HumanPower

So I'm looking at my rims and sadly they are wearing down yet again. I commute on the West Coast so the winter in particular is wet and gritty.

I like my current ride but I'd rather replace a disc/pads than rims. I'm intrigued by the new(ish) hydro road brakes by SRAM and Shimano. I don't want to commute on a flat bar - it's just too far for that.

Anyone commuting with these? Big difference from road mech discs?

bmthom.gis

you might want to ask the roadbike sub. Plenty of people dropping big money for disc brakes over there

MileHighMark

I run SRAM Force/CX1 hydraulic discs on my commuter. Much less force/pressure required compared to mechanical disc brakes. I don't see myself going back to mechanical discs.

InTheRain

I'm in the same situation as you are. I recently converted my touring bike to an ebike. It's a lot heavier. I have never like my cantilever brakes, but now it takes a lot more distance to stop. I'm going through pads way too fast... that's fine - but rims? That's a pricey replacement. I recently went to a frame builder to get disc tabs added to my frame. I haven't decided between hydraulic or mechanical disc brakes yet... but I'm leaning toward mechanical. The bicycle mech/framebuilder indicated that there are several mechanical disc brakes that will work with my existing drop bars and sti shifters. However, hydraulic disc brakes would mean replacing my existing sti shifters. To keep the cost down, I'm leaning to mechanical.

HumanPower

That's the one I'm looking at. I'm thinking if I'm going to upgrade, I might want to bypass mech (and TRP hydro/mech hybrid) and go hydro.

HumanPower

I hear you - the pads aren't too bad (but not exactly cheap either for koolstops). But the rims - ouch. And seems like such a waste as my wheels aren't economical to rebuild (as I suppose most machine made wheels).

MileHighMark

I don't have any experience with TRP's Hy/Rd brakes, but the SRAM hydraulics have outperformed every mechanical system I've used.

rmfnla

Get some cheap sneakers and just drag your feet when you want to stop...

spare_wheel

Shimano road hydraulics use mineral oil and are less of a hassle to bleed (SRAM uses caustic/toxic DOT fluid). The brake fluid is also relatively stable and better for the environment. I tested bikes with shimano rs685s and they perform almost as well the xt hydraulics I have on my flat bar road bikes. (This is high praise from me.)

Shimano ST-RS685 Hydraulic Disc Brake STI's & BR-RS685 Disc Brakes | Merlin Cycles

HardyWeinberg

I test rode a bike with those rs685s and I really loved it. No real plans to buy it but would never rule it out.

hueyhoolihan

just ordered one set of these and this from Wiggle... it's for the front wheel of my road bike with carbon tubular rim. the rim left a lot to be desired as far as braking consistency was concerned.

oh, and now that it think about it.... this too

and at least 12 spokes and a new fork... blah blah blah.

spare_wheel

I have XT 775s that I flea-bayed for $50-60 when they were clearing them out. Good to know that I'm not the only punter who "commutes" on carbon disc hoops.

let me know what you think about those hubs...they look to be a very good deal and come in pretty colors.

Darth Lefty 

Crossposted - all this could be yours!

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...lly-worth.html

1974 sears hydraulic 10 speed

MileHighMark

I'm not a fan of mineral oil brakes in sub-freezing temps. The brakes get really sluggish in those conditions.

alan s 

Subfreezing temps for mineral oil is way below what I would ride in. Subfreezing temps for water, never noticed any sluggishness. Issue is probably not related to mineral oil. What brakes are you referring to?

fietsbob

Yea , Magura Hydraulic rim brakes .. I love them ...

But my studded tire bike has Cable operated Drum Brakes .. they're great Too.. unlike the Disc Brake Pads , the Drum brake shoes last for Generations .

Gritty rims are taken care of by Washing Your Bike and , checking the pads for imbedded gravel.

MileHighMark

Shimano and Tektro/TRP.

halcyon100

I've never used hydraulic brakes on a road bike, but I plan to switch to these once they are more widely available/affordable/get the kinks worked out, etc. I don't like to buy new bike products until they have been used by the general public (not just racers) at least a year or so. I have used XT hydraulic brakes on a MTB and they are great! The stopping power is much, much better compared to the mechanical BB7 brakes I have on my road bike. The BB7 are not that much better than rim brakes in terms of stopping power. But, my rims look practically new, despite 1.5 years of commuting on my current road bike. The BB7's do have an advantage when it comes to stopping power on long downhills. They are easier to adjust/maintain compared to hydraulic brakes. They can get noisy. I switched to organic pads, but those do wear faster. One nice thing is that I feel more comfortable taking my road bike on the occasional flat trail because I know I won't be getting a bunch of grit embedded in my pads/rims.

fietsbob

Cleaning disc brakes helps too , the pads glaze over with use , that can be removed by removing and sanding the pad surface .

alan s 

I love all the misinformation in disc brake threads. What are the kinks that need to be worked out with road hydraulic disc brakes? Resin pads do not glaze over. Hydraulic disc brakes are far easier to set up and are self-adjusting for wear vs. BB7, that need adjustment for wear. I've been using Shimano MTB hydros for years. Just started using Shimano road hydros. So far, no difference. If you use another brand, YMMV. It is pretty well recognized that Shimano is the leader in hydraulic disc brakes.

woodway

I switched from BB7's to TRP HY/RD's (mechanically actuated hydraulic calipers) last year. HY/RD's are a big upgrade over BB7's. I'd love full hydraulics but I don't love the price. Maybe in a few years. Until then my HY/RD's are doing a great job.

well biked

I'm using TRP Hylex full hydraulics with a bar end shifter ( 1 x 9 drivetrain) on my Surly Straggler , couldn't be happier with the brakes.

spare_wheel

Heartily agree with the above.

Based on my limited use road disc brifters appear to have poorer modulation than mtb levers (at least vs my xt 775s). What's your experience?

alan s 

I haven't noticed any difference. Using 160 rotors on both. I'm sure there are much better MTB brakes out there than what I'm using (SLX), so possibly people are comparing road hydros to higher performance MTB hydros.

Andy_K 

I've got TRP HY/RDs on my commuter, and I agree with woodway that they are a big upgrade over BB7s which were themselves better than any other road mechanical discs I've used. Still the HY/RDs are not nearly as good as the full hydraulic XTs on my mountain bike. I'd say they feel more like the MTN version of the BB7s except that the HY/RDs self adjust for pad wear.

A friend of mine who has used both HY/RDs and Gevenalle full hydraulics (TRP Hylex with Gevenalle's shifters bolted on) says the full hydraulics brake more like full hydraulic MTB brakes.