Bob Dopolina 

Yes and no.

There are some who see the advantages and welcome the chance to innovate and others who were hesitant to invest in R&D and tooling but are being dragged along by the inevitable.

Even if the UCI says no, there is a growing segment of users who both want this and who could benefit from road discs. Look at Tri. Unicombered by the UCI there are products on the market aimed only at the Tri market that are not UCI legal.

gc3

putting disc brakes on a road bike is like wearing a condom after a vasectomy....

Panza

Pain in the a$$ if you crash. I had a bad crash and the disc was bent along with the front wheel. Extra $$... but I guess anything can break on your bike and you'd have to pay for it anyhow.

Functionality wise, they brake better under wet and are overall more consistent I felt. Keeps the top part of the bike more streamlined and cleaner looking and your center of bike gravity lower. Which is nearly completely irrelevant when you're 150lbs and undo all of that. Also, I believe it adds rotational weight to factor in. Some people like to save the some hundred or two grams. If you're a serious speed freak, you'll do without your brakes and ride only on a velodrome on a track bike.

Would I get them again? On a road race bike I intend to race, no, because theyre not legal yet. On a casual commuter or a road bike I don't intend to race? Absolutely. Do I find them cool looking? Yes.

markjenn

On several levels, this analogy makes no sense.

- Mark

gc3

Then my work here is done

Bob Dopolina 

Is it flat where you ride?

NormanF

A traditional road bike, sure. Its a definite asset on a commuter/touring bike on the other hand.

garciawork

Last I heard you were probably not going to be tubeless compatible! Now... I may have to buy a set... for the disc road bike I don't yet own. Oh well.

I personally cannot wait to get a complete 105 hydro disc group to throw onto whatever the best Ti disc option is. I also can't wait to see what the aluminum rim manufactures start producing after they mess with a rim with no brake track and can tweak the shapes and material levels around a bit. Or a super light carbon rim with no brake track for the hills... with the disc stopping power on the descent... (forgive me, getting creamed by a car around a blind corner on a descent has me taking things a little slower these days).

eriku16

I guess you are referring to the Focus RAT through axle. It is a proprietary system and won't go anywhere unless they release the patents. Even still, it will be a tough sell trying to convince the masses of roadies why they should have them. Much harder than to convince them to go with discs. Sounds like a lose-lose situation.

Bob Dopolina 

No, but a great example. They don't need to release the patents, btw, they could license them in the same way Shimano does with center lock hubs or Ritchey does with OCR rims. It happens all the time.

Keep in mind that when I say production I also mean MY2015/2016. Those items are tooled and ready to go (we have something I hope we can make happen, too).

I don't think anyone needs convincing. How many in this thread alone state that they would potentially buy a disc brake road bike? More than a few.

I think a factor here is where people live. If you live somewhere like Flatlandville or Pancakistan then you probobly have no need or desire for discs. But people riding in places where there is some climbing or those with off-road experience may be more inclined to embrace the concept.

Any way you slice it, when companies like Colnago, Trek, Specialized, Bianchi, Giant (this could be a long list) ALL have disc brake road bikes and when the two principal OE componant suppliers have equipment as well (Sram should again...soon) then I think the debate is over.

Disc brake deniers just need to get out of the bubble and face reality.

Burnette

I think there are more threads about whether or not disc look good or not, are they cool or not, those are funny and proof that cycling is like golf, tennis and ballet, slaves to fashion.
Then there are then graphs, charts and so called purists who pound the salt of "necessity", proof that cyclist will site crazy generalities and cherry pick stats to buoy a predisposed prejudice.
Both stances are human responses to change, I get it.
What is funny to me is that some make disc brakes their line in the sand, the step too far, not needed. Really?
I mean, on the road, you got guys/gals sporting the equivalent of Fix-A-Flat sloshing around in their tires, or gluing the whole combination to a wheel, or riding deep sectioned wheels, wearing "aero" helmets (gonna get me one!), riding an aero fame, shaving their legs and wearing shoe booties, wearing boutique clothing and posting coffee shop pics like you're in an advertisement for said clothing. C'mon, cycling left what was "necessary" along time ago and we're full blown into show and go, like the rest of sports. Yeah, you need a bike developed by a Formula 1 team. Oh, wait, don't look now but even our kit will be tied into Formula1 (lookin' at you Assos boy).
We are so far from "necessity" that it is necessary to go through your closet and garage and tabulate how many Double Mocha Latte Half Frap Soy With Caramel Drizzle drinks you coulda had if you didn't buy all that unecessary stuff.
Why is it all or nothing with disc? There are pros and cons to it like all the things I posted above, some good and bad in all of it.
On the road, I'm not going tubeless, not going tubular, not going deep section wheels, not going carbon braking surface, not paying $500 for one set of kit, not shaving my legs. But I'm humble enough to think that those who do choose those things might like them, might need them and it's all OK with me. And given a try, I might agree with some of those choices.
If I buy the Assos F1 kit, I'll post pics of me in it with shaved legs at a coffee shop leaning against my bike that will have tubulars and deep sectioned wheels. And disc brakes. I like disc brakes. Love all of me or none of me, love all of us or none of us.

cruiserhead

burnette,

tubulars are older than clinchers. Clinchers are the "advancement" in technology.

Gus90

Personally I think disc brakes make a lot more sense on a cyclocross bike.

cruiserhead

disc brakes are a good option for anyone that wants improved braking.
commuting, tandem, urban, mt biking, cx are all areas where people reap daily benefits
road also. There is no "the most" benefit. That depends on so many factors.

On the road racing front, a lighter rim (less rotating mass) tied with great modulation is perfect for carbon tubulars.
Seperating the braking and traction areas reaps benefits for both and takes away the weaknesses of carbon tubulars.
That is of huge benefit.

Burnette

Ah, cruiserhead, ya missed that assignment, it wasn't a chronological distinction, it was a "I'm gonna choose to do this other thing over here versus what the rest of you are doing and then judge you for, well, doing something different than the rest of us are doing" explanation.
But hey, thanks for playing!

cruiserhead

Dave Mayer

For most road riders, discs are not worth the cost, complexity and weight penalty. Even commuting daily in the rain, I have adequate braking with rim brakes and well selected pads.

Discs make more sense with clinchers than tubulars. With clinchers, the brake track is under enough stress holding the bead of a tire inflated at 100+ psi; removing the braking function is a good thing.

Tubulars are so superior to clinchers by their fundamental design; rim braking is not a problem. Erosion of the braking surface is still a problem, but with carbon tubulars, the carbon matrix is so hard that they wear much slower than alu. Problem largely solved.

There were some massive hills and descents in the Giro this year. Rained lots. Even snowed on the big passes. How many riders were ridng clinchers?: zero. How many riding discs?: zero.

UnfilteredDregs

This is a nest of herrings and strawmen of Gordian proportions...lmao

grolby

Yeah, that's not true. The same problems exist with rim braking on tubulars as on clinchers, with the only real difference being that heat-related tube failure is less likely with a tubular, and that a flat tubular is less dangerous than a flat clincher. And carbon rims absolutely do not solve the problems with rim brakes; they make heat management and brake fade a much more immediate danger than they are with aluminum rims. They also have much less consistent braking across dry and wet conditions.

It's one thing to say that disc brakes may not be necessary for all riders under all conditions. That's certainly true. It's another to say that carbon tubulars eliminate most or all of the downsides of rim brakes. That's just ridiculous. And then to cite as evidence that none of the riders were using disc brakes in an event where disc brakes are prohibited by the rules is... I'm not even sure what to call that. Maybe "not even wrong."

StephenH

My Raleigh Sojourn came with disk brakes, so when I got the tandem, I got disk brakes on it as well. I've got about 37,000 miles on the Sojourn and 16,000 miles on the tandem now.

With that in mind, i'm hard-pressed to say why someone SHOULD have disk brakes. They're fine, they work fine, but I'm just not seeing a lot of rim-brake users plummeting off of cliffs or anything, either. And everything I've ever read about this (like all the stuff above) turns into a Ford vs Chevy argument. Both types have advantages, both have disadvantages, and there's no clear-cut winner. If all the pros were using disk brakes right now, and somebody was trying to introduce rim brakes to the world, you'd have exactly the same issues they're talking about up there. So yeah, maybe in a few years, everyone will use them, but then again, maybe not, too.

RJM

That's because a rim brake is just a really big disk brake smack in the center of the wheel.

cruiserhead

Just thinking about everything wrong with this makes me tired

pedrothecat

OP...I think discs have a little way to go aesthetically particularly the routing of the front brake cable along the fork.
At the end of the day I'll still be sweating my guts out going up that 9%er with 40minutes to go before the top with my 'old skool' brakes being passed by some yet passing others myself. And when it's the downhill side, I'll be braking with my 'old skool' system applying the same techniques as any other rider does (I've got discs on another) being passed by some yet passing others myself.

Bob Dopolina 

Well this finally happened today...

Lazyass

I don't think anyone is denying that bike manufacturers are going to produce more road bikes with disc brakes. That's not the debate.