Disc Brakes on the Road

Whilst watching last nights coverage of the Giro d'Italia on Eurosport the commentators were discussing the use of disc brakes. They would have been a big help to the riders in the very wet conditions or for mountain stages.

But they are banned by the UCI for road and cyclo-cross events :?

I just wondered what other members thoughts on this would be. If you ride on the road, leisure or racing, would you use disc brakes?

(oh and primadonna Cavendish got pipped on the line, again showing his inexperience . Although I was urging him on at the end )

much debated on other forums .

I use disc brakes on the road on my workbike , with slick tyres . it is great on the wet , but similar on the dry to good v brakes . But you need to be careful with the front brake as you could end up on the floor very quickly .

There is a weight issue too .

On the dry , when you see some riders coming down the Alps at 70mph , I dont think they need discs . The only limitation are the tyres . Discs or not if the tyres cant take it , it wont improve braking .

cchris2lou":367024k5 said:

Discs or not if the tyres cant take it , it wont improve braking .

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That was my thought. I was thinking about how my XTR V's work with different tyres offroad......

cchris2lou":s67v10r4 said:

On the dry , when you see some riders coming down the Alps at 70mph , I dont think they need discs . The only limitation are the tyres . Discs or not if the tyres cant take it , it wont improve braking .

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While tyres are a limiting factor the disc pad compond and disc material mean that faster decceleration is obtain than rim brake pads with in most cases more modulation i.e you can get to the limit of tyre grip quicker thus allowing you to get on the brakes later and ultimately be faster in a decent as you spend more time at a higher speed.

In short its the initial bite that disc gives you that slows you faster rather than at the other end where you have almost reached a standstill.

I find I can pull up a lot quicker even in dry conditions using discs and slicks than well set up Vs.

When funds allow, I'm think of going down the Salsa La Cruz route for communting as it's one of the few CX bikes which comes with discs and as there is no CX racing here UCI rules matter little

I like the look of a road bike with discs, (Its one of the reasons Gus's Lemond looks so good IMHO) For the road racing the weight may be the issue but if they started to use them I am sure the weight would come down.

As for the UCI rules, all I can think of is - Why ?

in cyclo cross , it would be a real plus . but not sure on the road .

As for the UCI rules, all I can think of is - Why ?[/quote]

This question applies to a lot of the UCI rules! :?

Weight isn't really an issue if you consider that most team bikes have weights added to them to bring them up to the minimum weight.

With lightweight aluminium rotors the added rotational mass is minimal too, and considering some teams are prepared to race with hub based power monitors and heavier deep section rims may be a little overstated.

I don't understand the technology restrictions at all. Let 'em ride what they want as long as it does not have an engine. If it breaks because it is too light then that is their problem, if it enables them to brake later and thereby go faster so be it. Who cares?

It is not like F1 where the cars were totally mismatched and needed drawing back into a level playing field, it is far more about the quality of the rider in cycling rather than the quality of the bike.

The only problem that I can see for using disks in Cyclocross is the frequent lifting of the bike. The disk brake could cut another racer. In the national cx champs this year, another rider rode into me, we collided and I landed on his spokes, buckling his wheel. I'm sure a disk brake would have made matters a little more interesting