New road bike. Rim or disc?

ted1

Tony04 wrote: »

Personally I'd only be buying rim brakes for a tt or a hill climb build, two disciplines I dont really involve myself in anyway

Serious question, how do you get down from the hill?

magicbastarder

There are still brakes on a hill climb bike...

Tony04

ted1 wrote: »

Serious question, how do you get down from the hill?

5 finger braking;)

Springy Turf

Tony04 wrote: »

5 finger braking;)

I mean in fairness. Guys in the Tour de France descend extremely quickly down huge cols on rim breaks. It can be done! And really for 99% of people you don’t need to race down the hill. I personally rarely go over 50-55 kph going downhill

For me the joy of hills is trying to get up them as fast as I can.

eeeee

Springy Turf wrote: »

I mean in fairness. Guys in the Tour de France descend extremely quickly down huge cols on rim breaks. It can be done! And really for 99% of people you don’t need to race down the hill. I personally rarely go over 50-55 kph going downhill

For me the joy of hills is trying to get up them as fast as I can.

You're missing out. The real joy is flying down after struggling up the things
I'd do in excess of that on a decent descent quite regularly, and I am far, far, far from a fearless descender. This years max is 79kph I think, I must look at it again.
I do find it a perishable skill, I have had to learn to go fast again on my road bike after lockdown.
Whee!

eeeee

eeeee wrote: »

You're missing out. The real joy is flying down after struggling up the things
I'd do in excess of that on a decent descent quite regularly, and I am far, far, far from a fearless descender. This years max is 79kph I think, I must look at it again.
I do find it a perishable skill, I have had to learn to go fast again on my road bike after lockdown.
Whee!

100% on that one, found myself doing 30 rolling down a fairly long and relatively straight stretch of R road recently, that I would normally spin out on for tonnes of wheeeeeee. That kind of stuff makes me want more than 50 upfront but I'm not a happy chappie on anything steep, narrow and twisty. Flashbacks of having to cross the line to stay up with a car on coming made think twice in those situations.

as_mo_bhosca

Dísc brakes get my vote. Great modulation, way better in the wet and really handy on a sportive when someone in front of you does something stupid (usually ROK). You only have to hope the bike behind you has them then! 😂

The Buster

Another vote for discs. Changed last year and difference is amazing. I’m a bit on heavy side and they rhelped with confidence descending, especially in wet.

ted1

Springy Turf wrote: »

I mean in fairness. Guys in the Tour de France descend extremely quickly down huge cols on rim breaks. It can be done! And really for 99% of people you don’t need to race down the hill. I personally rarely go over 50-55 kph going downhill

For me the joy of hills is trying to get up them as fast as I can.

Those guys aren’t 100kg they are on closed roads, and they are at the top level of the sport

And their bikes are fixed and adjusted before each race, so every 100-200 km

Gallant_JJ

Vote here for discs. Recently upgraded, noticed a modest difference at first. I since happened to have to revert to my old rim brake bike on a wet day for a spin and found a hugely distinguishable difference. My rim brake bike has ZIPP NSW 404s, and to be honest I never found the breaking great, but after returning from riding disc brakes, they felt horrendous.

Descending with discs is a joy.

CramCycle

I have a rim and disc brake bike, if Im on the road its rim rake all the way. Who cares, I am shallow it looks better. I need functionality off road not on road, rim brakes looked after are absolutely fine and this form someone who races in a bunch at >50kmph or descends at north of 80 kmph with ease.

Mapaputsi

Interested to hear if any of you have raced on disc wheels this year and had a puncture mid-race. Couple of things spring to mind:

1. Can you easily take the disc wheel off? My MTB needs an Allen key
2. When you replace the wheel, can the caliper be misaligned leading to brake rub?

iwillhtfu

Mapaputsi wrote: »

Interested to hear if any of you have raced on disc wheels this year and had a puncture mid-race. Couple of things spring to mind:

1. Can you easily take the disc wheel off? My MTB needs an Allen key
2. When you replace the wheel, can the caliper be misaligned leading to brake rub?

I'd say it depends on what type of racing your're doing but for most racing a puncture is usually game over. Calipers shouldn't move so rub won't be an issue unless of course you grab a handful of brake lever with the wheel out then you might have an issue. The need for an allen key I'm not sure but it will probably vary with manufacturer. I know canyon have started using the quixle or whatever they call it.

Type 17

1. Depends on the through-axle you are using - some need an Allen key, some have a built-in lever for each wheel, and some bikes come with a single, removable lever that is shared between the two axles (you can leave it in one of them).
2. It's only possible if you replace the wheel slightly crooked in the drop-outs - if you lean on the bars or saddle when tightening the axle, then it's right every time.

Mapaputsi

Thanks for the feedback. I have managed to get back into the peloton on a few occasions after puncturing and a swift wheel change from the car, just want to make sure it's not game over for me if I switch to discs!

Rezident

Good thread, I am still looking for a new road bike (€1,500 - 1,750) and I found one that ticks all the boxes (light and fast), bar one: it's got rim brakes:

Giant TCR Advanced 2:
http://belfieldbikeshop.com/bike-details/Giant-tcr-advanced-2

I have been using and loving disc brakes for the last 5 years and rim brakes feel like a downgrade from discs, especially in wet weather. I do not care about the look, I just want stopping power.

Mostly for commuting in to Dublin city centre and cycling around South Dublin, no major climbs, sometimes cycle up to the Blue Light (great views up there) but in the city centre I feel like the disc brakes have helped avoid a few collisions and I am worried about losing the stopping power.

Are rim brakes going to feel like losing that stopping power coming from disc brakes?

fat bloke

Rezident wrote: »

Good thread, I am still looking for a new road bike (€1,500 - 1,750) and I found one that ticks all the boxes (light and fast), bar one: it's got rim brakes:

Giant TCR Advanced 2:
http://belfieldbikeshop.com/bike-details/Giant-tcr-advanced-2

I have been using and loving disc brakes for the last 5 years and rim brakes feel like a downgrade from discs, especially in wet weather. I do not care about the look, I just want stopping power.

Mostly for commuting in to Dublin city centre and cycling around South Dublin, no major climbs, sometimes cycle up to the Blue Light (great views up there) but in the city centre I feel like the disc brakes have helped avoid a few collisions and I am worried about losing the stopping power.

Are rim brakes going to feel like losing that stopping power coming from disc brakes?

That's a great bike, colours are good too - bit like the Sunweb paint scheme. Discs v rims has been done to death and you have to buy and live with what you prefer yourself but for God's sake IMO if the Tour de France can be won on rim brakes then you'll surely manage to go up and down to the Blue Light.

S_D

Rim brake for me all day long.

CantGetNoSleep

Rezident wrote: »

Good thread, I am still looking for a new road bike (€1,500 - 1,750) and I found one that ticks all the boxes (light and fast), bar one: it's got rim brakes:

Giant TCR Advanced 2:
http://belfieldbikeshop.com/bike-details/Giant-tcr-advanced-2

I have been using and loving disc brakes for the last 5 years and rim brakes feel like a downgrade from discs, especially in wet weather. I do not care about the look, I just want stopping power.

Mostly for commuting in to Dublin city centre and cycling around South Dublin, no major climbs, sometimes cycle up to the Blue Light (great views up there) but in the city centre I feel like the disc brakes have helped avoid a few collisions and I am worried about losing the stopping power.

Are rim brakes going to feel like losing that stopping power coming from disc brakes?

I have a TCR disc and tbh I sometimes regret not going for the rim braked version. But it is my good bike so doesn't see rain too often.

Not sure that is the best commuter though - I'd be looking for something with bigger tires (TCR struggles with 28mm), mudguards and possibly discs