Originally Posted by
dfcas
You asked "why" for disc brakes and were given the answer, yet you seem to remain skeptical. Prior to disc brakes, the Arai drum/drag brake was used to take the heat stress off the rims/tires and tubes.
With rim brakes, I would not use a wire bead tire.
That is my nature! I like to see empirical data. Many decisions that people make are based on what someone says without real data to back it up.
I see the benefit of disc brakes in certain situations, however does the stress on the hub and or spokes make a disc feasible when you have a large diameter disc in the form of the rim. Today's rims are very true and the braking surfaces are machined and the newer calipers are very stiff, some of the new brake pads are excellent.
The question that I ask is; has anyone actually had a tire heat up and explode because of the heat build up on a long descent. If so then I see the need for the disc or a drum brake to eliminate that issue.