Mountain Biking - Brakes V or Disc???

right know im biking with v brakes. i do alot of down hill, cross country, and jumps. do i need to upgrade to discs???

It depends on your definition of downhill. If downhill as in off the back of the saddle and hanging on for dear life for extended periods of time then I would say yes. Also if you do a lot of riding in wet conditions then yes. Otherwise it is just what do you prefer.

I´m riding discs now and I know I´m never going with Vs again, their stopping power in rain is unnafected (from my experience), they modulate quite well and they stop superbly, they are great for trials applications, when going downhill, slightly pulling the front brake will immediately control my speed and they do not get my arm tired, they are easy to adjust, their performance is unnafected by the condition of the rim and overall they are just too great for me.

And the funny thing is, I´m not even using high end brakes, just Avid BB5 mechs!, I can´t even imagine what some nice hydro brakes (like Juicy 7s) will feel like.

Go disc!

do i need to upgrade to discs???

Do you think you need to upgrade?

I couldn't be happier now that I've switched to discs, I made the jump from low end V's to high end hyrdros, so the difference is going to be huge, but you just can't beat `em, better stopping power, good in wet conditions, easier to apply

their performance is unnafected by the condition of the rim and
to an extent, but a beaten up rim will still cause the rotor to wobble.

Ive got shamno cable-disks on my hardrock, while im sure there not a patch on a high-price hydrolic system i think there great. Certainly wont be going back to V-brackes


Daniel

to an extent, but a beaten up rim will still cause the rotor to wobble.

Not arguing just curious, how bad would a rim have to be beat up to affect the rotor? I can understand if the hub were damaged but that rim would have to be in pretty bad shape to actually be out of round or true enough to flex the hub enough to flex the rotor wouldn't it?

Do you think you need to upgrade?

^ The perfect response.

Are your v's not doing the job?

Not arguing just curious, how bad would a rim have to be beat up to affect the rotor?
im not too sure to be honest, but i would imagine that if its beaten up quite a bit, it would casuse the hub to be off center a touch, which would cause the rotor to be off even more. I just wonder if the wheel is rideable at that point.

I doubt that any wheel would even be usable at that point.

right know im biking with v brakes. i do alot of down hill, cross country, and jumps. do i need to upgrade to discs???
yes.

in fact, it is your moral obligation to society to upgrade to disc brakes.

i switched to discs when i had the money and love it. a couple of my bikes have them and they need it. its nice to know you can stop when you want to. i just need to get on some hydraulic discs, a few people i ride with have em and it is insane. good stuff. if you think you need em go for it, i find it much easier to keep em ready to go then v-breaks. but then again im no mechanic.

Basically it all depends on you, if you feel unsecure while going downhill (like me) borrow your friends disc equipped bike for a week and try go downhill and feel if you feel secured. But if you still feel unsecure, then its either your friends disc brakes is not properly maintained or you are just scared (or both). Well if you want to go to discs, you got two choices, hydro(fluid-better modulation) or mech(cable-trail servicable) oh yeah if possible go for Avids cause of their CPS feature which means less grumbling for you. Some discs brake riders must tune their bikes when the put their tyres on their bikes cause the disc and caliper is not aligned so a annoying sound will be produced ^^