Originally Posted by
LarrySellerz
isn't one of the advantages of disc brakes over rim brakes that you aren't heating the rim? I thought prevailing wisdom was that rim brakes are more likely to fail during mountain descents. Disc brakes were engineered with your situation in mind, youre using them as intended. Id be more worried about ruining cheap brake pads, but again those were engineered with this in mind.
Yes, but a disc on a bicycle has less area to dissipate the heat. No matter which type of brakes you have, you cannot ride the the brakes excessively downhill. You have to let off and coast to allow the disc to cool. The disc will cool faster than a rim, but a rim will take longer to heat up enough to be an issue.
I love blasting downhill, so I don't brake much unless I get behind a car going slowly. To help keep your speed down though, sit upright so the wind hits your body, acting as a brake.