gv1256

i think i would just for when i ride in the rain.

FlashBazbo

No thanks. The feel and performance of the rim brakes on my road bike is as perfect as I think it can get. (I prefer them over the disks on my Gary Fisher.)

BarracksSi

Yup.

I'm about to buy a used commuter/cross bike with discs.

Most of the reason I like riding the CAAD8 to work all the time is the riding position. I don't ride it when it's wet & crappy, though. That's when I take the hybrid -- not because of its handlebars, but because of its discs.

Give me a road-style bike with discs, though, and I'll find reasons to ride it all year long.

mrbubbles

Depends where you ride. Where I ride, I would like them, yes.

garysol1 

No, Why fix what isn't broke?

mrbubbles

If everybody kept saying that 100 years ago, we wouldn't have the following:

Freewheels.
Indexing.
Derailleurs.
STIs.
Suspension forks.
Clinchers.

The list can go on, it sure wasn't broken at the time. Innovation isn't for fixing problems, it's to make you spend more money and make you believe you are making your life easier.

fprintf

Yes, but I am all for getting more braking force from the tops of the hoods. I can lock up my crappy Cane Creek brakes from the drops, but have a tough time doing it from the hoods... partly the fault of the brakes (takes excessive force to engage them) and partly my fault since I don't want to use those carpal-tunnel... er, hand strength machines.

Treefox

Not for a road bike, but I could see the appeal for a commuter. Also wouldn't want them on carbon forks, but could work in back.

But then I'd kinda fancy getting a cyclocross bike for a commuter, if I could rationalise the expenditure.

badfishgood

Bib strapes over jersey.

Psimet2001 

I know, and I find myself always thinking back on these things when I feel that retro-grouch in me start to awaken. That's why I try not to say we don't need it, but rather say things like "we didn't ask for it", and "not sure how the market will react to it."

I think if there was the right system that didn't carry a substantial weight penalty and still provided some of the benefits that most would agree exist with disc brakes...that it would have to wait until at least a rear spacing change before it could gain reasonable market share.

garysol1 

I am all for innovation but this conversation is about disc brakes on road bikes. Adding a disc brake to a road bike is not innovating. It adds little to performance and adds a great deal to the weight plus the cost.

Avalanche325

One of the biggest issues on a road bike is weight. Roadies send a lot of money to shed a few extra grams. Disc brakes add weight. Until that is solved it will be hard to bring into the road crowd. The commuting crowd may be different.

As far as brake fluid / mineral oil goes, why not use silicone brake fluid? If you get that on your paint it just makes it shiney.

uspspro

Anyone who thinks their caliper brakes are not good enough. Go get a set of the Mavic SSC brakes. The feel and ease of modulation is outstanding. The braking power is enough to lockup the wheels in nearly any scenario.

I have never felt the need to have better brakes, I have had some fade on longer descents (very seldom has this occurred). However that occurs with discs too. Something like Swiss Stop pads with better fade resistance should solve that though.

bdcheung

man, I'm getting a lot of mileage out of this smiley today....

BarracksSi

Silicone fluid is not recommended for automotive use because it's very non-hygroscopic. It seems like that would be a good thing (it doesn't absorb moisture), but then again, it allows moisture in the system to collect in nooks & crannies, sitting in the pistons (and in cars' ABS systems). That's when stuff rusts and the whole system goes to crap.

Bikes don't have tight-tolerance ABS, but they do go outside a lot, and both rain & condensation would cause internal problems if silicone fluid is used.

Phantoj

You guys talking about "locking up" your brakes:

I don't think it's possible to lock up the front wheel of a road bike, in a straight line, on clean dry pavement - you will raise the rear wheel before the front tire skids.


Right?

^oZ

No, I have enough brake power and modulation with my current system

BarracksSi

Locking up the brakes means that the tires aren't grippy enough.

ericm979

If the overall solution was lighter than the current one (including the whole system, so it'd be ok if for example the caliper was heavy but enabled a rim that's light enough to more than make up for it), and it worked as well, I'd consider it. It'd probably require different construction of the bike and not be compatible with current standards. If so I'd be less likely to run out and buy it, wanting to wait to see if the new systems become a standard and also waiting until I need to replace a bike.

But the way I understand it, its not yet possible to make a disc brake bike lighter than a caliper braked one.

I'm a racer. My answer would be different if I was a dedicated commuter, especially if I lived in a rainy area.

uspspro

Not if you shift your weight rearward.

Although, it doesn't really matter. Either locking of the tire or lifting of the rear means the brakes are plenty powerful. The guy lifting the rear more easily (for a given weight distribution) has better tires.

+1

kudude

+1 it's all about where your weight is.

Johannes

i've got juicy disc brakes on my commuter (specialized sirrus pro 2005) and love them. they are much more powerful than the dura ace brakes on my road bike. they also work better in wet weather.

a

woodduck

The current machined sidewall rims are usually lighter than non machined rims for disc brake wheels.

the fork would need to be more heavy duty and heavier as a result.

the spokes would need to be slightly heavier also to deal with the different forces, so wheels may end up heavier also? I know when you do a rear wheel for a mountain bike the spokes are different from a v-brake wheel where the force is only applied from the drivetrain, not the brakes at the hubs as well.

I have never had a problem stopping or removing speed with my road bike, if the wheel locks it's more to do with grip from your tyres and the surface you are riding on.

Hummeth

Too much stress on the frame

akatsuki

If you are thinking about building them, you would really have to get them to a ridiculously low weight before roadies would use them. The weight penalty would have to be minimal, they would have to not cost too much more than good DA brakes, perform better in every metric, etc... i.e. I just don't think it is feasible.

I think we'll see internal hubs on road bikes before disk brakes...