Winter Cycling - drums vs disc

what do you think is better drum brakes or disc brakes in the winter?

I've seen contradicting info

The both offer different advantages... so depending on who you ask they'll say different things.

Why do you want to know, what is important to you from a brake?

i suppose my question is ... are drum brakes affected by ice/cold... i know they shouldnt be.
when its icy out are disc brakes ability reduced to that of drum brakes or does it not work like that.

I have been riding drums for over eight years and found them ideal for winter. The only maintenance required is a squirt of grease every year or so. I've never owned a bike with disks so have no idea whether they require more attention, but it's hard to imagine them requiring less.

Paul

I've never owned a bike with disks

And I have never owned a bike with drums, but I sure like the discs in bad weather. I have to replace pads once a year or so.

Drums are less maintenance and less affected by weather. Basically the issue is surface contamination from ice, mud, oils, and water. Rim brakes suffer the most, then disc brakes and the least affected are enclosed systems like drums. Keep in mind, the difference in the level of contamination from rim to disc is very high, from disc to drum.. not as large.

If you're parking in a rack discs might not be a good idea as somebody could bend the rotor when they park beside you.

I ride the SRAM S7 IGH with a coaster brake, which I love. I haven't tried drum brakes, but I intentionally steered away from discs because 1) they draw more attention to your ride which is undesirable if you're commuting on it and locking it up outside (as I am), 2) I suppose there is still some risk of cables freezing/sticking with discs, whereas there are no external parts to the braking mechanism with a coaster brake.

Just another opinion.

Just another opinion.

...which I share. Just bought a bike with coaster brakes, and so far they are working like a charm in any weather. Drum brakes, from what I hear, are very reliable and low maintenance (that would be my second choice) - however some report some drag with drum brakes. Come to think of it, some bikes have both coaster and drum (front) brakes.

I have discs and I love them, wouldn't willingly go to rim brakes.

i suppose my question is ... are drum brakes affected by ice/cold... i know they shouldnt be.
when its icy out are disc brakes ability reduced to that of drum brakes or does it not work like that.

No, disc brakes ability to stop isn't affected by the cold, the wet (though they're often noisier when wet), snow, etc except for the part where there tire itself has less traction, but if you're comparing no braking system is going to change that.

Disc brakes have some disadvantages - they can be noisy sometimes, they can be finicky if you take the wheels on and off, and not all bike frames have the mounts for them. But nothing provides more stopping power under any and all weather conditions.

I haven't heard very good things about the stopping power of drum brakes. Every time someone says "Oh, they stop fine" I imagine some guy with a beard biking 10mph with absolutely no urgency. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not for me - I like a large amount of braking power. I'm under the impression that drum brakes provide notably less stopping power in dry conditions then rim brakes do, which themselves provide less stopping power than disc brakes (well, depending on your tire width it could be the same). With bad pads it might be that rim brakes degrade to the level of drum brakes, I don't know, but I know that's not how it works with disc brakes - they provide the same stopping power (again, the brake itself does though the tire may not) regardless of weather conditions.

Yup. I just read somewhere, forgot where, that drum brakes provide much less stopping power than disc brakes BUT are less likely to overheat on heavy bikes on steep descents. I'd say both would work equally well in harsh weather, except the enclosed drums may be less likely to freeze. I imagine the moving parts on the disc brake caliper might freeze in extreme conditions.

Adam

I imagine the moving parts on the disc brake caliper might freeze in extreme conditions.

It's all in your imagination.

The reality is that they don't--at least not in my experience.

Yeah, I said "I imagine" (as a possible scenario) :D It never happened to me either.

Adam

I'm...not trying to harp on anyone, I'm really not. Just want to add additional info - while I've heard people on these forums occasionally say that they've had their rim brakes ice up (and even that is rare), I've never heard anyone say their disc brakes have frozen from the cold.

Again...just trying to be helpful for others reading through the thread. :-)

I'm...not trying to harp on anyone, I'm really not. Just want to add additional info - while I've heard people on these forums occasionally say that they've had their rim brakes ice up (and even that is rare), I've never heard anyone say their disc brakes have frozen from the cold.

Again...just trying to be helpful for others reading through the thread. :-)

Actually, i have had icing on disc brakes.. but i was in snow up to the hubs, well it could have been the mineral oil style brakes also... wasn't my bike.

But it seemed like icing to me because i would have to hold the brake on and then wait few rotations(while the pads cleared the ice) and then it would be back to normal strength.

Have no experience with drums, or coaster brake for that matter, but have recently gone from v-brakes, to disc. Combined with the upgrade from snow studs, to full on Ice Spiker Pros, the difference is night and day. I cannot imagine the discs requiring anything near the maintenance of the rim brakes, I could accept that drums would be better in that regard, but not in terms of braking power. Coaster brake is probably more reliable, but is restricted to the rear, and nowhere near as powerful. (yes, you can lock the wheel, but just about any working rear brake can do that) Drums are more reliable than disc, possibly, but the difference is nowhere near as bad as the difference between disc and v-brake in Winter slop conditions as they happen here in Calgary.

My opinion, as related to conditions I find in Calgary, YMMV.

I've had BB7s ice up a bit. Never hydraulics.

And modern hydraulics rated for DH are almost impossible to overheat.


I know nothing about drum brakes.

Nada.

I had my bb7's freeze, but it wasn't the brake, it was the cable. Switched to Hayes Sole since, no issues since (over a year now). The Sole's have mixed reviews, but I use my mtn bike to commute and that's about it, so I'm happy with them (the Downhill mtnbike crowd are pretty critical of them).

Joe

Last year I was riding a cheaper bike with cable disc brakes and they did freeze, or were at least much harder to stop with.

This year I'm running a much nicer bike and 2 piston hydro discs. With the studded tires, I can lift the rear tire on ice if I feel like it. Now I must mention that my bike sleeps in the office all day (right beside me) and in the car overnight. And since I drive to a location where I park and ride the rest, my bike is always nice and toasty when i'm leaving my car or the office. But regardless, due to some weather conditions I've been out there on near an hour in my commute and my discs were always flawless.

Cheers,
Roby!

Forget discs for winter. They'll be fine for a year or two and then they will seize up. I am just replacing the "Soles" on my winter bike. I removed them and tried to clean them up but the metal housing has been pitted and corroded from road salt. I am going to replace them with BB5's and don't expect much better over the long term. Next winter beater will have traditional brakes, although inferior at least not as expensive to change pads.
Hockey

I know one person with BB5 caliper which only last one season due to corrosion... they seized.

I have heard the bb7 are better for not much more.

I would probably go drums for winter... discs just won't stand up to repeated exposures, esp if your fork is mg based