Disks on the road

I have seeen Road Bikes with discs, Avanti and Specialised have Flat Bar Road with discs. Quite expensive.. I like the idea, one can change wheel sizes 700/650 and types to suit the different riding conditions or styles. Not possible with rim brakes.

Been reading up on the idea and it seems that alot of forks aren't designed to have the braking stresses at the bottom of the fork. This could cause a terrible failure.
hmmm...I think a little more research might be in order.

Traffic Jammer said:

Been reading up on the idea and it seems that alot of forks aren't designed to have the braking stresses at the bottom of the fork. This could cause a terrible failure.
hmmm...I think a little more research might be in order.

There are some cyclocross forks out there that are designed for disks. It's the rear that I would be more worried about.

Traffic Jammer said:

Has anyone built up a set of disk'd road wheels?
What kind of set up did you use and how well did it ride and stop?

I was wondering if this was a fesible setup for traffic riding.... lotsa hard stopping. I've never used disks before and was curious.

short answer " don´t "
disc wheels have their place but it´s not on the street .

el Inglés said:

short answer " don´t "
disc wheels have their place but it´s not on the street .

Uh... I think he's refering to disk brakes, not disk wheels.

artmichalek said:

Uh... I think he's refering to disk brakes, not disk wheels.

either way don´t
more expense , more weight

if it´s brekes , when was the last time your brakes gave out before your tyres did ? mtb is different ´cause your riding with rims covered with mud but on the road ??????????????????????????????
dumb

el Inglés said:

either way don´t
more expense , more weight

if it´s brekes , when was the last time your brakes gave out before your tyres did ? mtb is different ´cause your riding with rims covered with mud but on the road ??????????????????????????????
dumb

As soon as manufacturers make a comittment to road specific disk brakes/rims the weight will come down. It's no secret that these new carbon rims offer absolutely horrible braking performance in wet conditions. Even aluminum and ceramic braking surfaces get a bit shakey in wet, gritty situations. Disk brakes also don't overheat the tires on long descents. That's not to say that every road bike needs disk brakes. But if you want reliability across a broad range of weather conditions, they're the way to go.

I agree - If you are having a problem with muddy rims on a road bike, you need to get off the shoulder and back onto the road. Otherwise, disc brakes on a road bike don't make sense. They're heavier, the wheels tend to be a bit heavier (thicker spokes), and the main reason for disc brakes - heat dissapation - just doesn't occur on the road, save very limited circumstances.

Hey, Boudreaux, can you get a hall pass from God? You can say this a lot better than I could.

I did plow $150 (disc and wheel) into putting an Avid disc on the front of my MTB, but that was largely to counter the poor braking when the rim got muddy, and to get the grimace off of my face as I felt the rim being chewed up every time I braked in muddy conditions.

el Inglés said:

either way don´t
more expense , more weight

if it´s brekes , when was the last time your brakes gave out before your tyres did ? mtb is different ´cause your riding with rims covered with mud but on the road ??????????????????????????????
dumb

JohnO said:

Hey, Boudreaux, can you get a hall pass from God? You can say this a lot better than I could.

Mr. B would have a field day with this one.

Disk breaks do not belong on a road bike. As mentioned there are no true road forks, or frames, designed for this application yet. They are/can be found on cyclocross bikes, where they are very usefull given the riding conditions, but not on a road bike.

Disc brakes were introduced for MTB applications in answer to issues with water mud and debris on rims and possibly rims going out of true during heavy conditions. There is also a high degree of fad and fashion going on here as usual too. Disc setups are heavy and they introduce significant additional stresses on wheels under braking, particularly spokes and so require heavily built wheels which is fine on an MTB but not a road bike.

Disc brakes on flat bar road bikes are a fashion statement only. Even common sense (apart from doing some calculations) will tell you that far more efficient braking is achieved out on the rim than in there on the hub.

Regards Jay.

I was asking mostly in terms of hard traffic stops in all kinds of weather. I want to build up this frame I have and as a designer also want to try and be clean with the lines. I thought the disks would make a nice lowering of the visual as well as add some weight to the actual wheel. Not wearing out the rim is a bonus too...I can get a nicer one then. 😄 On an old road bike I had tons of slippage on wet streetcar tracks, as was thinking it might help the contact as well as take some of the hariness out of rain braking on a road bike. I'm totally not concerned with weight, insofar as what would be added to the bike. I'm always carrying a backpack full of stuff anyway. Non packed rides are rare and gravy to this retired messer. Thanks for the feedback. How are the disks in the rain then?

Traffic Jammer said:

I was asking mostly in terms of hard traffic stops in all kinds of weather. I want to build up this frame I have and as a designer also want to try and be clean with the lines. I thought the disks would make a nice lowering of the visual as well as add some weight to the actual wheel. Not wearing out the rim is a bonus too...I can get a nicer one then. 😄 On an old road bike I had tons of slippage on wet streetcar tracks, as was thinking it might help the contact as well as take some of the hariness out of rain braking on a road bike. I'm totally not concerned with weight, insofar as what would be added to the bike. I'm always carrying a backpack full of stuff anyway. Non packed rides are rare and gravy to this retired messer. Thanks for the feedback. How are the disks in the rain then?

Does the frame you plan on using have disk break mounting tabs on the rear stay? I don't think they make a true road frame with mounting tabs on the rear. You would have to look at a cyclocross frame to get this mounting option. Unless you going for a custom frame then you can have it built the way you want. Of course disk breaks will stop better in the rain, but you will also face to potential of locking up the wheels on wet pavement which would be very bad. Hit a painted line with the breaks locked up on wet pavement and you'll be thrown to the ground like you were on ice.

Not worried about lock up in the slightest. In fact if I can lock when I want to, cool. Just can't be too too touchy. I face that potential now. No worries there, I've covered enough ground over the years to be aware of that. There have been a few high speed front wheel stops. Lots of winter snow and ice riding as well. My handling skills keep me upright. Those wild cars can do the strangest things. lol Hmm mounting tabs, there's something I don't have.

Traffic Jammer said:

Not worried about lock up in the slightest. In fact if I can lock when I want to, cool. Just can't be too too touchy. I face that potential now. No worries there, I've covered enough ground over the years to be aware of that. There have been a few high speed front wheel stops. Lots of winter snow and ice riding as well. My handling skills keep me upright. Those wild cars can do the strangest things. lol Hmm mounting tabs, there's something I don't have.

If your looking mounting disks on a road bike frame I would look at a cyclocross frame and fork. Similar geometry but you would be able to find a frame/fork designed to accept disks calipers. Just run street tires instead of knobby cyclocross tires. A cyclocross frameset will also give your tires more clearance to handle snow and ice without packing the stays and you can run wider tires or knobby tires for these conditions as well.

It's starting to look like the CC frameset is the way to go there.
Thanks for all the replies. I guess I'll have to rethink the building of this road frame.

Traffic Jammer said:

I was asking mostly in terms of hard traffic stops in all kinds of weather. I want to build up this frame I have and as a designer also want to try and be clean with the lines. I thought the disks would make a nice lowering of the visual as well as add some weight to the actual wheel. Not wearing out the rim is a bonus too...I can get a nicer one then. 😄 On an old road bike I had tons of slippage on wet streetcar tracks, as was thinking it might help the contact as well as take some of the hariness out of rain braking on a road bike. I'm totally not concerned with weight, insofar as what would be added to the bike. I'm always carrying a backpack full of stuff anyway. Non packed rides are rare and gravy to this retired messer. Thanks for the feedback. How are the disks in the rain then?

Have you considered going to ceramic coated rims? When I went to the Open Pro Ceramics (and the special Kool Stop green pads for same) I was amazed at how much better they stop, and I ride in the rain a lot. Yeh, they actually quanitify "how much better" in the comparison charts, but you really have to test it out for yourself in wet weather to know how good it is. I live in New England and will never buy more non-ceramic rims for other than "blue bird" day riding. It's ~$50 more, per rim, and worth every penny, IMHO. It's probably as good as you are going to get with road rims and dual pivot brakes. I was dubious about them at first, but not now. I love them. Just a thought ....