Disc brakes on MTB?

I would recommend discs. You get fantastic control on the
downhills because you can slow down without locking up the
wheels, also it takes less effort to brake (i.e. 1 or 2
fingers) so on the longer downhills you will not find your
hands cramping/locking up due as can happen with V brakes.

On the downside is the expense and inability to self
maintain the hydrolics - I have seen disc braked bikes
become useless on epic (multiday) rides after hydrolic
problems but the simpler V braked bikes kept on just fine.

Perhaps a good compromise is one disc on the front and one V
brake on the back.

A good compromise would be "Steve" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am looking at buying a MTB, this will be my first bike
in a long time. However I haven't been able to find out
whether the disc brakes are worth the money or not. It
seems only the higher end MTBs have them however, I have
seen some for around $650 that come with them. What are
the pros/cons of disc brakes?

Steve said:

I am looking at buying a MTB, this will be my first bike
in a long time. However I haven't been able to find out
whether the disc brakes are worth the money or not. It
seems only the higher end MTBs have them however, I have
seen some for around $650 that come with them. What are
the pros/cons of disc brakes?

Disk brakes are not suseptable to water problems
lubricating the rubbing surfaces between the rubber pads
and rims. They continue to work just as well even when
drenched wet.

Disk brakes don't make nearly as much noise (crunching
grinding noises) after riding through muddy water, or
dusty/dirty conditions.

Disk brakes still work just as well, even if your rims are
bent, buckled or otherwise stuffed.

Disk brakes hold up better under heavy, prolonged use,
without fading.

V-brakes can wear out your rims, eventually requiring
replacement, where disks (thick steel versus lightweight
aluminium) last just about forever. (well, life of the
bike anyway). However, if you ride your MTB "properly"
you'll be bending rims way before you're wearing them out
anyway. :-) Pads don't count as wearing out, because
they're consumables- they are *supposed* to wear out.

Hydraulics offer better modulation ability (better braking
control), compared to cable operated brakes. This
advantage is not automatic, it's up to YOU to operate the
brakes in an effective manner under different conditions.
Though both disks and V-brakes have cable-operated
versions, hydraulics are only available for disks.

Hydraulic operated brakes offer a softer more spongey feel
than cable brakes, but this is what gives them their
better ability. Some people may interpret this softer feel
for "worse" than cable.

Notice I've said nothing about braking power. In many
cases, V-brakes can have better stopping power than disks.
You don't choose disks for their stopping power, but after
reading the above, you can see you have many more other
advantages to choose from. That's not to say that disks
won't stop you with one finger, they can.

From a maintenance perspective, V-brakes and cabled disks
are on about equal complexity, with the v-brakes probably
needing a little more maintenance. Though this would
probably be due to the generally cheaper components used
with v-brakes rather than disks. Hydraulics are a lot more
complex with a little more maintenance. Unless you buy
cheap junk, in which case, you'll wish for cable.

From a reliability perspecive, while you can afford to be
frugal with cables and still have brakes that work- if
you're frugal with hydraulics, you're buying junk that
you'll never be happy with.

If you're going to buy hydraulics, spend the money.
Lots of it.

My vote would always be disks. Cabled if you're cheap,
hydraulic if you've got money to spare. Though I have
decent quality hydraulics now, I've used cabled disks, and
have been very happy with them. I've had bad hydraulics,
and cursed them the whole bloody time.

--
Linux Registered User # 302622 <counter.li.orgcounter.li.orgOpen ↗

John Tserkezis <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Though both disks and V-brakes have cable-operated
versions, hydraulics are only available for disks.

Not true. I believe you can still get Magura hydraulic rim
brakes (OK, not really a V, but a rim brake), and someone
was making a hydraulic V a few years back which may still be
available. The name "Wengler" is in my head, but I can't be
stuff Googling to check if it's right.

Quoted message said:

Hydraulic operated brakes offer a softer more spongey
feel than cable brakes, but this is what gives them
their better ability.

A Hayes hydro disc feels harder than a Hayes cable disc to
me. Hydraulic discs offer more efficiency (no cable stretch,
and the fluid has less friction than a cable), automatic
adjustment, and from my experience, less maintenance. The
maintenance is a bit trickier, but I think I've bled my
brakes twice in 4 years - I have to replace V cables about
once a year, and swapping pads on discs is trivial.

Steer clear of the cheaper disc brakes - I haven't been
paying a huge amount of attention to what's around, but I'd
consider the Hayes, Avid and Deore cables to be the only
ones worth getting. Deore hydros offer pretty good
performance at a not too insane price, and Armor seem to
have an OK rep. Hayes, Hope, Shimano XT/XTR seem to be the
premium brands, though I've probably forgotten some.

Dave - who'd recommend discs if they're reasonable and don't
add too much to the cost of the bike.

--
Dave Hughes [email hidden] "Two of my imaginary
friends reproduced once ... with negative results." -- Ben
(float), ASR

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Steve Chapman
On the downside is the expense and inability to self
maintain the hydrolics - I have seen disc braked bikes
become useless on epic (multiday) rides after hydrolic
problems but the simpler V braked bikes kept on just fine.

Disc brake pads also wear out quicker than their vee brake bretheren. <insert disclamier about riding frequency and style here>

Vee pads are much easier to check visually and generally will decay over time. The first you tend to know about disc pad wearing is a horrible metal on metal scream that really signifies "don't pull that lever again".

That writ, in crappy conditions where wear is a big issue, discs rule. It's the old story - from maintainance input, you'll get the return you deserve.

idiot

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Steve
I am looking at buying a MTB, this will be my first bike in
a long time. However I haven't been able to find out whether
the disc brakes are worth the money or not. It seems only
the higher end MTBs have them however, I have seen some for
around $650 that come with them. What are the pros/cons of
disc brakes?

Everyone above said it all.

Just one point IMO. Generally speaking, disc brake systems are considerably more expensive than their V-system counterparts (level to level compro, eg XT disc and XT Vs). They also need disc hubs which are not cheap either. Therefore, having a reliable and durable disc system will set you back a bit.

Having said that, disc brakes are the flavour of the week these days, as dualies were just not far back. That means every crappy brand makes dualies and hardtails with discs. Since there must be some juice left for the manufacturer in the end, some thing has to give one way or other. So beware of crappy components on an el-chaepo bike that comes with disc brakes.

Another thing that I think wasn't mentioned is the weight penalty of discs. But that's for the weight-concious. I prefer discs because they perform well in wet, dirt and mud (MTB, eh?). V's are fantastic in dry and relatively clean conditions. The rest of disc drawbacks are accepted by me because they save me well when I need it.

happy shopping,
Amir.

"Steve" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am looking at buying a MTB, this will be my first bike
in a long time. However I haven't been able to find out
whether the disc brakes are worth the money or not. It
seems only the higher end MTBs have them however, I have
seen some for around $650 that come with them. What are
the pros/cons of disc brakes?

I love my discs (Avid cable operated), and wouldn't go back,
but there are occasional downsides. Discs will still work
well in the rain, but *I* find (riding on Blue Mountains
sandstone tracks) that they wear out *very* quickly when it
gets muddy. By very, I mean one set went from half worn to
unusable in about 25 kms. OK, the conditions were appalling
- a huge storm hit after I'd started, but I barely used the
brakes at all - most of the wear appeared related to the
constant grinding sounds coming from the disc...

Of course, such conditions are so bad for the rest of the
bike I usually avoid them - too much maintenance otherwise!

For me, the benefits of outstanding, easy to adjust, well
modulated brakes far outweigh the cons.

Tony F thefathippy.comthefathippy.comOpen ↗

The main thing I notice about discs is that they are
progressive and powerful, allowing me to wash off speed
quickly on tiny patches of firm ground and role over the
bumpier looser sections without brakes. I can keep a much
higher average speed with discs coming down bumpy, loose &
steep slopes. I am quite overweight and maybe a lighter
person will not appreciate these benefits as much.

Having said that, my discs (Shimano) have lately only had
the power of V-brakes. There still seems to be some pad left
but they have lost power.

Alex "Steve" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am looking at buying a MTB, this will be my first bike
in a long time. However I haven't been able to find out
whether the disc brakes are worth the money or not. It
seems only the higher end MTBs have them however, I have
seen some for around $650 that come with them. What are
the pros/cons of disc brakes?

Alex said:

The main thing I notice about discs is that they are
progressive and powerful, allowing me to wash off speed
quickly on tiny patches of firm ground and role over the
bumpier looser sections without brakes. ..... ........
Having said that, my discs (Shimano) have lately only had
the power of V-brakes. There still seems to be some pad
left but they have lost power.

I have a 2000 model Avanti Barracuda with RST discs but only
because it was a superceded model and I got them for $14
above the V-brake price. I can't really make a comparison as
this is my first "non-KMart" bike but I like them a lot.
I've seen a TV program lately showing MTB's in competitions
in Tasmania and most of them if not all the Avanti models
has discs so there must be something to it.

--
Regards, Bob