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Disc brakes worth it?

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Old 06-02-10 | 08:05 AM
  #51  
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Originally Posted by wunderkind
A good set of V-brakes is more than adequate.
If you ride through rain and mud. Then yes, disc brakes have an advantage. Actually I don't even know you need rear disc for a commuter. The front brakes handles most of the stopping. With a commuter that has rear discs, the rear rack choices are reduced significantly. Not to mention added weight.
Yet disc brakes excel, and the rear rack choices aren't hindered on any of the numerous bikes that mount the caliper in the chainstay/seatstay area. Rest you just use a disc specific rack.

Sorry, this is the type of response that I always expect from someone that's never owned them.
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Old 06-02-10 | 08:17 AM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by chipcom
I replaced the carbon canti fork on my Fuji World with a steel Dimension disc fork (twas the only disc fork I could find with a 1" steerer).
Wound-Up's carbon road, cyclcocross, and tandem forks are available with a disc brake option.

The Road and CX forks are available with 1" steel threaded or threadless steerers, and the road fork is available with a 1" carbon steerer. (For the sake of completeness, all are available with an 1-1/8" carbon steerer.)
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Old 06-02-10 | 08:53 AM
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Originally Posted by tsl
Wound-Up's carbon road, cyclcocross, and tandem forks are available with a disc brake option.

The Road and CX forks are available with 1" steel threaded or threadless steerers, and the road fork is available with a 1" carbon steerer. (For the sake of completeness, all are available with an 1-1/8" carbon steerer.)
and only ~400 bucks more expensive than the CrMo Dimension fork!
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Old 06-02-10 | 09:37 AM
  #54  
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Originally Posted by CCrew
Sorry, this is the type of response that I always expect from someone that's never owned them.
I was thinking the same thing. The only people dissing discs are people who don't have them.

Honestly, i don't care much one way or the other, my bike is totally fugly and I don't even wash it much so I don't care what it looks like. I run discs because they work better. They're far easier to adjust, require adjusting much less often, work better in all conditions (including ice and heavy rain), are cheaper to maintain (after you buy them) and they don't destroy rims.

I have rim brakes still on the back of my bike and the rim is a bit over a year old and it looks like I'll have to replace it before next winter, it's already over 1/2 worn through. My ride is over quite a bit of gravel road (either 4 of 11 miles or 10 of 14 miles, depending on my route) and if it's raining, the entire bike including the rims and brakes get encrusted with clay/sand mix which makes excellent abrasive. It doesn't bother the disc brakes at all.
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Old 06-02-10 | 03:20 PM
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Originally Posted by CCrew
Yet disc brakes excel, and the rear rack choices aren't hindered on any of the numerous bikes that mount the caliper in the chainstay/seatstay area. Rest you just use a disc specific rack.

Sorry, this is the type of response that I always expect from someone that's never owned them.
Originally Posted by ItsJustMe
I was thinking the same thing. The only people dissing discs are people who don't have them.
Isn't this the internet? Most of the people posting probably don't even own bikes.

Regardless, I don't disagree with anything wunderkind posted. You make wunderkind's point in your own post. Yes, "numerous" bikes have better rack mounting options, but all the rest don't, including plenty of "commuter" models. Then you say to use disc-specific racks for the rest, which would reduce your rack choices, which is what wunderkind said. As far as V-brakes being adequate for commuting, this is obviously true, and not a "diss" on discs. Discs are great, and a well maintained set will outperform rim brakes in the worst conditions, and save wear on your rim. That doesn't make them the right choice for everyone.
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Old 06-03-10 | 06:59 AM
  #56  
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Actually,I think the rack and fender points are just straw man arguments. Just because a bike has rim brakes doesn't mean any rack or fenders will go on;I've read lots of posts from people having mounting issues.
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Old 06-03-10 | 10:20 AM
  #57  
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Just my 2c - I have a Trek Valencia and a Specialized TriCross Comp. In my experience, the stopping power on the Valencia's disc brakes is noticeably better than the stopping power on the TriCross's canti brakes. I'd retrofit the TriCross with disc brakes if it was economically feasible. Honestly, when I switched to a more road-style bike for commuting, a lack of any options with disc brakes was one of the downsides.
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Old 06-04-10 | 10:57 AM
  #58  
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You can swap your canti's for V's if you install Problem Solver's pulleys. I did this to my old Fuji Cross Comp,and a friends wife has these on her Terry.

Also,if you want drop bars and discs,there is a pretty good selection out there. There's even a thread about it:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...&highlight=peg
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