disc vs canti vs Vs vs magura

[hydorah]

Cantis for me

Cantis are ace, very light loads of clearance easy maintenance interchangability...

The down sides are real though, but some can be very easily mitigated

Rims running cantis rims can wear out a lot because the grooves in the pads are allowed to fill up with 'stuff'

This stuff is a mix of dead pad/road dirt/alu off your rims

It's seriously abrasive stuff

Every few months open up your cantis and run something down those grooves to clear them

I have NEVER used a rim up

There's a bike opposite me in my lounge with Mavic Oxygens that a from 1989, there's no ano on the braking surfaces but those walls are still thick

Setup is dead easy once you know, see my Saracen build in my sig if you're curious as to how I do it - I don't mention toeing in, but my method achieves that too

Discs or disks are obviously superior brakes, but you are carrying extra metal about and there is extra complexity and I'm not into the aesthetics, personally

But I do get it!

Vs are alright but offer no advantage over well setup cantis

Maguras look cool, I here they are vice like, never ridden/worked with them myself so *shrug*

 

[24pouces]

magura is a good alternative, but I still love canti for simplicity.
Ok, disk is powerfull, but it's motorcycle technology, to far from bicycle spirit in my opinion, and I hate the feeling of a disc front wheel: too asymetric work.

I love rollercam…

 

[Rich Aitch]

Cantilevers for me, and it's never Canti's at Rich-Aitch Castle. They are simple, light, intuitive and unlike the despised V brake (Which isn't even a V shape) they are symmetrical. There is almost infinite geometry adjustment, even with Shimano's safety cables reasonable adjustment is possible.
I understand the benefits of hydraulic brakes, the force magnification of the pistons and the self adjustment but Magura's never seem to have much mud clearance- to me at least- and every time you replace the fluid you have to throw most of the bottle away because they use a tiny amount of brake fluid compared to a car or even a motorbike and you can't save it for later because it goes off [And you can't use it as weed killer because it poisons cats!]. They also don't solve the problem common to Cantilevers, V's, U's and rollercam brakes; the braking surface is still on the rim, where it is in near constant contact with muck causing noisy braking and rim erosion.
In theory discs have to be best. They make a kind of relentless bludgening sense, rather like the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Lib Dems but I'm not in any hurry to embrace their drab bright-eyed-bushy-tailed world.

 

[Andy R]

I understand the benefits of hydraulic brakes, the force magnification of the pistons and the self adjustment but Magura's never seem to have much mud clearance- to me at least- and every time you replace the fluid you have to throw most of the bottle away because they use a tiny amount of brake fluid compared to a car or even a motorbike and you can't save it for later because it goes off [And you can't use it as weed killer because it poisons cats!].

Mineral oil doesn't "go off" - it's not hygroscopic.

 

[dyna-ti]

:?
Canti's-
Look lovely ,reasonable performance but can be improved upon with boosters,straddle rods and the like,but can be tricky for many users to set up properly.Very poor performance in wet or muddyconditions

V's-
Powerful in most conditions and more braking performance in the wet than canti's, but again can be improved upon by the fitting of brake boosters or the use of ceramic rims,much lower profile than canti's.Easy to set up for the majority of users.
Magura's-
No Experience

Disc's[Cable]
No Experience

Disc's[Hydraulic]
Superior braking performance in all weathers and riding conditions.Set up critical but difficult for many users,servicing such as bleeding may be a bit daunting to the majority of users
Disc pads prone to contamination resulting in poor braking.

I'll leave price and weight out of this as that depends totally on your wallet

 

[bm0p700f]

hydraulic discs are fab. I really liked my Hope's but that bike is awaiting re-assembly.

I have a real soft spot for canti's and V-brakes. They just work well unless you are downhilling in the nud and rain.

 

[johnnypie13]

disc brakes

having trouble with this one

love canti brakes there easy almost unbreakable and are in some cases damn good looking and very cheappppp and if setup right fantastic at stopping you mud is a worry though

but then i love my hope m4 techs with floating rotors which stop my fat ass brilliantly will agree they can be very sharp when warmed up though and other than epic mud they have no issues
and i think they are damn pretty too

never liked magura's, and v's are in the whole boring

 

[oldave]

Hydraulic discs "best" obviously. Of rim brakes, best I've used are Avid Arch Rivals - "better" than any Shimano up to and including XTR.

 

[Giel]

I am very happy with the 'f*ck off' setup on my Yo. You're free to try Giel.

Anyhow, if you looking for an excuse for a refinishing of your Roberts why not give discs a try.

You nailed it Mel, it's time for something new, and I am about to commission a refinish on fairly flimsy grounds Nevertheless, I would love to give your Yo a try, if only to see what all the fuss is about ride-wise. I'll get in touch next time I am in town.

The consensus seems to be that you can't beat hydro discs for performance and that's what I am going to go with.

Cheers, Giel

 

[gtRTSdh]

I understand the benefits of hydraulic brakes, the force magnification of the pistons and the self adjustment but Magura's never seem to have much mud clearance- to me at least- and every time you replace the fluid you have to throw most of the bottle away because they use a tiny amount of brake fluid compared to a car or even a motorbike and you can't save it for later because it goes off [And you can't use it as weed killer because it poisons cats!].

Mineral oil doesn't "go off" - it's not hygroscopic.

Andy R, very true, magura HS33's need zero servicing as they use mineral oil which, as you say doesn't absorb water like brake fluid in disc systems.

My HS33's are 8-9 years old and have bene ridden to work most days since then, except for about a year of lift sharing a 30mile a day lift round trip. They've never been serviced fluid or seal wise and replacing the pads is the simplest job on any MTB in, pull off, push back on. I run grey pads on ceramic rims and they are awesome, even in the wet, not as powerfull as discs but definitely more than adequate.

The biggest advantage they have over canti's is the beautifully smooth operation and hence modulation, a twisted steel cable (ie v-brakes or canti's) will never match this. Also they can be used on nearly every frame and fork, especially retro stuff, the same cannot be said for discs, which also tend to suffer from brake steer (left) on older flexible forks due to the offset loading on the left leg when braking.

I'm sure there are thousands of badly setup magura's that feel like rubbish, hell the number I've seen just fitted wrong is something else.