Anyone opt for mech discs over hydraulic?

[mattr]

But but but, if you use the barrel adjuster to adjust for pad wear don't you crash and burn to death?

Don't you just just run out of braking very suddenly?

 

[mattr]

I always see people recommending stupid expensive compressionless cables for using with mech discs too, but bmx linear cables can be picked up for a couple quid and are just as good.

Shimano or jagwire compressionless outer. Probably only half as much again as the BMX stuff. And of a known quality. (I usually buy 20m of the stuff at a time in multiple colours, so might be a bit more expensive if you are only buying for one set of brakes at a time!)

My criticism is of the stuff that manufacturers tend to fit, which is utterly rubbish.

Plus, you set BB7s up with an allen key set you probably already own, not a bleed kit and fluid that you had to go out and buy just for the job.

I've hit critical mass, i have probably 10 sets of my own (and my wifes) hydraulics, and another indeterminate number i look after/service for mates. So the tools to bleed are a non event. Costs me about 3 quid a year in replacement syringes when one gets gummed up/cracks.

Still refuse to deal with Avids though, just not worth the headache. I've probably done a good deal of sales work for shimano and hope though

 

[mattr]

Later stuff seems to be so very fragile and doesnt have the feel, especially at the levels I work with.

This confuses me. I can do rolling stoppies with all the Hopes i currently have, and with a set i recently moved on. The modulation and feedback is "quite good".
My X2s have enough feel that i can modulate the braking well enough to roll over roots, rocks and ice....... M4s are a bit more tricky. I suspect they need a service/seal kit as they are nearly 15 years old.

Admittedly there is also a lot of feedback through the bars on both the bikes these are fitted to!

 

[greencat]

The only truly terrifying braking moment I've had was with mechanical disc brakes. I grabbed a handful of front to help slow me down on a steep road and it stayed on at about 70% when I fully released the lever. It had been fine the day before and was OK later that day - but I never felt I could trust them again. I went back to v-brakes on that particular bike.

I do like the fact that if you had a disc on the front, and a v on the back - you could still have matching levers.

 

[mattr]

Yeah, they can do that, need to keep them maintained and corrosion free.......

Think one model could sort of go over cam as well. And stop working.

 

[Stump28]

Re: Re:

No.
Tried both, but Hydro wins every time for me.
The TRP hy-rd cable actuated hydros were about the best I’ve tried that involved cables in some way.

Have to agree. I’ve ran hydro for last 8 years, never had a leak and require not much more than a 15 minute service yearly. I’ve not ridden mech that can compare yet

 

[CassidyAce]

Re:

Thread revival! Well, I tried replacing my hydraulics with BB7s yesterday and . . . Meh! To be fair, they haven't been broken in properly yet but there are other issues. 1) Those red dials are no better than using an Allen key to adjust pad clearance. In fact, I'd rather use an Allen key: it's kinder on the fingers. 2) They seem to have a slightly spongy feel to them when braking which I'm not sure I like, though I might get used to it. And that's not due to the cabling because . . . 3) The moving arm on the rear one snapped as I loosened the cable-clamping bolt (that build quality LGF mentioned perhaps), so I installed a cheap Clarks caliper I had spare instead: no sponginess, same cabling - easier to set up too. Both are attached to SD7 levers.

As for performance: it's too early to tell but there's nothing remarkable about the BB7 on initial testing and set up seems a bit trickier than with other cable discs.