Rick

I purchased my only disk brake bicycle in 2013. I am heavy and have come to the conclusion after trying several other disk brakes that I am to heavy for what the manufactures designed there brakes for. I like dependability and longevity. The disks have ben proven to be high maintenance and expensive. My tandem has Magura HS66 rim brakes on it and I can stop me and the wife quite easily on it. I don't have to deal with glazed over pads or squawking rotors. A couple of times when people have brake checked me on the tandem the Maguras have saved me from injury. I believe if this were to happen on my disk brake bicycle I would be a road cookie. I ordered some kool stop ceramic ebike pads and a Magura ebike rotor for the front. If this doesn't improve the noise situation, the bicycle frame goes in the shop for cantilever brake mounts. The Magura hs33s are still manufactured. They are popular enough that Magura still produces around half a million of them a year.

Troul 

what mm size rotors do you have? You might see a positive difference going with a larger dia. setup.

aplcr0331

People on rim brakes wave more

DangerousDanR

Rick:
We have Hope V4 "downhill" brakes on our touring tandem with a Shimano IceTech 203 mm rotor in front and a Hope vented 203 mm rotor in the rear. They are for a flat bar setup, but Hope makes disk calipers that work with both Shimano and SRAM master cylinders for drop bars. The V4 brakes will bring the tandem to a halt better than any rim brake solo bike I have ever ridden. I also have them on my fat bike where they are overkill, but they were available this winter when Hope "enduro" E4 calipers were not.

I also don't have to deal with glazed over brake pads or squawking brakes. Loaded with riders, gear, and the bike, the whole thing weighs about 450 pounds. I doubt that you weigh more than 400 pounds. Have all the disk brake bikes you tried used cable actuated brakes?

Rick

The front came with a 160mm and I put a 180mm which is the largest that will fit on it. The rear came with a 160mm and I put a 203mm on it.

I changed from drop bars so there would be no conflict with that model of brake. The bicycle has frame couplers so I have been reluctant to go with hydros till now. It came with the Spyre and I replaced them with the Hy/Rd. The Hy/Rd was an improvement but the seals kept blowing out and contaminating the pads when I was going down a grade. I currently have the klamper on it. The front brake disk Squall only happens when things warm up going down a hill. I have looked at Hope brakes and If they can do better with handling the heat I may try them. I know that the Maguras on my tandem can because the rim has more mass to handle the heat.

Troul 

idk how heavy is your heavy, but, I would expect those upgrades especially with hydraulic to not be insufficient for stopping power. That's assuming the parts are not counterfeits & are operating as intended.

indyfabz

shelbyfv

Been a week at least....

veganbikes

Actually coaster brakes are better. REPACK!!!!!

Nyah

QR-disc? I'll take rim brakes over those any day.

tomato coupe

Yes, but this thread is completely different - the OP prefers rim brakes because he’s too heavy for disc brakes. That’s novel.

Lazyass

I bought a set of the original Magura's when they came out in '96 or so. I think they were HS22? The yellow ones. They are outstanding brakes. I would prefer them (and any road rim caliper) over the 105 discs on my road bike.

However, the SLX discs on my modern MTB are the best bicycle brakes I ever had. They're stunning, I wish my 105's were that good. I don't know what the deal is, all I can think of is the bigger front rotor on the mountain bike.

But as you can see, expect smart ass comments if you dare speak negatively about discs

rydabent

Or are they just old fuds that hate change?

rydabent

Disc brakes are as big of an improvement in cycling as was click shifting, and clipless pedals. At first the "real cyclist" didnt like those either.

Nyah

Disc brakes are NOT an improvement for bicycles, unless they are used in conjunction with thru-axles.

LarrySellerz

As another plus size rider, I agree that disc brakes seem sketchy, Ive ridden on two bicycles with disc brakes and both seemed to lack stopping power. Im talking like they couldn't send a rider over the handlebars, cant skid your tires lack of stopping power. The shop owner said that can be normal for a new bike and they have to break in.... I only test rode them though so I have no experience.

I have a love/hate relationship with rim brakes. Its so easy for them to get out of alignment and rub on the wheels, there's always something wrong with them. But they stop you like a super well unless conditions are brutal. also, once you break them in they get super loud. I swear on my 6 year old bike the brake is getting louder and louder, I love it. If you have to suddenly stop having a loud brake can alert pedestrians, its just a nice built in safety feature.

GhostRider62

When this old fuddy duddy sees them on TT bikes in Grand Tours, I'll consider them.

I bought into both clipless and index shifting immediately.

Buying an entire new bike, when I already have like 15, just to get the required thru axle seems stupid.

Disc brakes have some positives and some negatives. I cannot see a problem that they solve.

Rolla

Any decent brake can be adjusted to stop effectively and quietly. Run whatever you like, but recognize that others’ preferences are just as valid as your own. I have bikes with calipers, cantilevers, V brakes, and hydraulic discs. I seldom even think about which ones I am using.

veganbikes

My Magura MT4 rear brake certainly sent me in a skid on a 70lb bike with a heavy rider on top and it didn't take a lot of work. Y'all with your disc brake fears are just silly. First they were going to slice our legs off and now they magically don't have enough power? Y'all must be using the Zoom brakes from Alibaba and his 40 thieves with tiny rotors those cheap dime sized pads won't stop much.

I am not saying either one is better keep that in mind but as a big rider who has 3 disc brake equipped bikes (along with a lot of rim brake stuff as well) I can say with confidence disc brakes stop just fine both mechanical and especially hydraulic. Granted I have XT 4 pistons on my MTB (just with 160mm rotors actually) and TRP Spyres on my touring bike also 160mm rotors and Magura MT5 (front) and MT4 (rear) on my e-bike with 180mm rotors. For rim brakes I love the two eeBrakes with SwissStop pads on my road and fixed gear bicycles but I also have two sets of linear pull brakes with Kool Stop pads and some 80s/early 90s era Shimano dual pivot calipers on two vintage bikes and the TRP Revox Cantis on my Single Speed/Fixed Gear RandoCross FunTime Machine and some older Shimano single pivot calipers and they all stop pretty darn well though the single pivots maybe not as much and I suspect that either a direct mount or proper center pull brake might even be better as Jan Heine would lead us to believe through his research.

A good quality braking system will stop better than a poor quality braking system. It is just the facts of life at least up to a point. Maybe those Dura-Ace calipers won't stop a ton better than the 105 but both will probably stop better than the Alibaba/Zoom brakes. Though the one advantage to the Zoom brakes is they are good at foreign policy because they can see Russia from their house:

Rick

DangerousDanR: Can you lock up the rear wheel with the hope V4 brakes. After a little research I am seriously considering these brakes. There are some 2.3mm ebike rotors available that I will need no check on there compatibility with the V4 calipers.

PeteHski

fooferdoggie 

all disc brakes need the pads needed in not a big deal.
our e tandem came with something just below Shimano deore hydraulics and a rim brake too. the rim brake ws about on par with the disc but took a lot more effort. but stopped tine bike on a steep grade with pretty much impossible. we go the brakes replaced with deore 4 piston one finger levers bandits ;ole night and day. I can stop on a 20% grade with 1 finger on each lever.just changed to metallic pads as the wear was crazy and now they are even better. no overheating o0n long decent.

Rick

Its not magic its the laws of physics. My tandem has hydraulic rim brakes on it. The rim is a much larger diameter, heavier disk. I have to ride down a grade with drives and side roads. The tandem with the hydraulic rim brakes has no problem with controlling my speed or abrupt stops when nimrod brake checks me. Changing the pads requires no tools. remove the wheel and pull them out and shove in the new ones. I don't run narrow tires so I have never blown a tire of the rim from heat build up. I have never worn thru the side wall of the rim because they crack before this happens.

My single came with the much touted over Spire disk brakes. they will not lock up the rear wheel. I put the Hy/Rd cable actuated hydraulic calipers on. They were an improvement. They wont lock up the rear wheel and the front seal blows out coming down a grade while I am attempting to make a stop at a light. TRP was good about it and had the warranty replacement to me without any hassle. I really didn't like the lack of usable brake handle range. When they are setup properly. I changed to Crazy bars and put Paul cantilever short pull brake levers on it. That gave more usable brake handle range with the Hy/Rd. but I am not happy with the poor braking they are giving me. So I put on the Paul Klamper. I have a new 180mm Magura ebike rotor and Kool Stop ebike brake pads on order. I will try these and see if there is adequate braking and no squalling. If I am not happy with this I will throw more money into the money pit. The Hope V4 looks to be a good possibility.

terrymorse 

Put a Clydesdale with poor descending + braking skills on a road bike with rim brakes and carbon rims, send him down a twisty descent, and those fancy carbon rims can go "boom".

That's the only problem I can see road bike disc brakes solving.

Rick

Those narrow tires can go boom with a weight weeny, seen it happen. I also saw it happen to a tandem team going down a canyon. Those little weight weenie rotors are just waiting for one miss calculation to fade out or have a melt down and send their rider over an embankment. The problems people claim disk brakes solve are nowhere near the problems created by the manufactures greed in putting cheap over priced disk brakes on the market.