Mountain Biking - Rim or Disc Brakes?

What do you use? Which do you prefer? Is it necessary to get disc brakes?

Better for mud? Rain? Aside from better modulation and possibly stopping power, and prevent wearing down the rims, what other advantages do the disc brakes offer?

Disc is the way to go. Like you guessed, Better in mud and rain and much better stopping. I would not use rim now that I have disc.

Disc is the way to go. Like you guessed, Better in mud and rain and much better stopping. I would not use rim now that I have disc.

Gotta agree with u there!:p I was sick of having non-effective rim brakes in the rain, my mech. disc brakes have incredible stopping power(winzip, not bad) in all weather and terrain......can't wait to see how they perform when submerged in water;)

Thanks. So...uh...how big of a rotor do I need? Gonna be rain, lots of it. Good speed. And even snow! wtf? not a lot of snow.

180mm?

Thanks. So...uh...how big of a rotor do I need? Gonna be rain, lots of it. Good speed. And even snow! wtf? not a lot of snow.

180mm?

160mm is what i use and seems appropriate for your needs, if your going to being doing stuff like freeride or downhill, u would want bigger rotors(ideally 203mm, 8", 180mm isn't necessary but if that's what u want then go for it! U can even do combos like:203 front, 160 rear.......and so on.
Good luck, and happy trails!:p

I have Avid BB5s and their stopping power is quite good. I'm only 210 lbs with myself, Trek 6000, and 15 pounds of stuff I haul with me (don't ask lol), but I've had them work submerged in water while crossing the shallow parts of the Huron River in SW Michigan. So basically yeah - disks kick @$$.

I would NEVER go back to rims. Oh and do they (disks) work in snow - I've yet to know. However, people in the commuting forums who do year round biking to work in snowy regions often swear by disks.

I do use rims on my road bike though (kind of a given...).

I'd suggest getting disks if there will be ANY mud or substantial rain involved in your riding, especially if you are doing downhills or NEED stopping power. Just be wary of front wheel lockup (submerged my stupid face in the river during my crossing when the bike literally slid out from underneath me b/c of how easily the wheels lock up on slippery terrain).


EDIT: avid bb5s I run have 160mm rotors - and they can throw me over the handlebars (165 ish lbs).

Oh, don't forget the number one most awesome thing to do with disks:

When you finish a long descent,
1: Lick your finger
2: Lightly brush a rotor
3: Relish the hissing sound of the spit boiling and your friend's incredulous stares.

Just be wary of front wheel lockup (submerged my stupid face in the river during my crossing when the bike literally slid out from underneath me b/c of how easily the wheels lock up on slippery terrain).

Explain this one to me. Do you mean the brakes suddenly froze up the front wheel, or that you had caused it by activating the brakes (squeezing the brake handles)?

Yes if you can afford good disc brakes go get em!

However, lower end, crappy, disk brakes, are no better then v-brakes and you would be only wasting you money.

Keep in mind, I would take higher end V-Brakes (Avid SD7's for only about $50) over most of the stock disk brakes that you would find on bikes under $400 or so.

Cheap disk brakes are not just crappy, they are REALLY crappy!

Explain this one to me. Do you mean the brakes suddenly froze up the front wheel, or that you had caused it by activating the brakes (squeezing the brake handles)?

When people say "lockup" they refer to when the wheels stop turning. A common example is when you're breaking hard with both the front and rear wheels, the back wheel will stop turning and it will skid/slide on the pavement. That skidding is called a rear lockup.

So when you're on ice or going through muddy/slippery riverbeds it is easy to lockup the front wheel. If you've ever locked up the front before, you know how quickly you can wipe out! :eek:

So lockups can signal that your breaks work :)

I'd suggest getting disks if there will be ANY mud or substantial rain involved in your riding, especially if you are doing downhills or NEED stopping power.[/U][/B][/COLOR] Just be wary of front wheel lockup (submerged my stupid face in the river during my crossing when the bike literally slid out from underneath me b/c of how easily the wheels lock up on slippery terrain).



I have a similar experience except it's the rear wheel. I locked the rear wheel and skided on wet asphalt shortly after a rainstorm and banged up my knees. This happens 3 days after I bought it.

lots of posts, sorry if this is a repost...

i have 6" Hayes MX-4's on my bike. i cant believe the increased stopping power! 8" are more efficient, and Hydros are much nicer than mech. ones. nothing special, but i can be doin a good 40km/h, and stop within 2 metres, just lean back and grab a good bit of front brake. just remember dont pull to hard.

one more reason that Disc is better :D

Keep in mind that lower end disc brakes have about the same amount of stopping power as v-brakes, if not less.

So as long as you get a decent set, they will be heads and shoulders above v-brakes.

Agreed. The standard mech brakes that came on my hardrock were pretty bad. Contrary to the advantages, it had almost no stopping power when wet (well, dramatically less). I would say get V brakes unless you plan for Avid mechs.

And for those who advised bigger rotors. Is it true you shouldn't put anything bigger than 160mm on an XC type fork?