Originally Posted by
cafzali
No, what is sexy and can be marketed as such is what relegates other innovations to the scrap heap. As I've pointed out many times in this thread, functionality and efficiency are not often the key determiners of what technology survives and what doesn't.
Discs have several disadvantages, none of which you're bringing up. They don't look as good on a bike as current braking systems, aren't an easy upgrade on current bikes and don't address a need most people are feeling.
Others have pointed out they stand a better chance of success on entry-level rides because few others really need them. My 2011 Giant TCR SL3 still has the original brake pads on it. Given how much I'm actually using my brakes, you can understand why I feel the current system works fine for me.
There's a huge difference between the value proposition of discs and things like lightweight vision lenses. The latter was an improvement anyone who has a prescription and wears glasses will notice. Very few people will ever notice the advantages of discs, especially long-time riders who don't muck around in the mud.
Originally Posted by
cafzali
Cost is an issue here too because for most discs will mean a new ride.
Sexy? Looks? Eye of the beholder.
Cost/Upgrading? Through-axle. Everyone's frames are already obsolete. At least forks can be replaced.
You're mischaracterizing logistical problems as performance degradation. Better brakes = Better bikes.
Originally Posted by
cafzali
Which has nothing to do with the advantages of any technology. People ride what they either have a special relationship with or feel is superior.......
[/B]You can try and make it more complicated than that, but it really is that simple.
Industries have a funny away of relegating sentimentality to the scrap heap, they all of a sudden just foist something upon everyone and that is the way it is. One can force a paradigm shift if they indeed own the paradigm.
Anyone who's ridden Shimano's new hydro road disc brakes will tell you they smoke rim brakes across the board, and when marketed at the same kit level/ price point the decision is simple for the performance appreciative cyclist. They simply outclass everything rim brake in existence.
Anyhow...I'll revisit this topic in...5 years...
