Disc Brakes on Road Bikes?

lae":3sii8xe7 said:

Although you're right about tyres, disc brakes are a massive upgrade in the wet because they provide instant and predictable braking

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You have obviously never ridden a Norton Commando then

First bike I ever had with disks, used to scare the stuffing out of me in the wet, believe me, you never get used to that split second of nothing when you touch the brake lever.

I'm sure the kind of disks we are talking about are infinitely better.

Sheffield":zpiu9dvo said:

I love discs on my 3 Peaks 'crosser. Not sure I'd want/need them on my other road bikes, besides, my other road bikes are pretty old school. Never been on a road descent that needed anything more than calipers.

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Living in Keswick? I wouldn't like to go down the Struggle into Ambleside without disc brakes (not just because of the braking power, I don't like the idea of my tyres exploding through the rims - I weigh roughly 100kg, and all the potential and kinetic energy has to be converted to heat at some point), and Hardknott and Wrynose are far more fun with discs.

NeilM":2kpqpv3y said:

You have obviously never ridden a Norton Commando then

First bike I ever had with disks, used to scare the stuffing out of me in the wet, believe me, you never get used to that split second of nothing when you touch the brake lever.

I'm sure the kind of disks we are talking about are infinitely better.

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I remember them - the discs were chrome IIRC, and just didn't bite at all when wet - which meant a good second or two of absolutely no deceleration until they dried, by which time you were hauling on the brake lever like mad, and you suddenly got the full braking power - a lethal combination on a wet road and 1970s rubber. Plain steel discs didn't have the same problem, but looked awful after standing for a day or two. Push bike discs are also stainless steel, but don't seem to suffer from the same problem - I wonder if they are a different grade of stainless? Or maybe the pad technology has improved?

NeilM":lw2620fk said:

You have obviously never ridden a Norton Commando then

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Hah, no, they went out of production a decade before I was born! Chrome discs though - blimey.

Just rode home....

Flood warning rain results in dangerous braking and black brake sludge everywhere .... I need discs!

NeilM":2p0k1ot0 said:

You have obviously never ridden a Norton Commando then

First bike I ever had with disks, used to scare the stuffing out of me in the wet, believe me, you never get used to that split second of nothing when you touch the brake lever.

I'm sure the kind of disks we are talking about are infinitely better.

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I have and around the same era early 2 stroke Jap sports bikes which where just as bad if not worse with their stainless disc's. How many modern motorbikes do you see that are not fitted with disc's, Off road, Sports or Tourer? very few I bet. During the 70's I raced a Triumph 500 Daytona that had the front end modified to fit a single disc using lockheed components the discs being cast, rusted at the fist sign of any damp but it did work in the rain. No better than the 4 leading shoe drum that was on it before but did not fade towards the end of a race like the drum did.

Disc's are no stronger at braking than calliper brakes they now just work in many condition mainly down to all the development on MTB's over the years. They also have great modulation which should help prevent locking the front while descending in the rain. If they did not work more predictably in adverse conditions you would not see them on nearly every MTB and increasing amounts of Cyclocross bikes.

I have on a particularly nasty ride from London to Brighton in heavy rain all of the way worn out a set of practically new brake blocks and the rims must have taken a hammering judging by the amount of grey gunge. I am not saying that the disc pads would not have worn but I doubt they would have been anywhere near the end of their life under the same conditions and of course the rims would have been untouched.

I suppose in the end each to their own, me I tend to use the newer technology as and when I feel it is appropriate and in my case with a new build that is intended for a specific purpose in my mind it is justified. Either way I will let you all know how I get on.

discs will come to road bikes when the pro peloton use them. Fashion will overrule whether theyre better. The pro peloton will consider them when a) the UCI allow them and b) if wheel changes are as easy as with calipers

There is a very good article on this whole subject in the new issue of Bicycling Magazine in the States. They review the Colnalgo bike with discs.

pigman":9ysed428 said:

discs will come to road bikes when the pro peloton use them. Fashion will overrule whether theyre better. The pro peloton will consider them when a) the UCI allow them and b) if wheel changes are as easy as with calipers

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pro riders will use them when Shimano , Sram and Campagnolo tell them to use them .

I was just reading an interesting article on the introduction of disc brakes on road and 'cross bikes, in the Belgian-Dutch magazine Grinta.

The most interesting argument was something along the lines that mountain bike tyres are able to absorb the power of disc brakes without skidding, but
that it's been found that 'cross and road tyres are too narrow to absorb the power of the brakes without skidding. Does this make any sense?
Seems like an interesting point: in short, disc brakes are likely to skid when used on road bikes.

A further point was that disc brakes have not caught on in 'cross yet, because of the weight problems, and also because true 'cross riders hardly use their brakes anyway :twisted:

Johnny