I'm looking to upgrade my Crosstrail Sport from V-brakes to Disc next year. I was thinking of getting the Tektro brakes that already come on the Crosstrail Sport Disc, but I heard bad things about them.

What else is out there that you would highly recommend?

Avid BB7; the gold standard for mechanical disc brakes. As a bonus they will work with your current levers!

https://www.sram.com/avid/products/bb...cal-disk-brake

Make sure you budget for a pair of disc-specific hubs and to dish your wheels, or for a new wheelset.

You can spend heaps on brakes but I recommend any of the cheap model Shimano hydraulic brakes they are trouble free and require no regular adjustment like cable brakes.

X2

I have them on my mountain bike and love them. My hybrid came with some Shimano BRM416 disc brakes, they are ok but not near as good as the BB7's

Thanks guys!

So are Mechanical better than Hydraulic? Or just a matter of preference?

Hydraulics provide better modulation and are not subject to cable stretch. Mechanicals are cheaper and easier to maintain.

decisions decisions....aaarrrg!

in my opinion.......the first time you have to do a bleed or cable replacement on your hydraulics you'll be wishing for bb7s i had some bad (and expensive) luck with some maguras. i now have bb7s on 2 of my bikes and absolutely love them.

I think mechanical is going to be the way to go.

Thanks all for your advice, suggestions, recommendations and all other comments.

Three comments:

1. What kind of conditions are you riding in that your current brakes are inadequate? You're going to sink some money into new wheels, or at least hubs, and it's very tempting to get 'better' wheels rather than equivalent. Discs have two distinct advantages over v-brakes: severe & sustained downhill braking, and muddy conditions.

2. Discs are heavier than v-brakes once you consider the rotor and caliper compared to just a pinch brake.

3. If you're still intent on discs after reading and (hopefully ) considering my first two points, then I fully agree that the Avid BB7 is the brake you want. The 160mm rotors are fine. You don't need the big rotors except for downhill racing; it's just extra weight.

[QUOTE=ColinL;12984862]Three comments:

I mainly ride trails (limestone) and some road. Nothing too crazy. At least not yet. Elevation does vary. I also began commuting to work and that is all paved road. So it's about 60/40 trails and road.

I understand they are pricey and will probably need to spend some money, but I'm not looking to upgrade until next year. My plan is to get a list of all the parts I'll need and rough estimate of what said parts will cost. I figure I'll put some money aside each month and when April rolls around I'll see what I have saved and consider the options.

True, but I'm not too concerned with weight at this time.

I rode a friends bike with disc brakes and was impressed. If I continue riding to work and encounter wet conditions, I've heard they are better then V-brakes.

Thanks for the feedback, Colin.

Hydraulic brakes require zero maintenance.

Good plan. Another thing a longer-term plan can do for you is let you shop for the best deals over time. New bike take-offs are often discounted 20-50% on ebay, so if a hybrid or 29er rider upgrades to Mavic Crossmax wheels, you can get their original wheels -- often never ridden-- really cheap.

You can hunt for bargains through conventional online bike shops too.

Sweet! I worked at a bike shop when I was in high school and had no idea that they did that. I'll have to hit up the LBS's in the area and see what I can find.

Thanks again!

Don't turn the bike on its side with hydraulics, or they'll need to be bled.

Really? I have a Trek DS 8.5 on order with hydraulics and that will be a major pain in the arse if I can't toss it on its side. I'm often putting it on its side to transport it in my minivan, or even putting it upside down when I'm changing a tire.

If this is in fact true about hydraulics I will really have to pay attention to that and change my current habits.

Sorry but thats totally not true. I've left my bike for days upside down with no effect on the brakes.

Another advantage of hydraulics: less brake lever force. You can brake powerfully with 1 finger using hydraulics. This is not a challenge to cable brake owners. If you can brake powerfully with 1 finger too, good for you Fact is, the hydraulic system is a force multiplier and you can brake harder with less effort.

Why brake with 1 finger? I learned this as a child on dirtbikes: hanging on to the bars with all but 1 finger is a really good idea in rough terrain, at speed. My suggestion if you're going to practice this is use your middle finger so your index finger and thumb can make a circle. That's your surest grip. (Note that you don't have to squeeze the grips hard-- I advocate a secure grip, not tight.)

Jump to the opposite extreme: if you brake with all 4 fingers, you're hanging on only with your thumb. It's very easy to hit a bump, root, whatever and lose your grip. Crash is nearly guaranteed after that...