disc brakes

[pll]

One more thought on disk brakes is that companies are still experimenting and there are no standards. I'll wait some years before committing. If you have nice wheel sets (and I have 3 nice ones, two alu clinchers and one carbon tubular), it's an expensive affair to move to disk brakes. I've seen one nasty cut in a cross race already, where it does not take much to get two riders piling up.

[SheFly]

Also not quite accurate. Disc brakes have been out for YEARS, and there are a couple of good industry standards. Do you mean there are no standards on the brakes, or on the frames they are now being put onto? It is a financial commitment to switch everything over from rim brakes to discs, and as I mentioned already, I race about 40 cross races per year, and have only ever seen one injury caused *presumably* by a rotor.

SheFly

[pll]

I think it is more on the frames. Didn't Focus just come up with a new type of thru-axle this year? Hydraulic brakes (for road and cross -- I know nothing about MTB) also seem to be in flux. Because of a hand strength issue, I would prefer hydraulic brakes, so I will hold off until I get a sense things are more settled. It's a big commitment in bikes and wheels.

[crc]

I have hydraulic disc breaks on my mountain bike and love them on there. The added stopping power is great, but you do have to get used to them. A lighter touch is needed when slowing down vs. looking for a sudden stop. They are great especially in wet weather or in muddy areas compared to caliper breaks.

I do not feel like I need disc breaks on my road bike, but I also limit myself to the weather that I ride in. I guess I typically baby my road bike more than my mountain bike too, so I don't even know if I would go out in the rain on my road bike if I had disc breaks.

[pll]

On using cantilever brakes over disk brakes in Valkenburg from Katie Compton's Facebook page, posted just yesterday:

"Katie raced her cantilever bike. It's lighter which on this course helps a lot and she has a better feel for braking traction with canti's over disc."

[Sven Nys stated the same last year, that his bike with canti brakes is lighter -- these are folks that have a choice in components and ride new bikes.]

[SheFly]

Could be, but my Cannondale SuperX with Discs is 16.5 lbs. And THAT is lighter than the bike I had with cantilevers (but I also went from aluminum to carbon). There is not that much of a weight penalty that the typical rider is going to notice it.

SheFly

[Catrin]

If I were to re-design my Gunnar, the only thing I would have changed would have been to have disc brakes. Looking back though, my V-brakes were probably the better choice at the time. Disc brakes for road use are likely better/lighter than they would have been in 2011.