Maelochs

Obviously Riders cause accidents. That's what needs to be eliminated.

noodle soup

I understand what you are saying, but haven't seen the problem frequently.

noodle soup

Exactly.

Strong brakes aren't the problem.

Racing Dan

Yeah, I dunno. Seems to me the post mount system, I have, is really basic and fails to separate the clamping forces from the adjustment. Having the bolt head contact and turn on top of the caliper, as you tighten it down, with no way of keeping it in place, besides holding it, is sure to be an exercise in frustration. Imo, It would be annoying even with flawless machining.

dwolsten

That's a lot of ifs. So what happens when I'm out riding for the day, and then it rains? I'm just screwed because I somehow thought I didn't need to worry about wet weather performance, and now I need to wait under a bridge or call a Lyft to take me home because I wanted to save a few ounces of weight? This seems like telling car buyers that they don't need to get a car with windshield wipers if they don't live in the PacNW. If you're worried about a tiny bit of extra weight from brakes, then you're probably not a normal bike rider, and hopefully you're a competition rider where you've controlled for lots of variables and can afford to make compromises for performance that normal riders wouldn't. Most bike riders aren't riding in races, so it sounds like the industry is making the right choice in pushing brakes that work well in ALL conditions, and not just dry conditions.

colnago62

Maelochs

Indeed. History has proven that anyone trying to ride a rim-brake bicycle in the rain will die instantly and immediately. Sad, but true.

79pmooney

Yup. I left this world 45 years ago.

Barrettscv 

You must be a very charming person! Rim brakes with alloy rims are very effective when wet. Furthermore, they are a simple and inexpensive solution. Disc brakes have advantages in some very extreme situations but even when roads are wet, rim brakes are perfectly reliable if some common sense is used.

Have you ever actually ridden a bike?

Sy Reene

So this conversation really has me wondering. I was perhaps considering the currently fashionable gravel bike as a 'do it all' solution. It would be Di2 with disc brakes, and I'd get a second wheelset setup for road riding (ie. lighter wheels with 25mm tires), while the original or 'gravel' wheelset would likely whatever comes with the complete bike (but typically ~35mm tires on the stock wheels). Am I hearing that more likely than not, wheels swaps are going to be a hassle?

Barrettscv 

If both wheelsets have identical hubs and disks installed, wheel changes are quick without any adjustments needed.

Picking the right bike along the road-endurance-Cyclocross-gravel spectrum would allow you to have a fast road bike that can also be used on gravel. You could more likely have the results you seek with an endurance bike that can fit a 33mm wide tire. The Canyon Endurace manages to feel and perform like a road bike when lightweight road bike tires are installed. It can also fit most 33mm Cyclocross tires. A gravel & Cyclocross tire like the 700x33 Vittoria Terreno Dry would be an ideal tire for dry gravel conditions.

I have a carbon fiber gravel bike. Even with 700x28 racing tires installed, it wouldn't become a fast or efficient road bike. The geometry is designed for stability on gravel. It's not designed to be responsive on pavement.

WhyFi

Yeah, you're hearing that, but you're hearing that from people that either haven't experienced it themselves or from people that are talking about a context in which a lot of variables aren't under their control (racing, neutral support). The reality is that you buy a second set of wheels and, if the rotors don't line up perfectly, you buy and install a set of shims to move one rotor outwards to match the other rotor (you can't shim a rotor inwards). Other than waiting on some shims to arrive, this is a one-time, 10 minute operation. Wheels swaps after that will be painless.

As it happens, I have two 'do it all' bikes, each with a dedicated wheelset and a 'nice' wheelset that can float between the two. All of the rotors are in agreement, and I haven't had to shim any of them (and this is with one bike being QR, the other TA, which necessitates a hub endcap swap). Fair disclosure is that both bikes are hydro, which self-adjusts to a small extent.

Paul Barnard

How much fun is it to route hydraulic hose through a down tube? That's one I hope I never have to try.

WhyFi

How frequently do you think you'd have the need to run hose through a DT? How frequently would you need to route a brake cable through a TT? In an effort to point out a detriment, I think that you've pointed out a benefit. Kudos.

Paul Barnard

It wasn't an effort to point out a detriment. It was an unloaded question asked from a place of ignorance. Do you have an answer to the question?

WhyFi

Never had a need and I don't anticipate that'll change in the next few years. That aside, like any internal routing issue, I'm sure that the ease of routing depends largely on the frame.

unterhausen

okay, some of us can't behave. I'm closing the thread.