avidone1

While checking the specs of hybrid bikes at various price points, it seems that the less expensive bikes use mechanical discs.
Are hydrolic discs an inherently superior brake?
my brother has a nice hybrid with Tektro MD-M300 Mechanical Disc brakes and they stop great but are annoyingly noisy.
I'm looking at a bike with Tektro Auriga post mount hydraulic disc brakes, and I wonder if they are quieter or just a better brake in general

ColdCase

In terms of stopping, maybe not, but hydraulics have a better feel for most. They stop without using as many fingers, they are easier to modulate and, once set up, much fewer routine adjustments needed (more or less set and forget).

When I was test riding recently I was all set to but my money down on a mechanical disc brake bike, but the I rode a Tektro hydraulic and it felt so much better, then a shimiro hydraulic.... had to have one.

The difference may be insignificant to you, dunno.

If you take the front wheel off routinely and touch the brake levers, you may have to spread the pads to get the wheel back on. There are little plastic wedges available to keep the pads spread.

RickGr4

I have a new bike with hydraulic discs and I am still learning about them. However... I had some recent concerns about the brakes on my bike but I am now convinced it had nothing to do with mechanical vs hydraulic.

I have no proof of this but I would think hydraulic brakes would have more power with less lever pull effort. I would also think that the hydraulic fluid might dampen out some unwanted vibrations.

I have a strong vote for hydraulic brakes.

dynaryder

Hydros are generally better than mechs due to better feel and less routine maintenance. However,low end mechs can easily be upgraded by just swapping the calipers,hydros require you swap the whole system. One of the biggest differences between low and high end systems is the mounting hardware. Better systems use washer sets that allow you to fine tune the caliper's position,low end systems have plain mounts that can make it difficult to adjust them. Of course it should be noted that noise is usually just an annoyance;if it's just noise,with no other issues,there's no effect on stopping power or pad/rotor wear.

fietsbob

You are the pad wear adjuster on mechanical Discs .. learn how to do it, its not that hard.

squealing is dirt and glazed pads , you have to clean the discs and pads ..



drum brakes are the way to go if you dont want to do the service maintenance.

Raivyn

Our bikes came with mechanical disc brakes. We swapped them for hydraulics. Love the feel and ease. We live in a very hilly area so easy brakes were important to us.

RickGr4

The owner of my LBS let me ride a bike with mechanical discs. I thought the mechanical discs were less powerful yet harder to modulate and control. You would think mechanical would have more "feel" but I didn't think they did.

MrCoffee

I have mechanical discs on mine, and they work perfectly fine. If I were riding in the mountains, then maybe it would be different. I'll be honest: I might have been better suited with regular cantilevers instead. I am still pleased with what I have, though. Bullet-proof reliability, and it does everything I ask it to do.

dynaryder

Actually,no you wouldn't. Mechs have cables made of twisted wire that run through long runs of housing with bends in it. This means there's plenty of things to add slop. When I build new bikes with cable brakes,I always mash the levers hard to 'set' the cables before I do the final adjustments. Hydraulics have fluid in the lines that can't compress. You squeeze the lever,the piston pushes fluid to the caliper,the pistons move. No stretching,giving,or friction.

RickGr4

With all due respect, I don't entirely agree. Hydraulic brake lines can swell and greatly reduce "feel". It's been an issue with cars for decades. But that doesn't change that I am a huge supporter of hydrualic brakes for bikes.

350htrr

Really? Well maybe on some cheap set ups, (but I doubt it) but good hydraulic set ups don't swell, the fluid doesn't compress, they also don't boil the fluid, they basically never need adjustment, they feel much more predictable, they require much less effort to apply and easier to modulate, dry or wet they work basically the same (consistent)... I just love mine, had it for 15 years and never a problem, never failed, never needed adjustment, always consistent rain or shine, can lock it up with one finger... Wouldn't ever even consider anything but hydraulic disks on any bike that I will ever buy.

RickGr4

Did you miss the point where I said this??? "But that doesn't change that I am a huge supporter of hydrualic brakes for bikes."

Just because someone throws an alternative opinion out there (based on known fact) doesn't mean that people need to go into attack mode. I own a brand new Giant bike with hydrualic brakes and I love them. I won't not buy another bike without them unless something widely better came along.

Chillax and please be careful with selective editing of my posts. I do not appreciate it.

350htrr

Yes I did realize that you liked hydraulic brakes but I felt I had to point out that your statement about hydraulic lines swelling and that can reduce "feel" is just basically wrong/incorrect... If someone has a hydraulic system that does that, it is a faulty brake system and is unsafe/dangerous and must be fixed IMO... ( I guess I should have said that too) All the other things I said was just extra info I thought added to the mechanical - vs - hydraulic discussion...

dynaryder

And motorcycles. But they often have rubber sections in their lines(common upgrade on sportbikes to swap stock hoses for braided stainless steel). I have yet to see these on a bicycle.

dgunay

Let me tell you in advance, I didn't miss the point that you are a supporter of hydraulic brakes No offence.

Brake fluid would swell up the rubber components of braking system in the past. But now most of the rubber parts for hydraulic brake system seems to last veeeeery long (10+ years). Also, brake lines would swell if it gets overheated. It's been an issue with cars/motorcycles for decades, but it's very rare. Brake pads usually get overheated first which dramatically reduces the brake feel as well (a.k.a brake fade) and most people think that rubber brake line is the reason for that.

I doubt someone can overheat hydraulic brake components (incl. brake fluid) of bicycles.

RogerB

So I realize this is an "old" thread, but let's put this to a practical example.

Let's say I'm considering two bikes, with the chief difference between them being that one has mechanical discs while the other's are hydraulic. Specifically, let's say the bikes in question are the Giant Defy Advanced 1 (mech) and Defy Advanced Pro 2 (Hyd). To be fair, brakes aren't the only difference. The Pro 2 has a full carbon fork to the 1's hybrid steerer, but I'm not sure what the difference is between Giant's house brand wheels, SL1 vs P-R2, respectively.

Anyway, given the hydraulics and other things mentioned the Pro 2 lists for $600 more than the Advanced 1. How much of a premium would you pay for hydraulics over mechanical Discs?

ColdCase

I paid a $500-$600 premium for not only hydraulics but shimano hydraulics over mechanical.... plus a bunch of other things thrown in as extras ... but the prime reason was the brakes. I don't think I'd be happy riding a bike with the current generation mechanical disks, so thats probably a non-starter anyway.

Its just the feel and brake control on a lighter bike, especially during more technical or slow riding, which is why I think hydraulics are popular with the MTB crowd. I'm sure mechanicals are durable and effective, just like rim brakes.

DirePenguin

While I've never had a chance to ride a bike with hydro discs, I'm very satisfied with the mechanical Tektro Novellas on my Trek 8.3 DS.

Despite reading a lot of "horror stories" about how bad mechanical discs are, I can say that I've not experienced any of them. I've only had to adjust them twice in over 3,000miles and it was a piece of cake (a few twists of a barrel adjuster and an allen wrench).

They don't make any noise louder than a whisper and they stop very well.

fietsbob

TRP HyRd are a Practical Mix . they are cable all the way to the caliper , which is each a cable to hydraulic conversion .

They use regular not long pull V brake Levers ..

dynaryder

You're not just getting hydros and a full carbon fork,you're also getting a nicer wheelset. So it's worth the extra dosh. If the only dif between the two was the brakes,then you'd have to see what the brakes were. Do the mechs have single or dual pad adjustment? Do the hydros use DOT or mineral oil? What level are the brakes? In the real world,there's usually several differences between two bikes that are several hundred apart in price,and that dif is usually enough to justify the extra cost.