Originally Posted by maddmaxx
I don't ride this bike exclusively cross country. Sometimes on the road between trails the are reasonably large hills. Since I ride at about 205 lbs and go down hill like a stone I've found evidence of minor melting of the tire bead on rim brake wheels. The disc's are the result of the terror of a 60 year old man blowing a tube at 45mph.
Besides, Im an equipment geek and had to have something to play with this winter.
One of the advantages of discs is the lack of tyre problems and the lack of wearing out rims. I go through rims about every 18 months- by which time the hub is normally on the way out too- so I buy ready made wheels from a GOOD wheelbuilder. Now on Tandems- One of the problems is overheating tyres on Long descents and T's weigh a lot more than you. I put discs on the T as V brakes were causing a problem on extended rides. After about 65 miles- the lever pressure was beginning to hurt and we don't know if it was the pads going off or just the effort. All we have to put up with on the T is the noise once the disc's get a bit warm. They get noisy. When that happens- it doesn't bother us as the Pilot just stops braking. Makes it hairy through the corners, but stops me getting ear ache. Gearing on the Tandem is 48/36/24 and a 12/32 rear cassette. Still gives us a high enough top speed and we can get up all the hills- unless we lose grip.