Once again, I don’t think it’s a conspiracy. If you believe it’s a conspiracy that’s your own fantasy.
Hey y’all. Just stepping in to remind everyone the rules of the forum. It is okay to attack the idea, but attacking fellow members of the forum is unacceptable. Let’s keep things civil, yeah?
7 Likes
So advised…
Based on everything discussed so far, there should be little question that Disc systems will continue to take a larger and larger percentage market share of total brake systems installed in new bikes driven by safety/control, continued cost reduction and consumer knowledge. However, at the low end of the market, it will be a long time before disc systems will reach the cost point necessary to match what can be achieved with rim brakes.
To give you a crazy example, for “Burning Man 2019”, my daughter purchased an entirely new bike on Amazon for $98 (!), including everything (yes; frame, brakes, kickstand, gearing, wheels, etc). In more practical terms, what I think will be interesting is when we see the first $1000 bike with a disc system from one of the major manufacturers (Shimano, SRAM, etc).
Look…I don’t know why you feel the need to address this issue in this manner. It is not my “fantasy” that you said bike companies would work together to see discs prevail. Here is your exact quote:
Your words, not mine. Please don’t tell me it is my “fantasy” or insinuate I have poor reading comprehension when I provide your direct quote.
Already there for some MTB bikes…bought my fat bike last year (on sale) for ~$600 w/ full hydros. Think regular retail was ~$900.
1 Like
Wow! That’s progress!
Giant TCR is still available with rim brakes - but it looks like none of the 2020 TCR’s get electronic shifting with rim brakes. It remains to be seen what Giant does in 2021 models with their rim brake offerings.
What do you find is the difficulty with changing a flat compared with rim brake? Just the axle vs QR? Otherwise there is no difference i can see
1 Like
Ditto here. I got used to changing flats / replacing wheels on my MTB, so slotting the rotor into the calipers is 2nd nature.
You do need to be more precise I’d imagine vs a rim brake wheel - but maximum is 5-10 seconds more I’d say.
1 Like
That depends on the style of the through axle: some come without a handle, so you will need a multi tool. (These are more aero, they’ll save you 1/2 Watt or whatnot 
) But you can replace them for one with a handle (or perhaps the one on your bike comes with a handle), and then I don’t see much of a difference. Some manufacturers have a “quick release” through axle, which releases the wheel after a quarter or half turn or so — which would probably be faster than a traditional quick release.
Disc brakes are winning out, because they provide better modulation, better braking power independent of weather and allow for more freedom in frame construction (most notably they allow for much wider tires).
The tradeoff in weight and aerodynamics is well worth it. (Especially given that the significance of weight is overrated, aerodynamics is much more important.)
Roadies are the ultraconservatives in the cycling family. Disc brakes have become standard in the MTB world long time ago and modern drop bar bikes would not have been possible. The companies make them, because that’s what customers want. There was a lot of pressure on the UCI to allow disc brake bikes in the pro peleton, because that is what customers wanted and it made no sense that the UCI banned supposedly dangerous disc brakes even though they were just fine for regular customers.
When changing the rear wheel, I spend more time dealing with the rear derailleur rather than aligning rotors.
The mountain bike world has been there for >15 years. My first disc brake bike cost me 1,000 €, and even the cheaper 800 € model had them. On a mountain bike you can spec brakes and groupset separately, though, which means you can cut a few corners as a bike manufacturer by installing a lower level brake with parts from higher-level group sets (as long as there is XT printed on there somewhere prominently … 
).
1 Like
Are rim brake wheels also transitioning to thru axle, or are they all still QR?
There have been a few attempts at thru-axle rim-brake wheels, but it is mostly an exercise in futility. Yes, there is an increase in stiffness, but since the market is decidely shifting away from rim-brakes, the initiatives have largely died on the vine.
I don’t think it makes sense to move to this standard when rim brakes are also on the way out. Although, in principle it can be done, I am not aware of any rim brake bikes with through axles.
Doesn’t look like rim brakes are going anywhere.
They are lighter for a number of reasons, allow for fewer spokes and more aero amongst other things.
2 Likes
I think the benefit to us “non-pro” riders is safety and I’ll take that any day.
For the pro’s, well they are focused on going faster and not really slowing down. Their races are marshalled and often on closed road. They can get away with rim brakes even on mega descents because their skills are mad.
It’s still easier to be a good descender if you have more capable brakes and on wider tires. And if you are riding for a pro team, then there is no weight penalty with disc brakes, you can easily get way below the UCI weight limit with relatively normal, robust bike parts.
Correct…the differences in how your brake on discs vs. calipers on descents is significant. You can brake much later coming into a turn, and harder.
Two years ago, we did a trip to North Carolina and my regular bike’s BB crapped out on the trip. I had to rent a bike for the rest of the trip and it had discs. The difference was noticeable and made descending a total blast. My buddies would slow well before a turn and I could hold my speed for that brief period longer…could easily open gaps to them on descents.
Also, there are more than a few pro riders who are known to be pretty crap descenders…just because you are a pro rider doesn’t mean you have great skills (at least compared to their peers).