Mountain Biking - Disk Brakes or V-Brakes

If you had a Full Suspension bike, 4/5 inches in rear and 4 in front, would you use v brakes or disc brakes? It would be used for trailriding, and light freeriding. I guessing disks is more logical, but what would you do.

Is cost an issue? How long are your descents? I'd say for about 90% of the people, discs are a bit of overkill. Disc are the latest rage and cost is coming way down, so it's a matter of how much money you've got to spend.

These are costs per wheel! Double for front and rear combined:

You can get a set of Vee brakes for as little as $25 per wheel, figure $60-75 for anything decent.

Mechanical Discs will run you $75 for the caliper and rotor and another $20-$50 for the levers. In addition, you've got to have disc hubs which will add 15-25% of the cost of the wheelset for the upgrade.

Hydraulics will more than double that!

L8R

Originally posted by B1105
If you had a Full Suspension bike, 4/5 inches in rear and 4 in front, would you use v brakes or disc brakes? It would be used for trailriding, and light freeriding. I guessing disks is more logical, but what would you do.

I have a XC FS bike with almost 5" of rear travel and a little over 3" of front. I'm a fairly light rider (145lbs.) and most of my riding isn't really aggressive... definately no extreme downhills either. I am quite happy with V-brakes even though I ride in the muddy/soggy PNW. Others will tell you that you'll need/want discs and they may be right but I can lock up the tyres (if I have to) on all the trails and speeds I ride at with my Vs so I don't think discs will help me stop any faster because once you're locked up, then you're just skidding. As for modulation, maybe discs will be easier to modulate but I've not had an issue with my current brakes. For me, discs would just add unneeded weight, complexity and worry about snagging a line and having caustic/corrosive fluids get all over me and my bike. I actually shudder to think what DOT fluid would do to my carbon frame.

Personally I'm very happy with my V-brakes. They do the job I want, and I can fix most things that can possibly go wrong with them. I wouldn't have a clue where to start with disk brakes.

actually brakes work by converting forward motion into heat. The more heat they can dissapate, the quicker you will stop, even given the same tyre.

Personally I am considering a front disk as I am having trouble with my XT v's squealing, and after a long downhill glazing pads. I'd go front only as my frame has no disc tabs on the rear.

After the race I rode on Sunday, I wouldn't be caught on the trail with anything but discs. So much more power and control. I had extremely good braking when others with v's were skidding all over the trail and basically out of control. I had no scraping or grinding, and the riders with v's were REALLY having problems... major ones. I ended up having better control and ultimately less crashes, meaning I posted faster times and was in less pain at the end of the day. I ride ALL the time in muddy/wet conditions, so I'm deffinitely sold on disc brakes. I think they're possibly the greatest mountain bike invention since the front fork. I run Avid mechanicals, with SRAM 9.0 levers and I have SO much modulation and control. I couldn't be happier. I don't care if I gain a little extra weight.. it's totally worth it in my book.

Disc. They look cooler.:D

If you do a lot of XC in the mud, or hucking into a mudpit :D then get discs. Otherwise, if cost and weight are issues, v-brakes are good. Avid makes good brakes.

Discs...I live and ride on a mountain. :)

Thanks guys, I will probably run XT V brakes as I have a nice set right now. If i feel I am not stopping fast enough, as I can get disc brakes on employee purchase relativley cheap. But thanks for the advice.

one negative point on discs you all failed to mention-- weight. discs brakes are heavier, so if you're a weight weenie you might want to opt for vee's.

from personal experience-- i had an avid mechanical disc on the front of my SS MTB, but removed it. i found that the vee's actually had BETTER modulation, but when it came to brute force stopping, the discs dominated. discs also dominated in wet/muddy conditions.

but i built up a different SS, one w/out disc tabs so i had to revert back to the vee's. i like the lever feel of the vee brakes better as opposed to discs.

its a tough call...i guess in the end it comes down to your riding. ill go just as fast w/ my vee's as my buddies with discs on a wicked downhill section of the trails. but if you go the disc road, dont get hydro's. you dont wanna be w/out brakes if your lines spring a leak on a serious downhill, and avid mech. discs seem to be as effective as some more expensive hydro discs.

just my 2 cents

Another advantage of V brakes, if you go on long, full day rides out in the middle of nowhere and your v brakes fail, it's much easier to change a v brake on the trails and carry a spare than you would disc brake. (this actually happened to me).

V's work just fine for me with my current bike. BUT after having test driven several bikes with hydro disc brakes (hayes and shimano) I am totally going disc on my next bike. One finger stopping power is incredible.

I'll take a differant position on this and definately think discs are better. Aside from cost and weight factors i like knowing that my bike will stop whenever and where ever. If you set up discs right the modulation shouldn't be that big of a differance. I ride mostly sandy singletrack and granted that my V's worked most of the time when i went out to NC i was dam glad i had them. For me it's more of an insurance thing, and if it's a luxury so be it. Everybody indulges in some form or another

but if you go the disc road, dont get hydro's. you dont wanna be w/out brakes if your lines spring a leak on a serious downhill, and avid mech. discs seem to be as effective as some more expensive hydro discs.

Dude, you've been smoking too much!

Hydraulics outperform ANY mechanical, YES even Avid's. If you crash to the point where you blow a hydraulic line, you'll have torn the crap out of a regular cable and housing as well. Not to mention yourself. Don't buy into this crap about blowing a line.

L8R

Yea, Hydros have excellent modulation as well. The part about blowing a hydrolic line is also BS, because nobody carries around a cable, either. The odds of you limping home on a leaking hydraulic line are greater than limping home on a broken cable.

I keep a cable in my pack. I can re-wire my mechs in a matter of minutes. Also, the odds of a cable actually snapping are fairly low. It takes a good bit of pressure to break them. The odds of a hydraulic line coming lose however are not so obsolete. I've seen it happen twice to my memory. One time was in the middle of nowhere in moab. We got to do some hiking! YAY HIKING!

Originally posted by legalize_it
one negative point on discs you all failed to mention-- weight. discs brakes are heavier, so if you're a weight weenie you might want to opt for vee's.

No I didn't. :D

oops you did mention that...MY B!

I don't understand the arguments against disc. The only thing you can say is that V's are lighter and that's about it. The new XTR are really close in weight so I think the trade off is worth it.
You can get mineral oil hydros that won't ruin your frame finish, the modulation is off the hook and there is no mech. disc or V to even come close.

I've been happy with V's and race XC. I tried discs and man, they are the sheit. I'm moving over to either XTR discs or some other hydro setup.
The only real downside is the cost to switch over to disc but there you have it.

Originally posted by RacerX
The only real downside is the cost to switch over to disc but there you have it.

Agreed...I wouldn't do a conversion to disc; would wait until it's time to buy another bike and get one with discs. My Hayes do not pull any lighter than V's, nor do they stop me any quicker when conditions are perfect, and I don't feel that I can control the breakes any better with discs. However, when conditions get nasty, discs are a great thing to have. Only took one sphincter-tightening descent down a snowy trail to understand why V's are inferior to discs when conditions are lousy.

even in good conditions, discs are better. You have to admit they are nice on steep descents and singletrack. Bad conditions just amplify the superior performance of discs- which I agree with you, are where discs are at their best.

hey people, i'm getting a diamond back apex today. i have the option to keep the shimano mech. disc M475 brakes it comes with or switch them out for avid 5 v-breaks at no cost.

i've been reading the pros and cons in the discussion and i still don't know what i want. it's mostly dry dusty weather up here, occasional mud. i don't race, but i'm not just a sunday afternoon rider.

if i want the avids i'd have to wait 5 more days before they came in. it seems weight may be the biggest issue? i'm 130 lbs., do i want a lighter bike with the v-breaks?

any other comments?

Ooooh, that's a tough decision. On one hand the M475 aren't that great, and on par in quality with a decent set of vees. However, for even money, I think I'd keep the discs. Now if they knocked some money off, I'd go for the Vees. Is there any way to swap out for Avid Mechanical Discs. If it's in the neighborhood of only $75-50, I'd suggest doing that.

Didn't mean to recommend ANOTHER option, but if you want mechanical disc, the Avids are the way to go.

L8R

another option?!? i don't think he'll do that. i'm already getting 20% off the listing price. it would be the same price whichever breaks i get. so these shimano discs aren't all that, but the avid 5s are better quality wise?

he told me to try the disc, and if i don't like them he'll put in the vees. i could ask if he's got any similar shimano vee brakes in house since the avid 5s would take time to order. how are shimano vees vs. avid vees?