FastJake

If you can't setup V-brakes to throw you over the bars with the front, or lock up the rear, you're doing something horribly wrong. Disc brakes are not the solution, proper setup is the solution. V-brakes are very powerful and very easy to setup. Some cheap/older caliper brakes were flexy and useless but I've never seen a set of V-brakes that didn't work great.

100% false.

katit

Yes, this makes sense. This bike looks good, I would even buy it but pedals on it is clip-on.. Are they cheap to replace?

katit

I understand this. As a kids we would lock up rear wheels to do sideways guffy stuff. But nobody was limiting you from gradually applying breaks on a coaster. Disk brakes on my current bike work good at stopping but I wasn't able to lock rear wheel (didn't want to try with front wheel)

V-brakes (cheap ones on those bikes) do 1/3 of stopping comparing to my disk brakes.

Bill Kapaun

You haven't mentioned the brands of your kids biks-
Cheap brakes on cheap bikes was a major incentive for me to buy my truing stand.
I flip bikes on CL-
When dealing with low end bikes, the wheels usually had enough wobble that the brake pads had to be set wide to prevent rub.
With the amount of flex in the cheap calipers, it was impossible to get decent braking. One would simply bottom out the brake lever against the bar.
Truing the wheels allowed me to set the brake pads closer to the rim, giving "more" braking before the lever bottomed out.
At least I was able to get enough braking to not have my conscience bother me for even selling the bike.

My hybrid has low-medium level V brakes. I actually put CHEAP pads on the front to reduce braking after my first nose stand. 60+ year old guys aren't so much into "trick riding" when trying to stop quickly!

katit

One is Diamondback Outlook, another is Roadmaster something.. I too bought truing stand and got those wheels pretty straight. I can't bottom out levers myself. I even had to loosen them a little so the "stop" happens somewhere in a middle giving kids more grab. Still, holding brakes firmly I can bush bike and wheel would spin...

Bill Kapaun

I would expect the Diamondback to be able to set up OK.
I no longer "touch" Roadmasters.

Jeff Wills

+1. Since the OP says he can still roll the bike while holding the brakes on, I think new brake pads (at least) are in order. Original equipment pads are notoriously bad.

FastJake

Something is way off. Could be pads, oil on the rim, a cable/housing issue, or something else. Look up tutorials on cables, and V-brake setup. Or take it to a competent mechanic. Again, this is NOT a problem with V-brakes themselves.

DiabloScott

I had a bike somebody gave me and it was slow. Then I bought a green bike and it's hella better. Why aren't all bikes green?

Camilo

Because red is faster yet.

red>black>yellow>white>blue>anyothercolor

gsa103

That was exactly my point. Even in-expensive hydraulics discs are far superior to other brakes. They aren't that expensive, but they also aren't typically found on lower end bikes.

SkyDog75

I personally haven't tried discs yet and don't want to get into the argument about whether or not discs can be better in certain applications, but I'm having a hard time imagining something "far superior" to the rim brakes I'm used to for street use. The dual pivot calipers on my road bike will stop me just about as fast as the laws of physics allow, have great feel, are super simple to set up and adjust, are lightweight, and well, I'm having a hard time coming up with anything bad to say about them.

More relevant to the original post, my 10-year-old daughter has been riding a mountain bike with v-brakes for a year or two and they stop her plenty well. She's not the strongest little thing, probably pretty average for her age, but she has no problem stopping on a dime.

Might the original poster and his wife be happy with disc brakes? Absolutely. Would discs provide an obvious upgrade in braking performance for a casual rider versus calipers or v-brakes? I don't personally think so.

Platform pedals (ones you don't clip into) can be found cheap and swapping pedals is easy. If you're buying a new bike from a bike shop, they may even let you trade clip-in pedals for platforms at no cost.

elcruxio

I usually lose traction from my front wheel before I come close to OTB but no, I've never come close with any rim brake design. And I do know how to adjust them. And it is a PITA.

You do realize the mountain world has largely gone to discs due to better brake feel, more modulation and more power. Only the lowest of the low range MTB bikes use rim brakes and sometimes not even those. From the mid end up it's all hydraulic throughout the line. But clearly V-brakes give the same performance eh? Even in the wet? Even in the cold? Ever had the pleasure of losing about 95% of your braking power due to the fact that it was sub freezing outside?

I can kinda get behind the idea that a decent pair of V-brakes can get close to mid level discs power wise on a clear warm sunny day, but they have no place going against the best of the disc world. Then again the price range is a bit different but you get what you pay for.

MichaelW

Look for Shimano Alfine women's city/hybrid bikes.
Disk rakes are more consistent in foul weather and protect the rim from braking wear.
Frames for Alfine require a chain tensioning mechanism.
the rear rake mount should be on the chainstay for utility bikes to integrate with rack and fenders.

katit

Thank you everyone! I will try to get different (better?) pads for diamondback bike. Pads adjusted OK, Wiped all with alcohol, wheels trued. Pads seems to be hard/dry (is it possible??)

For wife I just ordered Save up to 60% off new Cafe Bikes | Hybrid Bikes Cafe Latte Disc 2014 and bought pair of pedals of Amazon for $9. Shimano Alfine looks very cool, but I didn't find anything in my price range (~$500) I think we will be OK for now and later I can add Shimano Alfine if gearing going to be a problem, and, MOST importantly, those bikes will be used enough to justify upgrades.

Leebo

So, brake pads, yes get some new ones if the others a hard and dry, cheap bikes come with bad pads. Try some basic shimano or better , some cool stop ones. You will only be able to upgrade to discs if the bike frame has mounting tabs for them.

gsa103

I have Ultegra 6700 brakes on my road bike they're excellent. Good modulation and plenty of power to throw me over the bars if desired. My MTB has Tektro hydraulics. The difference isn't the raw stopping power as much as the lever effort and modulation. I can easily get full braking power with 1-2 fingers on hydraulics while still having better feel than the Ultegra's.

Especially for riders with limited hand strength, hydraulics are just better.

FastJake

If we're talking about clean dry pavement then you're contradicting the laws of physics unless you're on a tandem or long wheelbase recumbent. On clean dry pavement you will go over the bars before the front wheel loses traction on a normal, upright bicycle.

If you can't go over the bars with rim brakes you're doing something wrong. I can do it with good single pivot calipers, dual pivot calipers, cantis, and V-brakes. How much do you weigh? Have you tried Kool Stop salmon pads?

Yes I realize that. I have a recent Gary Fisher X-Caliber 29er with Avid hydraulic discs. They work fine but I would still prefer V-brakes. I don't ride when it's terribly wet or muddy because it's no fun and it ruins the trails, so that issue doesn't affect me.

I DO, however, commute year round in Wisconsin. Snow, ice, -15F weather, and I do it all on either cantis or V-brakes. The limiting factor is always the traction of the tire on the snow/ice/wet road, not the brake itself.

Drew Eckhardt 

I've seen bad V-brakes on comfort bikes.

Sometimes the manufacturers use a spring-loaded noodle so that people don't surprise themselves by stopping the bike too quickly allowing it to stop without them, although as a nasty side effect that can make it impossible to apply full brakes (or even enough brakes to stop on hills) before the brake levers hit the handlebars.

HillRider

Yes, but that's bad design and/or "nanny" interference with good performance. It's not indicative that proper V-brakes can't be very powerful.

FastJake

Yes, and Shimano calls it the "Power Modulator" on their brakes (I'm usually a Shimano fan but I curse them for making such a product.)

But of course HillRider is correct, if you sabotaged disc brakes in a similar fashion they wouldn't be very good either.

FBinNY 

This reinfoces my "broken record" point that stopping the wheel has never been an issue. There's plenty of stopping power possible with rim brakes. The challenge has been to decide how much is enough, and how much is too much.

More effort has gone into limiting the braking power than increasing it.

Kimmo

To make this clear, any brake that can't easily lock the wheel is a crappy brake. It doesn't take much to break a bike's grip.

So, out of the brakes worth a damn, and they come in almost all types, they all have the same theoretical stopping distance. The difference in practice comes down to how easy they are to modulate, and this is mostly due to quality, rather than type.

Having said that, discs generally have superior performance in the wet, since the higher pressure at the pad pushes through the water better... the disc's holes would play a part too. Come to think of it, perhaps the greater leverage on the braking surface of a disc from both the wheel and the lever means that system is capable of delivering much better modulation...

But there are plenty of drawbacks to discs, which I'm sure many posters have pointed out by now.

rydabent

It still remains that now a superior brake (disc) is now available, why destroy good and probably high priced rims? Again I say disc brakes for bikes will do what disc brakes for cars did.

hueyhoolihan

i wonder how long it will be before they come out with ABS for bike brakes. people should be snapping them up like they do on cars and trucks. then we will no doubt stop arguing about the merits of the usefulness, possibility, and capability of locking them up.

i'm also curious as to whether or not Shimano, et al, are looking at adding a second servo to the RD so as to remove the chain tensioner spring. could even improve the shifting, i guess. (or maybe it's already common knowledge that they are, and i'm just clueless, as usual )