corrado33

It's obvious you don't have hydraulic brakes.

If you've only adjusted 2 or 3 times in 5 years, then I can say you have barely ridden it. On my mountain bike pads are ruined after a single season. Which requires replacement pads, pushing calipers back in, often times bleeding, caliper realignment, and lever adjustment.

Mechanical discs ARE easier to adjust than hydraulic, but both are more difficult than rim brakes. (Except those damn canti brakes with the brake pads that have posts instead of bolt on. Those are a pain in the ass.)

Dreaded1

Purchased a new bike this year. '17 Masi Gran Corsa, it came in 2 versions cable disc and canti, for the exact same price. I discussed the disc option with my LBS and ended up with the disc for 2 reasons.
1) Disc brakes are "new" and eventually will gain more popularity on road bikes, why buy a bike with "old" tech
2) the bikes were different color schemes and I liked the disc scheme better.

At first I was happy to have a road bike with "new" tech. Then I realized the through axle wouldn't work with the current trays on my car and would have to buy a new tray or adapter. Then that car was totaled (not my fault) so I bought an new car and opted for a hitch mounted tray system so I didn't have to take the front wheel off, problem solved. While waiting for the rack to arrive I had to take the wheel off to fit in my car and found that I usually had a brake rub when I put the wheel back on, and that got annoying.

So now that I am set up, I am happy that I have a bike with disc brakes, even though I have been asked a couple of times if it is a CX frame. To me the additional weight of disc doesn't matter. My fat a$$ hovering around 200lbs is a bigger concern, and the first thing I need to address.

LesterOfPuppets

Seems like they're talking about hydraulic discs, which can be tricky for those that haven't dealt with them before.

Toughest part of discs for me is dealing warped/bent rotors. Probably cuz I don't have the tool for it and using a crescent wrench for it sucks!

But yeah, pad changes and adjustments on cable discs are easy as pie, just different.

rydabent

No they are mechanical discs, and not even a high priced well known brand. And the trike has approx 7000 miles on it.

fietsbob

You can buy them for your self now... won't be cheap..

But, you don't have to wait for the Professional race teams to adopt them ,
to have permission bestowed, to make your choices for you.

Mark42

Wow. I'm away for one day giving testimony to Congress and my thread is a runaway....

joejack951

That's the old, post-mount version. The 2016 FM079-F is designed for the new style flat mount calipers. Here's mine all built up with Campagnolo Chorus mechanical and TRP HY/RDs:

prj71

Specialized will lead the way and others will follow...

Specialized founder says in two years everyone will be on disc-equipped bikes | Cyclingnews.com

Chandne

My hydraulic-disc Tarmac (DA di2) stops quicker and with maybe half the effort of my Roubaix or my BMC (both rim brake). After a 4-5 hour ride, the ease of braking downhill is very welcomed and the modulation is something rim brakes simply cannot produce. I like all my bikes (love the BMC) and I'm aware of the 1.5 lb penalty. The Tarmac is actually 2 lbs heavier due to other stuff. I have a big (for me) ride on Saturday- ~6,000 feet of climbing and descending in 75 miles and I'm taking my Tarmac because I love the way discs brake. It is effortless and the modulation is addictive on twisty and fast downhills. I take the BMC (mech DA 9000) the rest of the time and try to ride them back to back often. I have certainly warmed to discs but have been using hydro discs for years on my MTBs. Nobody sells rim brake bikes there, and I guess all of 18 people use them still. Don't like it...do't buy it but it is a superior braking system. The Tarmac is a year old now and I have not touched the disc brakes...ever. The BMC and Roubaix have both had to have their (simpler...yes) brake pads adjusted since they started to eventually catch on one side by not retracting properly. I lubed the moving parts with dry lube and tightened the main bolt, and hopefully that has done the trick. Don't knock it till you actually try good hydro discs.

cthenn

The comment section is glorious (I agree with most of them btw).

Lazyass

I'm a retro-grouch. I've never had a desire or need for discs on a road bike. In 30 years I've never crashed because my rim brakes were too weak.

That being said, I had my eye on these new so-called "gravel" bikes. Which is just a road bike that fits big tires. And pretty much every one has discs. A few days ago I picked up a hardly ridden '17 Diverge AL for $550. It has TRP Spyre-C mechanicals, which a couple of online magazine reviews have called the best road mechanical ever. It has dual pistons so you adjust the pads with a barrel adjuster, and of course it moves both pads. I have 75 miles on it and they stop as good as the best rim brake I've had, which is more than good enough for me. The pads may not be broken in fully yet, I don't know. So far they have not squealed. If they do start squealing I'll be pissed. The pads don't rub the rotor one bit when the wheel is spinning. I've removed/re-installed the wheels and they stayed centered. But the trick to that with skewers is to make sure you can physically see the rotor centered between the pads when you clamp down the q/r lever. Thru axles would be nice, and the '18 Diverge's that came out just today have them.

So far I have no problem with them at all. Looking forward to some rain to test them out in the wet. And for the record I have no desire for hydraulic discs. These are good enough and they're simple. But I still like rim brakes.

manapua_man

I've got screwed up wrists/hands. I like my hydros since it takes basically zero effort to launch myself over the handlebars if I want to. It's kinda nice on longer/bumpier rides, and I don't go through rims nearly as much as I used to.

I don't find them harder to maintain and adjust either. They're different, but bikes are hardly complicated machines.

Dilberto

Patience Grasshopper... road disc will soon take the cycling world by storm. Once the UCI allows it again...it will be GAME ON. In the meantime... drool over my vintage 26er flatbar XC MTB converted to 700c road disc:

Maelochs

I have brand new Spyre mech discs ... so far, not impressed. Good stopping in the wet, but not particularly better than good rim brakes. I hear they need to bed in before they hit full power. if this is as good as they get ... go hydro or stay rim. Mech discs are simple but not sure they are anything but heavier.

Lazyass

Keep hearing that every year. It will happen only if it's forced on the pro peloton, most of whom don't want them. From what I read, the UCI won't fully allow them until the rotors have some kind of protective cover. That's going to look horrible if true.

Lazyass

I'm happy that they stop as well as good calipers, that's all I need. I mean I can lock them up, don't need more than that. But if they start squealing the bike will be back on CL so fast it will make your head spin.

02Giant 

Sure, if you buy a new Specialized bike.

athrowawaynic

This is very much a tempest in a teapot.

I happen to like the disc brakes on my gravel bike. They feel very nice and work really well.

But I'm not sure I'd be pining for them if the bike didn't come with them. I don't have big descents that really heat up the rims in my neck of the woods.

The safety concerns are total bull**** though. Because physics.

gsa103

Disc brakes are what allow big tires. With the focus on wider tires across the spectrum, you're rim brakes put severe and un-necessary constraints on brake geometry.

If you're running 23mm wide tires on 23mm wide rims then modern dual-pivot calipers are awesome. If you want 28mm tires on standard rims, you basically need disc brakes or it's a major headache.

Ballenxj

I tend to agree with this thought. ^^ Think of your rims as giant rotors, and your cantilever or what ever brake system you have as calipers. You will have a much larger swept area on rims vs rotors, and depending on how well your brakes are set up, you should in theory have better braking ability.
As mentioned above, your tires will have an effect too.
I know I can stop fast enough to stand the bike on end. How much faster stopping will you need?

Lazyass

No offense, but everything you posted is incorrect.

cellery

What in god's name are you talking about. It's the frame design that allows wide tires. I mean, unless you're on a fat bike, rims are not that wide. If you haven't noticed, various forms of rim brakes have ranges of adjustability with respect to opening for rim & tire clearance.

LesterOfPuppets

He's talking about how it can be difficult to get wider tires past the brake pads on standard road calipers, even when released.

LesterOfPuppets

This is more of an extreme example, but anyways... I have to let most of the air out of these tires (or loosen the cable anchor - flipping the lever doesn't do it) in order to take the wheels off of this bike.



And these.

HTupolev

On my gravel bike, I run 53mm tires and full-length fenders with about 1.5cm+ clearance between tire and fender, with rim brakes.