STW Roadies, would consider a new road bike with rim brakes?

I was out on my “Summer” road bike the other day, it’s getting on but is still perfectly adequate for another year or two: Carbon frame/fork, 2×10 drivetrain, 25mm (tubed) tyres with rim callipers, It struck me (again) that still I have no real need/desire to replace it any time soon, it’s only used when the sun is out it’s light enough, comfortable and responsive enough for my general road riding needs, I’ve got gravel and cross bikes (with discs) for when the weather turns less pleasant or the ground is lumpier. But my assumption for a long while has been that when I do replace my nice Road bike, it will be with a disc braked equivalent.

Last night I was idly browsing road bikes, looking at the slightly depressing asking prices for some relatively basic spec disc-road bikes, just out of interest thought I’d start sorting them by price. I noticed a few nicer looking rim braked bikes start popping up at a significant saving in some cases, it seems like £800-£1k less than their disc equivalents.
And it all got me wondering, would I actually maybe consider buying a brand new Rim braked bike?

I think all the press and marketing etc has done it’s job and nudged me towards that assumption that discs are now the default on the road, but for a bike that doesn’t need to do a lot of wet weather braking, which I’d probably stick to Aluminium rims for, where the quality of the drivetrain and the feel/fit of the frame makes more difference to me than the braking technology, and if there’s quite a saving available, would I choose (in 2023) to buy a bike with rim brakes?
I even think some of them look a little nicer…

Part of me thinks it’s a slightly silly idea, better braking bikes are available and have become the defacto standard, over time the prices will become more affordable, so why not simply adopt them when the time comes? And it’s going to become increasingly hard to find good quality, lighter weight QR/rim brake wheels, you’ll be stuck with skinny tyres too… But still there’s an appeal there.

What are other’s feelings? This isn’t so much ‘resistance to change’ for me, just a feeling that the obvious choice isn’t necessarily the most pragmatic one (for me)…

Yep. Just built a rim brake bike up. The issue you would have with a new rim road bike is that it won’t be worth as much if you come to sell it. Although there are some spectacular second had rim brake bargains out there.

Having said that I have a disc brake bike for riding in the big mountains (Alps) since that’s where I find the disc brakes most beneficial. Otherwise I’ve never had a problem with Alu rims and rim brakes, wet or dry rides. Plus I can fit 28-32mm tyres on my newer rim brake frames

Depends – I have got some nice carbon Zipp wheels on rim brakes. They are really great a braking and I have no issues with them in that way.

However I do only use the bike when its not raining. Round here the roads are always covered in gravel/grit and any moisture on the road surface risk pulling gravel in to the braking surface.

I got them 2 years ago and next time I will be getting discs.

I would have no issues having rim brakes on cheaper alloy rims.

On the ‘nice’, only comes out in the summer, rarely sees any damp, bike – no probs

Yep, literally in the process of building myself a new Basso Venta in rim brake flavour, as an upgrade to a 7 or 8 year old Rose Xeon.

The Rose is still frankly perfect, same as yours, 25mm tyres, Ultegra 2×11, Fulcrum 3 wheels. I can’t see how a disc braked bike could improve on it, even in the wet when frankly I’m descending carefully enough that the stopping distances don’t really matter. The only difference will be that the Basso can take 28mm tyres so I’m hoping I don’t notice the extra rolling weight (I don’t believe I will) but enjoy the extra comfort.

The only drawback I can see is a future scarcity of components, so I’d probably stock up on a spare set of shifters and wheels (which I could use on other bikes in my garage anyway) which should see me through. The beauty of a nice/summer only road bike is that it will practically last forever anyway, my Fulcrum wheels are showing virtually no rim wear after almost 10,000km, and I’m only on my second chain 😂

I still see plenty of people having issues with disc brakes squealing or rubbing which puts me off for a strictly summer use bike, I think the potential for extra faff outweighs the marginal benefits (again, purely in the context of dry weather/summer use).

Yes – but don’t ride in groups and I avoid the rain where possible 😁

I live in the Lakes so ride plenty of rough steep roads.

I’m not a Luddite though – my CX and mountain bikes have discs – I just personally don’t see the need for them on the road bike (Campag levers/Bontrager Speed Limit callipers/Swiss Stop pads).

I’m still on rim brake because it works just fine. With alu rims, I have no problem stopping. MTB and cross bike are disc and heavier and uglier as a result.

Over the Winter I managed to successfully wear down the front rim of a carbon wheel.

But really I think I’m sufficiently slow that any aero gains from a deep section rim are not worth worrying about, so I’m now actually on alu rims, doesn’t seem any slower in the real world.

The thing that swayed me towards discs was the tyre clearance, I could get a max 28c on my old rim braked bike and now I can get loads more for added comfort. The actual braking performance wasn’t a big consideration as rim brakes do just fine for 99% of my road riding. If I bought a bike and was worrying about resale value then I’d definitely get discs.

Nope, discs all the way once my R3 gets retired.

As asummer sunday best bike, yes. My Enigma with Campag calipers stops just as well as my winter bike with discs, although in a different way – much better modulated, and you do have to *pull* the lever to get the power. But that’s no bad thing on skinny tyres.

For me the big thing with discs would be being able to run deep section full carbon rims without having to worry about inconsistent stopping in either bad or very hot conditions and/or wearing out hideously expensive rims.

Nope, I’ve been on discs for 3.5 years on my road bike now and I wouldn’t go back to rim brakes. Don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with rim brakes, but I’m just so used to discs and bolt through axles, oh yeah that and absolutely no wearing rims out, plus I think they look better too.

My road bike is rib brake and it gets very little use in the rain.

As with others, stopping power is of little concern, but when I eventually do move on from the canyon I’d go for discs so I could use wider tyres.

Personally I would only get one with discs and through axles if I had to buy a new one.

Really in terms of future proofing more than anything, I would guess Shimano is going to be phasing cable brakes and QR hubs in their  road ranges over time like they are with their MTB/trekking groups.

I know you are likely able to get either super cheap or very expensive stuff, but likely risk losing the middle ground that a lot of people have gotten used to.

Not a new one, no.
I’ve got an old road bike with rim brakes and it’s still very nice – but at the moment it needs a new set of wheels because the carbon ones on there are delaminated due to braking. SO that’s the main reason I’d never consider another rim braked bike – wearing out a set of expensive wheels every 5 years is not economical!

Really in terms of future proofing more than anything, I would guess Shimano is going to be phasing cable brakes and QR hubs in their road ranges over time like they are with their MTB/trekking groups.

I know you are likely able to get either super cheap or very expensive stuff, but likely risk losing the middle ground that a lot of people have gotten used to.

Very much this – there’ll be entry level stuff around for a while longer and super boutique kit sold to those die-hards who absolutely refuse to ever consider anything made after 1985 (which is part of the reason vintage Campag goes for such insane prices!) but none of the middle ground stuff. Spare parts availability will dry up eventually as well.

Resale values don’t really concern me, But I do think I would like my next Road bike to see me through the next decade and into my 50s, and it may well not be a carbon frame as I’m not too hung up on weights or competitiveness but comfort and covering the miles is certainly a driver, again tyre capacity helps there and nudges me back towards mulling over disc brakes options, perhaps going down a tier on the group to make the man-maths work? .

It’s all academic, I’m not buying a new road bike any time soon, and by the time I get round to it I suspect Discs will be even more the default choice.

The sensible thing to do is probably to go out and buy up a couple of R8000 groups after market before they disappear from sale and then put them up in the loft while I shop for my ideal last Rim braked bike. But by the same token R7020 groups are probably a more sensible thing to stockpile today if the rumours of 105 mechanical’s demise are true, the worst thing would be to buy into the whole full bhuna, posh road-disc thing, and once it comes round to time for a refresh after a few years to discover you can only afford to fit tiagra…

None of you fancying my Madone in the classifieds then? 😉

It’s all academic, I’m not buying a new road bike any time soon, and by the time I get round to it I suspect Discs will be even more the default choice.

The sensible thing to do is probably to go out and buy up a couple of R8000 groups after market before they disappear from sale

This, basically. I get the futureproofing argument, but for the specific use case of a summer road bike I honestly don’t really believe it’s relevant. Maybe be prepared to snap up a spare set of wheels when you see them on sale (just get some Fulcrum Racing 3s and be done with it, light stiff and fast and mine show no wear after several years of summer riding) and at a push some spare shifters in case shimano ever abandon mechanical brake/shift 105.

I expect to get at least 6 or 7 years out of my Basso build, I reckon the weakest link will the 7 year old Ultegra shifters than I’m transplanting across from my old Rose, so I’ll buy some spares as backup.

Like a lot here I’ve got a fast nice summer rim brake road bike – 7.something kilos, aero frame, 50mm rims, 25mm tyres. I will run that into the ground until I can’t replace something on it, but I don’t think I’ll buy another new rim brake road bike. Probably lack of quality spares in the future and I do like > 25mm tyres. (I suspect decent 25mm tyres might be the first thing that gets difficult to find).

I would consider a second hand, excellent deal, top end bike or groupset to replace the current summer one though.

None of you fancying my Madone in the classifieds then?

Funnily enough- I was thinking of getting an Emonda ‘cos carbon & discs to move on from my Domane with rim brakes but ££££ for a new bike. I had seen your bike but then saw the rim brakes  and also I’m a shorty so need a medium :-(.

Yeah I’m approaching this all wrong, why bother with a new bike, why not just spend some money stockpiling bits for the one I have now?

As you said wheels and groupset, the current bits were probably going to see it through the next couple of years anyway, if there’s a fresh drivetrain and a new pair of wheels ready to go on at the end of that period, it could well live on well past 2026…
I like the bike, it’s only ~6 years old, why am I mulling over its retirement already? It should make it to a decade no problem.
Bloody advertising! it just works away at my tiny brain until I’ve convinced myself I ‘need’ to waste several thousand quid…

Fine the next bike will have discs, but that bike is much further away…

Yeah I’m approaching this all wrong, why bother with a new bike, why not just spend some money stockpiling bits for the one I have now?

No no no, get the new bike AND stockpile bits 😎

Or get a really fancy new frame then just gradually phase in new bits, lets you spread the cost but also go really fancy on the frameset. Probably slightly more choice still of rim brake frames vs. full builds.

Nope.

And it all got me wondering, would I actually maybe consider buying a brand new Rim braked bike?

I think all the press and marketing etc has done it’s job and nudged me towards that assumption that discs are now the default on the road, but for a bike that doesn’t need to do a lot of wet weather braking, which I’d probably stick to Aluminium rims for, where the quality of the drivetrain and the feel/fit of the frame makes more difference to me than the braking technology, and if there’s quite a saving available, would I choose (in 2023) to buy a bike with rim brakes?
I even think some of them look a little nicer…

Begs the question though, if you’re not swayed by the need for ‘new’. Why buy another bike?

I’m still riding a 20year old Cannondale, it’s gone full circle and people now assume I’ve deliberately gone out and bought something retro. I’ve had it for ~18 years and at various points every part has been replaced or upgraded, including a couple of times when I’ve stripped and rebuilt it with almost all new parts/groupset/drivechain.

It’s still 2×10, but I don’t really see a huge benefit to more gears, I’ve squeezed an 11-28 microshift cassette in there and 36/50 chainrings, and that works well enough.

25mm tyres that measure 27mm are the biggest you can realistically fit in any ‘race’ rim braked frame as it’s all that fits in the calipers. They’re big enough and tubeless, so noticeably comfortable enough (compared to 23’s @100psi).

The big gaping downside is really aero. However much I try I’ll never look like a cyclist, I’m just to tall and broad shouldered to be aero. But over the last decade it’s been notable that I’ve gone from having an advantage on the descents (weight), to being dropped, and it’s got to be down to 30mm tyres, equally wide, 60mm deep rims, frame profiles, internal cables and aero bars. And at least some of those features wouldn’t work without disks.

I wouldn’t buy a bike now that doesn’t comfortably clear 28mm. Personally I could never make tubeless work below that width.

Dammit, crossed posts, you’d already reached that conclusion 🤣

Not even that much of a reason to stockpile though. I can’t imagine rims will disappear any time soon, the only parts I’m strugglig with are:

Decent tens speed cassettes at a sensible price and useable ratios. Hence the microshift.
The hoods on my 7800 bifters have gone tacky, there’s only 8 pairs red HUDZ left in stock at ODI in the USA and they’d clash. I’ve got a full spare set of levers though but they’re not much better. It’ll probably be something stupid like that which eventually condemns it, at which point it’ll just get stripped of brakes, wheels and anything nice swapped off to live out the rest of it’s days on zwift.

100% yes for rim brakes on a summer best bike, would be my preference.

For a winter bike or anything like that I’d go discs with room for 32s and guards, minimum.

Difficult one. I loved my SS Evo with rim brakes and also my Canyon Aeroad. They were great bikes and with the wheels I had no issues with braking.

But I ride in mountains, the weather can be great at the start of the ride and then pouring down, murky grim and wet up in the high hills. I much prefer having the lightweight disk brakes with 32mm fast tyres.

If my riding was mainly standard UK rolling countryside rides then I’d be more than happy to remain on rim brakes. I also prefer the aesthetic of a rim brakes. I wouldn’t even be stock piling to be honest. You’ve got years yet before things are that bad.

No.

My rim brake bike was mostly ok. Raced it and climbed proper mountains in all conditions. But right now there are few reasons I’d go back. Some niche examples. If you wanted a climbing bike you might pick one up cheaper, they are still lighter for the same level of spec. If I was still doing much racing i’d consider it, especially crit racing. I know that sounds counter intuitive but You don’t need that much bike for flatter races and the chances of breaking something are high so a cheap race bike is possibly worth it (people did it in CX to make the most of the last of the cheap canti stuff).

If you’re trying to talk yourself out of the temptation, then there’s really nothing wrong with rim brakes on a road bike.  Be honest, have you ever felt under braked (ignoring the Alpine points).

if you’re trying to talk yourself into a new bike then rim brakes will let you down, resulting in in certain death so if you don’t buy a new disc brakes bike for yourself, at least do it for your family.

yeah i’d have no issue buying a new rim braked bike. I can count the number times I use the brakes on a 50 mile ride on 1 hand. The ultegra brake blocks have 10 yrs on them I think they’ll last another 10,

It’s been ~9.5 since my RTA on my old Tricross Singlecross and I still don’t think I could go back to rim brakes.

I love the “fit and forget” aspect of hydraulic brakes besides changing the pads every year or so, how responsive they are and how big the tyres are we can now fit on road bikes. Plus when I finally get around to fitting them, my VEL 50 RL carbon wheels aren’t going to have their rims worn by braking.

love the “fit and forget” aspect of hydraulic brakes besides changing the pads every year or so

Again, the OP asked about a summer bike that wouldn’t get used in the rain, I haven’t changed (rim) brake blocks on my summer bike in 5 years 😂

Only if there was some super bargain available.  I certainly wouldn’t go looking for rim brakes. Old technology clearly superseded by disks which outperform them by a big margin.

Yep. My main road bikes are Single pivot Dura Ace and Shimano 600 – they still stop really well. I commuted on dual pivots, that would still lift the rear with fully loaded panniers.

I commute on an old rim braked 90’s MTB, and just bought a CX bike with rim brakes.

The FS MTB has discs of course !

Decent pads, clean rims your road bike’s brakes aren’t the limit.

I wouldnt buy a new bike with rim brakes but I would definitely buy a used one and will happily ride my rim braked road bike for years to come.

I’m like a conscientious objector to disc brakes on a road bike. I’m holding out as long as I can. With a tour level bike from ten years ago I have no desire to go and spend 2-3 times what I paid for mine for the non-benefit of disc brakes… a lot of very experienced riders who’ve ridden hundreds of thousands of miles on some of the most demanding roads in Europe and had no issues with rim braked builds, feel exactly the same. With the one caveat that I suspect body weight and descending skills play a huge part in that. None of my riding buddies run disc brake builds and generally they can afford to ride what they like. For a noob or anyone with a need to buy complete, go ahead and get a disc bike… spend 10k to get a competitive one. I spend so little time on the brakes on normal local ride, hilly terrain even, that for me it’s a no-brainer… no issue with braking power on a well setup and equipped rim setup.. even the latest carbon brake tracks are fine, wet included. If I broke my frame tomorrow I’d probably be scouring ebay for a good replacement rim frame going cheap from a sucker to marketing- rather than walking into a store to be reamed on current pricing.

Another person with a Tour level, and above, bike from 30 years ago. Totally made for me and still attracts alot of attention if I ever get off it.

Discs on road bikes are fugly, but most modern road bikes look like MTB’s these days.

Said it. Fugly.

I would, I prefer rim brakes.  I just got a new to me road bike with rim brakes (14 years old but after changing a few things is now 7.3kg for total cost of £600).

When I need the brakes they work fine in wet or dry and have no need for anything else.

Where I can see that MTBs have changed a lot in last 20 years I don’t think road bikes have changed anywhere near as much.  Yes aero is much more of a thing but that makes no difference to how the bike feels to ride, handle etc,.  Disc brakes are now on majority of bikes but I don’t need brakes very much on a road bike.

All the important stuff to me such as geometry and weight is still the same (well weight has probably increased)

STW Roadies, would consider a new road bike with rim brakes?

Absolutely. The large tyre argument isn’t an issue for me, my roadie has a 30mm rear tyre under Ultegra rim brakes and it’s the fork crown restricting the front to 26mm rather than the brake

Winter bike with mudguards? Discs every time for easy clearance and cleanliness