Is the Rim Brake dead?

I like both. I have discs on my CX and love the extra bite in the wet winter. I bought a new TCR and went for rim brakes.

Been using disc brakes from 2001 onwards in my mtbs and would never use rim brakes for mtb again.

I first got discs after eating a rim down Doctors Gate on the MTB , and rode back up the Snake with a new lightweight slot in the rim. Then I found the tendonitis in the braking finger went away. My partner has small hands and has had a few scary moments on road descents, so her next road bike will definitely have discs. Older daughter has mechanical discs (Luath Pro) which again are good for small hands. CX bike has hydraulic discs - they are the dogs b. I’m sure the cost will come down as they have for MTB.

This brake system has beautiful flowing lines, so is clearly superior to discs. 

I'd say go with whatever you are happy with. All my bikes have rim brakes and I've had very few incidences where I've wished I had more braking power, certainly none where I've hit an obstacle as a result of only having rim brakes.

If you're reading the road and conditions and doing most of your braking before a corner then you shouldn't need more power, especially if you've made a wise tyre choice, but if discs give you added confidence then go with them.

I've always been happy with rim brakes but I have one set of wheels - ironically my winter wheels - on which they just don't work as well. Calipers are 105 with koolstop pads which work really well on two other sets of wheels 

Rim brakes are fine (they can be a bit of a pain in the winter though).

All my bikes have disc brakes - I switched because I prefer the feel of discs and like having commonality across my bikes!

If you are looking for a bike that will be used in winter (in the UK at least), then I would recommend discs as their wet weather performance is far superior to rim brakes.

I hope they aren’t dead I love direct mount rim brakes with alloy wheels. They are powerful and so easy to set up and maintain. My disc brake bike rubs, the shop sets them up and after a couple of rides they rub, I adjust them and after a few rides they rub. When you look at how they are designed and fit together thay are always going to rub. I appreciate how powerful disc brakes but direct mount rim brakes are powerful enough for me and I value how easy they are to maintain. 

I've noticed* disk braked bikes seem to be much more heavily discounted than rim braked bikes at the end of year sales. Not sure if that's relevant, but you might get a bargain.

*Unscientific observation. No attempt at completeness made. YMMV.

Anyone who says rim brakes are dead is talking bllocks.

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But I tend to ride a bit slower in the wet anyway.

Lol, I didn't want to be the first to admit it but yeah, I save the heroics for dry days, doesn't matter what brakes you have when you hit that wet drain cover or pile of leaves!

My MTB has discs and they ALWAYS squeel, no matter what I do to them.

My road bike has rims and, no, they're not as strong in the wet. But I tend to ride a bit slower in the wet anyway. Whenever I am on a group (road) ride, there is invariably one other rider with discs, and they always make a racket.

When I buy my next road bike, I will want it to have rim brakes.

Like some on here, I have both on two bikes. The rim brakes on the summer/dry best bike, and hydro discs on the wet/winter commuter, and the discs just fill me with far more confidence. If I were to get a new 'best' bike, then I would go disc, but given my current bestie is a custom made Rourke steel beauty, then that's not gonna happen for quite some time.

As for the original post, I think there is probably some validity to what the LBS said, you just have to look through the pages of cycling magazine adverts, and most are for disc brake equipped bikes these days. We may all be expressing a preference for one or the other, but in the end it will be down to the industry itself which way it goes, not so much us the customers - especailly now the pro-peloton have started to use them. Put it another way, when was the last time you saw a new model with down-tube shifters?

I have all three, rim, mechincal discs and hydraulic. I prefer rim brakes. They are dead easy to maintain, very effective and cheap. The pro peloton is 95% rim brakes, so you would think they work ok when they descend the Tourmalet at 90 km/h....hmmm.

I you enjoy riding in the mud disc brakes are probably better. And if you ride with expensive carbon wheels to protect them from wear on the rims.

I have all three, rim, mechincal discs and hydraulic. I prefer rim brakes. They are dead easy to maintain, very effective and cheap. The pro peloton is 95% rim brakes, so you would think they work ok when they descend the Tourmalet at 90 km/h....hmmm. I you like enjoy riding in the mud disc brakes are probably better.

Rafa, you're absolutely right about endurance bikes and discs, it's the main reason I keep returning to this argument as it annoys me that as an inflexible desk jockey that aspires to ride big distances, the manufacturers have mostly decided that I *must* have discs.

Nice, high end endurance road bikes do exist without discs, I got a Rose Xeon Team GF, triple butted aluminium and direct mount rim brakes. Trek do some (Domane and/or Emonda?) and even the new Specialized Allez

I find discs (TRP Hy-Rds) much better in heavy rain. Also I can slam the anchors on and stop quicker if a driver pulls a dick move in town in any condition. But they are pretty fiddly to set up perfectly and are expensive.

Personally if I were buying a new bike I would only bother with discs if I needed to commute on it, if it were my 'summer bike' I wouldn't bother as I personally rarely go for a leisure ride if the weather isn't half decent, certainly not often enough to drop a few hundred quid extra. I don't have bling wheels so there is no money saving there in my case.

Rim Brakes are so easy to work with.

Disc Brakes seem to need a degree in the dark arts to understand.

Valverde won his rainbow bands on a bike with rim brakes - and he had the choice.

I genuinely think its 80% marketing and 20% innovation.  I'm perfectly happy with rim brakes - but if you want discs - go for it. 

Just my opinion obviously but I will never buy a road bike with disc brakes, totally unecessary is the main reason.  On a mountain bike yes but I have cycled for many years and have always been able to stop ok on the road with rim brakes. 

Also I think road bikes should look beautiful and disc brakes have looks only a mother would love, so no the rim brake is far from dead and will long outlive this fad and fashion accessory called road disc brakes.

It seems to me the Brits are jumping onto the disc bandwagon faster than many other countries. Most of my cycling days are spent in the Vaucluse. I see loads of lovely, high spec, bikes outside cafe's in the Ventoux area, and very rarely see a bike with discs.