Mountain Biking - climbing performance with disc brakes?

just wanted to know if anybody noticed a decrease in climbing ability after switching to disc brakes from v's? after replacing my XT v's and xt/217's with avid mechs and xt/sun singletracks it's like my bike gained 2-3lbs. and during today's ride i couldn't climb as well as usual. did these extra few lbs make me slow or is it just me?

Usually disc brakes usually don't make any difference, it was probably the wheels.

just wanted to know if anybody noticed a decrease in climbing ability after switching to disc brakes from v's? after replacing my XT v's and xt/217's with avid mechs and xt/sun singletracks it's like my bike gained 2-3lbs. and during today's ride i couldn't climb as well as usual. did these extra few lbs make me slow or is it just me?

Singletrack's are pretty heavy.

Wheel weight is 3:1. For every ounce/gram/pound/whatever on the wheel is similar to 3 unit's on the frame.

Most people who are riding Single Track's aren't weight concious riders. They are even heavier than Rhynolites (the heaviest trail rim I would ride).

Those extra pounds definately hurt you, but it's not all from the disc.

would i notice improvement if say, i kept the xt disc hubs and laced them to a pair of 217s or 517s? i mean i think it might not be worth it because discs are inherently heavier than v's, and the disc hubs and rotors will weigh down my wheel even with lighter rims. so would it be noticeably better if i switched the rims or should i save up for a new lightweight XC wheelset altogether?

Id keep them, then buy a separate set for road/xc, thats exactly what i plan to do in the future.

The 517's are significantly lighter than the Singletracks. You'll save a good bit of weight.

If you are so concerned with weight though, why did you choose Disc's in the first place?

I noticed a difference at first. But what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger!! In my opinion its worth having brakes in the rain/mud and having more overall power. I'd say it's more your wheels than anything, since the disc is mounted directly on the rotor. I noticed a difference when I switched from a pair of ultralight v-brake wheels to my XT disc/Mavic 3.1 tubeless but it wasn't too bad.

The 517's are significantly lighter than the Singletracks. You'll save a good bit of weight.

If you are so concerned with weight though, why did you choose Disc's in the first place?

bought a used set for a pretty good price, and always was curious about discs.


I noticed a difference at first. But what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger!!

hope so!

They recomend NOT using 517 with discs because of the strength of the spoke insertion point (not sure if the warning is warranted). In any case, I use 317s with XTs, which are nice rims, and not significantly heavier than the 517s.

I made a mistake. I meant to type 521.

The X317 is a very good, light disc specific XC rim. You might want to check 'em out.

:beer: