Thread: Brake heating
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Old 10-10-16, 01:01 PM
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bwebel
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Originally Posted by oldacura
I think that all of us have experience with various forms of brakes on a tandem. Most of us have experience with only one type of brake. My question had more to do with an objective comparison between rim and disc brakes under the most demanding conditions. I doubt that such a comparison exists. Short of that, the best comparison might come from a bike brake engineer who truly understands the trade-offs between the two. I'm sure that the heat transfer dynamics are extremely complex.

However, because rim and disc brakes are so different, I would bet that one of them would be the clear winner under such conditions.

There is almost no doubt that disc brakes perform better in wet conditions but we almost never ride in the wet so that is not a concern for us.
I think your last line is significant in that different teams have different demands, so I don't know that your search for the objective "best" brake can be answered. For example, another thing to consider might be the difference in failure modes. I've never ridden either type of brake to failure, but my understanding is that disks will basically fade from the heat, while overheated rims will cause the tires to blow off. These are very different failure modes. So if it turns out that deep dish rims could take more heat than disks, but that the failure mode is more sudden and catastrophic, which is "better" will be a personal judgment.
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