. That’s more offensive to my eyes (and my OCD) than discs!

sorry, but i have to agree, sod the brakes, that front end is ridiculous!

Please accept my apologies if the front end of the bike offends!

The brakes are BB7’s but your correct, the groupset is Di2. Absolutely fantastic bit of kit – encourages you to work on and maintain your cadence over undulating roads due to the shifts being so positive and ‘easy’.

Would have gone for a Tarmac, but having had 4 lumber discs removed and 5 vertebrae fused an element of comfort was deemed to be preferable to vanity!

Been riding road for about 12 months now – how long until I become intollerable of other peoples choices, reasoned or not!