BigJeff

I've seen enough melted carbon rims and melted inner tubes to know the rim brakes are being left behind for flat land riding.

Riding steep roads and in climate weather is the land of disc brakes and soon it will take over (even in Florida).

Road disc... Not a cross bike.

Axelsoes a road bike need through axles? Are they to prevent braking issues, frame issues or wheel issues?

Brakes: 6 bolt vs center lock?

Group selection:
SRAM mech disc
SRAM hydro mech?
Shimano hydro mech disc?
Shimano di2 hydro?

The only one I haven't seen is the sram hydro rim...

As for frame selection the Ti crowd have been here for years, but carbon frames are only starting to become "more" available.

Anyone know what the "go to" combination is going to be?

(Please, no cobble gobblers)

rekon

Meh... I personally like rim brakes better. I have 2 bikes with disc brakes and I constantly have to adjust them due to rubbing.

kbarch

I'm assuming the two go together - carbon rims and melting inner tubes, that is. I mean, if inner tubes have been melting all along before people started getting carbon rims, you'd think disk brakes would have been the norm to begin with - they're hardly a new invention. Mavic have shown the solution to the heat issue, so I think we'll be seeing more disk brakes on regular road bikes soon for other reasons, e.g., people want something else to spend their money on.

rpenmanparker 

You can't melt an inner tube. It is impossible by virtue of the thermoset nature of the rubber. You can burn or char it, but you can't melt it. Pretty much true of the CF wheel too, although it will soften with heat. Not melt, but indeed soften.

halfspeed

surgeonstone

Geez and here I was thinking that 40 years of riding regular brakes with no problems was the norm. Silly me.

hamster

Last I checked, using disk brakes on carbon rims mostly negates the benefit of having carbon rims in the first place. Shimano R785 is about 330 g of extra weight compared to stock 6770 (don't have numbers for 6870, but should be close); and as much as 460 g compared to 6770 shifters + Planet X CNC calipers. And that's not including the added weight of hydraulic hoses and disk-compatible hubs (this part is harder to complain apples to apples, but it's something like 50 g extra in the front hub alone.) And hanging large perforated disks on your wheels isn't too good for aerodynamics, either.

If you are concerned about melted rims, the way to go is tubular or alloy brake surface.

Slackerprince

Road disc=Fad


S

Lazyass

I prefer the cantilevers on my 21 year old mountain bike.

BigJeff

No they didn't happen together. The carbon rims melted/deformed under extreme braking. The tube that melted (not just popped) was on a carbon/alloy rim.

I think it is accurate that the problem is creating. Solution that doesn't rub or need adjustment.

Yes it will weigh more than mechanical brakes... Just as electronic shifting weighs more than mechanical shifting.

The aerodynamics of the system is insignificant in difference compared to potential aerodynic improvements of the cyclists' body position.

BigJeff

So is carbon and electric shifting. Only steel is real.

hamster

If extra weight is acceptable and lost aerodynamics is insignificant, how is the carbon rim / disk brake system better than a pair of traditional $50 alloy rims with rim brakes? Aside from being way more expensive and complex, with more things that can break?

Electronic/mechanical shifting comparison isn't on point. Electronic shifting has tangible advantages over mechanical. As far as I know, disk brakes have no equally apparent advantages over caliper brakes with alloy rims in day-to-day use (except in a few situations like rain & dirt). And the added weight is minimal ( extra weight of the motors inside derailleurs is compensated by having much simpler and lighter levers, so the total difference between, say, 6870 and 6800, comparing electronic parts only, is under 100 g.)

UnfilteredDregs

Shouldn't have to...

halfspeed

This.

If you think discs are less prone to rubbing or need less adjustment, then you are, indeed, high.

UnfilteredDregs

Discs need consistent adjustment throughout the life of the brake pads.

It's easy, and takes about 30 seconds per brake.

DinoShepherd

For now... :-)

Hydro discs are the future and a HUGE step up from mechanicals.

You.ll love it.

UnfilteredDregs

Yup...I'm saving up my pennies for the recently released Shimano hydro-mech.

BigJeff

Clearly.

what about through axels vs quick release?

klmmicro

I keep reading people having all sorts of troubles with disc brakes...I guess mine are defective as they do not seem to be messed up at all. As for a fad, probably not. If they work, they will sell and become a standard.

BigJeff

Road bikes cyclocross or mountain?

DinoShepherd

Crystal ball says 12mm thru.axle for road bikes in 2016 will be the thing.

Stay tuned...

rpenmanparker 

How can quick releases be so important to us until we want disk brakes, then it doesn't matter anymore? I think a need for thru axles on disk-brake equipped road bikes is enough to set the transition to disk back for a long time. Surely someone will introduce a lightweight, effective quick release skewer that will hold a wheel firmly enough in place that the calipers won't foul on the disk. if the promoters of disk brakes want to see them steal a share of the market, that is going to be absolutely necessary.

Slackerprince

I'll be grumpy old man on the electronic, too.
I ride an alu frame, and there's no clever rhyme for it.

S

Tech420

I don't see a need for disc brakes on a road bike and think they could make group crashes into a bloody mess.......but they do stop a hell of a lot better with a much more consistent feel to them.

Chris Pringle

In the land of custom builds, I can see many future owners easily wanting disc brakes to go with their super light carbon fiber rims.

They seem to work really in all kinds of weather and terrain which give a sense of added safety. That's a big plus for many.


Road disc... Not a cross bike.

For 2015, quick release will continue to dominate. Thru-axles will eventually become the standard on disc-equipped road bikes where added stiffness is an essential part of the marketing, also the added safety at higher speeds.

Choose the prettiest hub and go either way.


Shimano di2 hydro would be sweet for an impressive build, but the reality is that in the world of custom bikes S&S couplers are also quite popular. Hydraulic brakes, unfortunately, can't be used for such application. At that point, I wouldn't kick out of bed di2 with gold plated connectors and mechanical disc brakes.

There is something undeniably beautiful about a Ti frame. If you want to splurge on a custom build, this will continue to be the material of choice, IMO. Carbon is now too mainstream, steel is too old school for many while Ti continues to be the "exotic material" very much lust after. One thing is certain -- all forks will be made of CF for these light builds.

Another trend: Cables will disappear either by having everything internally wired within the frame or by wireless technology. Electronic shifting is quickly taking us in that direction.