any reason why not

tigerboon

90 per cent plus going for a Genesis equilibrium 10 disc. Ride on crappy roads, non competitive, not confident on steep down hill in the wet, like the look of it. As the rugby ref would ask, any reason why not?

Lumen

Fine for commuting but €1500 for a 10.5kg bike seems wrong unless you're going touring.

They do have nice paint though.

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-genesis-bikes-equilibrium-20-disc-15-48940/
"At a fair bit over 10kg it’s never going to be that sprightly uphill, and when you leave the rolling terrain behind for longer hills, the Equilibrium’s weight does hold it back."

http://road.cc/content/review/108846-genesis-equilibrium-disc-road-bike
"The extra weight over a standard Equilibrium is noticeable, especially when you're hauling it up a climb"

tigerboon

Ride over rolling hills. Typical ride would be 60 to 100km, 400 to 600m elevation gain. About 25km per hr average including winter. Wouldn't call it touring, more cruising listening to tunes. Agree, like the colours as I am a motor sport fan.

tigerboon

Fine for commuting but €1500 for a 10.5kg bike seems wrong
the bike I have is that weight and has tiagra. I think I will be happy with steel. I like their engineering and looks. I mostly ride on small country roads which are usually ripply.
As I said, I'm not competing so an extra bit of time up a hill won't matter

Brian?

10.5kg is stupidly heavy for a road bike these days. I find it strange that people obsess over steel frames with disc brakes for "rough" roads when Sven Nys rides carbon with cantilever brakes.

Ryder

tigerboon wrote: »

90 per cent plus going for a Genesis equilibrium 10 disc. Ride on crappy roads, non competitive, not confident on steep down hill in the wet, like the look of it. As the rugby ref would ask, any reason why not?

I have the equilibrium with cantis. Nice bike. Rides well. Clearly not an all out racing machine but it tracks well and is comfortable.

Been on wick low rides with it and commute every day. No issues with regular brakes once semi regularly maintained. At your price point the disc brakes are often entry level and can be worse than cantis.

outfox

I have the Equilibrium 20 with discs. It is noticeably heavy. But it's comfy, and takes wide tyres and full length mudguards. If you like the look of it, and you have no intention of going racing or club riding with it, then go for it. Otherwise, I'd be looking for something lighter. At the very least, I'd consider avoiding the disc brakes, as the weight penalty is not worth it when cycling in dry weather. If you do a lot of wet weather cycling, the disc brakes are probably worth the extra 0.5 kg.

rab!dmonkey

One good reason why not would be if you are racing, because discs aren't allowed there. Another good reason would be if your life revolves around Strava KOMs, because it's a little heavy and will make climbing a bit tougher. If it otherwise looks like the type of bike you would enjoy riding, then go for it.

I myself have a steel bike of a similar nature, only it has rim brakes (because it's my only road bike and I wanted to race). I'll resist the urge to speculate on the fitness of above posters and just say that the weight of the bike has not prevented me from enjoying club rides or caused me to fall off the back of race bunches at the first slight incline. A light bike is far from the be-all and end-all in low level racing.

Alek

I have stupidly heavy steel Genesis Croix de fer, 10,3kg without pedals, I race CX on it and do not feel handicapped by its weight more than my own weight ;-)

It is super comfy for long road rides on slick tyres, I can keep 29-30kmh average on 100km rides.

Also as it is made of steel, I do not worry about it getting knocked / scratched / kicked when parked in the city centre.


If I ever start racing more seriously I'll get myself something lighter, possibly carbon, but so far I am not concerned about that 1,5-2kg extra. You can call it resistance training

RobFowl

Brian? wrote: »

I find it strange that people obsess over steel frames with disc brakes for "rough" roads when Sven Nys rides carbon with cantilever brakes.

Sven Nys rides what he is paid to ride .......

(and he switched to discs this season)

Brian?

RobFowl wrote: »

Sven Nys rides what he is paid to ride .......

If there was an advantage to steel he'd have a steel bike plastered in whoever sponsors him. There's a long history of that in pro cycling. Lance's Ti "Trek" TT bike was a re painted Litespeed.

(and he switched to discs this season)

Feck him anyway! He was my go to guy for anti disc bias. I'd say his are hydraulic though.

tigerboon

outfox wrote: »

If you do a lot of wet weather cycling, the disc brakes are probably worth the extra 0.5 kg.

Coming downhill into a bend in the rain last Saturday I thought just that

outfox

Make sure they are hydraulic or semi-hydraulic though. If they are cable from lever to blocks, they will be worse than rim brakes.

Ryder

Lumen wrote: »

Fine for commuting but €1500 for a 10.5kg bike seems wrong unless you're going touring.

They do have nice paint though.

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-genesis-bikes-equilibrium-20-disc-15-48940/
"At a fair bit over 10kg it’s never going to be that sprightly uphill, and when you leave the rolling terrain behind for longer hills, the Equilibrium’s weight does hold it back."

http://road.cc/content/review/108846-genesis-equilibrium-disc-road-bike
"The extra weight over a standard Equilibrium is noticeable, especially when you're hauling it up a climb"

Can't link from phone it cycling weekly gave it a 4 star rating.....albeit the non disc version,the one I have

aFlabbyPanda

outfox wrote: »

Make sure they are hydraulic or semi-hydraulic though. If they are cable from lever to blocks, they will be worse than rim brakes.

Depends on the brakes. The cx-expert that came on my cdf were very poor but since I swapped them for BB7s its a world of difference.

The spyre are dual pistons so should be better again.

Brian?

tigerboon wrote: »

Coming downhill into a bend in the rain last Saturday I thought just that

I've rim brakes with decent pads and my problems under braking usually involve losing grip and locking up the back wheel. Discs would just make this worse.

Lumen

Brian? wrote: »

I've rim brakes with decent pads and my problems under braking usually involve losing grip and locking up the back wheel. Discs would just make this worse.

Do you know that or are you speculating?

Hydraulic brakes are easier to modulate and don't suffer from a delay whilst water is scrubbed off the braking surface. They're really amazing.

Still totally unnecessary on a fun bike though.

Raam

RobFowl wrote: »

Sven Nys rides what he is paid to ride .......

(and he switched to discs this season)

Except when he switches back...



And except when he isn't moaning about the extra weight...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tech-news-nys-tests-disc-brakes-in-hamme-zogge

From 2013, but he had his reservations...

Nys started and finished today on his usual cantilever-equipped bike but switched to discs periodically through the race. Nys says the test went well but even so, it's unlikely at this point that he'll make the switch full-time – yet. He went on to finish as runner-up behind Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) who is also riding with a Colnago. Albert tested his disc brakes at the Koppenbergcross last week.

"The difference is massive. With disc brakes you are braking, instead of slowing down," Nys said, adding that there are some disadvantages, too – namely weight. While 'cross doesn't incorporate the massive climbs of road racing, the frequent accelerations and run-ups mean that riders arguably feel any extra mass even more.

"The difference [in weight] is about two bottles of water, and it's not all in the brakes," Nys said. "It's an adapted frame which is strengthened. It's too much. Too much to run up a climb with that bike on your back."

That was with the Colnago. The Boone is better designed, probably.

Brian?

Lumen wrote: »

Do you know that or are you speculating?

Hydraulic brakes are easier to modulate and don't suffer from a delay whilst water is scrubbed off the braking surface. They're really amazing.

Still totally unnecessary on a fun bike though.

Complete speculation. I just don't see them as necessary. I'm sure they're great in certain situations, but I feel they may be extra kit for the sake of it.

I spent last week looking at CX bikes as I've a BTW I can use. Can't find any I like without disc brakes, it's a nuisance.

RobFowl

Brian? wrote: »

Complete speculation. I just don't see them as necessary. I'm sure they're great in certain situations, but I feel they may be extra kit for the sake of it.

I spent last week looking at CX bikes as I've a BTW I can use. Can't find any I like without disc brakes, it's a nuisance.

Afaik Ridley still do versions of the xfire with cantis, Ritchies in swords are dealers

Brian?

RobFowl wrote: »

Afaik Ridley still do versions of the xfire with cantis, Ritchies in swords are dealers

Sound man, thanks.

Craig06

Brian? wrote: »

Complete speculation. I just don't see them as necessary. I'm sure they're great in certain situations, but I feel they may be extra kit for the sake of it.

I spent last week looking at CX bikes as I've a BTW I can use. Can't find any I like without disc brakes, it's a nuisance.

Ride a cx bike with cantis and discs then come back and try not to tell us discs are awesome. I have cable discs on the caadx and they are superb. Rode a bike with trp top end cantis that was well set up and it's like night and day