[road]

What do we reckon the chances are that manufacturers like Shimano will start making rim brake groupsets across the range again? I’m not sure who started it, the frame or groupset manufacturers, but the move to disc brakes by default is bad. There’s no reason why they can’t start to move back again when they see people still wanting the simplicity and reliability of rim brakes. Same for narrow tyres. I ride with 23 mm tyres all year round because they’re simply faster. Shame to see the death of the proper road bike as every bike slowly turns into a gravel bike. We even saw this when gravel bike races started being won on ‘road’ bikes… Give the consumer more choice! Now that this has been featured on Twitter I would like to add that disc brakes are a psy op.

Topic

[ktache]

Rene Herse put a delightful

Rene Herse put a delightful curve on their beautiful steel forks.

[NOtotheEU]

I’m 17st and after a

I’m 17st and after a disastrous failure with a cheap rim and a mild failure of a branded rim (both less than 50% worn) I tried Ryde Andra 30 CSS Rims which after a year of commuting showed zero wear. Stopping performance was great with Swissstop Blue brake blocks in Deore V’s but they lacked any feel.

The next two bikes I bought had mechanical discs because I wanted wider rims and just didn’t trust anything without CSS. With sintered pads they perform amazingly well (especially in the wet) and only squeal for the first few minutes of a damp ride.

I would never go back to rim brakes now especially after discovering TRP Spyke calipers.

[Simon E]

Jimmy Ray Will wrote:

Was thinking about this on the weekend. My winter hack uses rim brakes. Being back on it has really shown me how much better disc brakes are. It’s not so much the stopping power, but the consistency that discs provide that is so confidence inspiring. 

…

Basically, I’m paying well over 10 times the amount for a heavier package. Is this really progress? 

If they really cost 10x why did you buy them when you knew the all-up weight would be more? Only a fool would pay £1100 for a pair of wheels when they know a £90 pair does the job just as well… except it doesn’t, as you say in your first sentence.

It’s like deciding to buy a new car because it’s far more reliable and then saying that you found a clean-looking 8 year-old Fiat at a tenth of the price so it’s the dealer’s fault for selling you the new car.

You can’t have it both ways. You say discs are better yet are whining about a bit of added weight. If that’s an issue then just eat less. Or race a rim-braked bike. And in the end the weight difference won’t change your finishing position or your time on a strava segment.

[Anonymous]

https://www.youtube.com/watch

[vthejk]

True, but I imagine that

True, but I imagine that (given headtube angle) forward and backward flex translates to at least a tiny amount of upward and downward movement, and something that elastic would also be reasonably good at absorbing shock.

[andystow]

fukawitribe wrote:

fukawitribe wrote:

They do, because to avoid weighing an actual (Imperial) ton they’re often made with narrow section tubing, which consequently flops around like a noodle. I mean a rather robust noodle, to be fair, but one none the less. Used to try and watch mine bend by slamming the front brakes on BITD. What fun.

On my 2013 Jamis Aurora Elite, a Reynolds 631 frame with steel fork and Avid BB-7 mechanical disc brakes, I could see the fork twist when I braked hard. The front tyre would move sideways about a centimetre relative to the front mudguard.

[cyclisto]

I have ridden modern caliper

I have ridden modern caliper brakes and they were horrible combined to 23mm tires in stopping. Better than old long reach caliper brakes and steel rims that required luck to stop, but still unsafe.

Now I ride mini-Vs that have decent stopping power but most mini-Vs setups (mine including) have wrong cable pull, so they have a strong pull but rim to pad clearance is very tight.

I had for a while a bicycle with hydraulic brakes, that were astonishing. I do not intend to change my bicycle, but if I got a new one, I would definitely select a disc one and definitely not ride again anything with tires narrower than 28mm to ensure there is some decent grip.

[IanMSpencer]

Rim brakes fade, as many an
Rim brakes fade, as many an inexperienced coast to coast rider will tell you. rims also can overheat, leading to exploding tyres, tyre failure etc. The reason Shimano introduced fins on some pads is for the very issue, heat dissipation is a well understood issue and each manufacturer has solutions.

It is not a one way street of advantages and disadvantages.

As you note, someone at 16 stone is around the design limit of many bicycles, so it is not surprising that you are pushing the limits of braking capacity of a stock spec. bike. The industry is too focused on the lightweight roadie market.

[Backladder]

Tha majority of the movement

Tha majority of the movement in a flexing fork is forwards and backwards, there is very lttle up and down.

[vthejk]

Jack Luke from bikeradar

Jack Luke from bikeradar (sorry!) has a really interesting take on this with his vintage steelie – he can SEE the flex! I would argue that, while big tires are my fave solution to improving ride feel, flexy steel stays are also excellent.

https://www.bikeradar.com/features/jack-luke-road-bike-lee-cooper/

[peted76]

Rendel Harris wrote:

Jimmy Ray Will wrote:

I’m personally torn for this season as to which way to go… 28mm for the corners (primiarly racing crits), or 25mm for the pure speed. It’s certainly not a given that 28mm is faster in all situations, but for most applications wider provides a better compromise. 

Have you considered a hybrid mix? I’ve been forced to because my road bike can’t take more than 25 mm on the front but can (just) take a 28 mm on the rear. Since I put a 28 mm on the rear it definitely feels more surefooted when cornering and I believe (though this is solely my subjective impression) that the better grip allows me to accelerate faster and my Garmin data seems to show (I say seems because I haven’t done any experiments with exactly the same set up in exactly the same conditions) a small gain of around half a kilometre per hour at 250W. It’s very definitely more comfortable as well.

I run a 25mm (real world 26.5) front and 28mm (real world 30) rear and love it. 

Prior to that I ran 23mm front (real world 26.5) and 25mm rear (real world 30mm) and people would turn their noses up at my lack of progressive thinking and old school ways.  

 

[bobbinogs]

I moved to this combo a few

I moved to this combo a few seasons ago and really like it.  All subjective, but having the 28mm to provide extra traction and comfort at the back, whilst keeping the front at 25mm seems to be a great balance all round.

[Backladder]

I think fatter lower pressure

I think fatter lower pressure tyres absorb more.

[fukawitribe]

They do, because to avoid
They do, because to avoid weighing an actual (Imperial) ton they’re often made with narrow section tubing, which consequently flops around like a noodle. I mean a rather robust noodle, to be fair, but one none the less. Used to try and watch mine bend by slamming the front brakes on BITD. What fun.

[nickyburnell]

Discs fade if you are heavy

Discs fade if you are heavy or ride fast loaded. It’s area specific of course but as someone of 16st and the owner of both sorts, the rim brakes do a better job in North Devon for me. I’m on EBC downhill pads which have helped a lot but considering a 180mm conversion. The only reason I put up with them is tyre size on gravel bike. Campag rim brakes on other bikes, no issues, more specifically no overheating. Alloy rims.

[Author]

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