Disc's .... a year later

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Permalink Reply by Bill Bailey on April 18, 2012 at 4:27pm

I'm not switching anytime soon. Still too expensive. Plus switching wheels seems difficult, especially in a race. All the hubs would need to have the exact same spacing of the rotor. Three sets of identical wheels seems like a steep investment for a dirtbag racer like me who owns one good set of wheels and two sets of old cheapies for the pits. Not sure about hydraulics, but the cable brakes on my last MTB, needed adjusting just about every time I took a wheel off. I was not happy with cable disc brakes, so I see hydraulics as a must. Added weight of cable to disc convertor, discs, and calipers. I'm a southeastern racer and we don't see much mud, so the advantages are just not there for me. I think hydraulic discs are the only choice for MTBs, but I'm not sure they are ready for CX or even road.

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Permalink Reply by holliscx on April 19, 2012 at 2:54am

I ride for IF Grassroots and plan to race mini Vs this fall. I would be sticking with cantis if 90% of my training rides weren't on steep terrain where I can use the extra power of mini Vs. On a cyclocross course I, for one, feel like disc brakes are overkill. Cantilevers offer better modulation with no weight penalty, and you just don't need that much stopping power in a cx race. Of course, if you're not racing and ride with mountain bikers, cross train etc. then I could see entertaining disc brakes. But I plan to ride and race mini Vs and/or cantis for the foreseeable future and agree with Bill that the advantages [of switching to discs] just aren't there. 

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Permalink Reply by Bill Bailey on April 19, 2012 at 4:08am

I'm running a mini-vee on the front of my single speed.

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Permalink Reply by DStudley on April 19, 2012 at 9:54am

Recently got my wife's Redline converted to disc with their new fork and there will be a big pile of wheels quickly becoming obsolete as weather gets messy based on her feedback. 

I will be swapping back over to race on mechanical discs as well on my geared bike, just need to build up a set of tubular disk wheels.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Stanley on April 20, 2012 at 5:52pm

i just switched to TRP mini V brakes and love them.  Cantis were good for slowing down and adjusting speed but on steep, technical courses didn't work.  Can't see the expense of switching to discs

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Permalink Reply by JesseD on April 20, 2012 at 6:41pm

Just got a 2012 Crux with canti's. As a weekend warrior who will only race maybe 4-5 races this year I couldn't justify the price of new wheels and brakes, don't get me wrong, I rode my friends disc equipped crux and it was amazing.    I say run what you brung and have fun! I am  going to jump on the "Get a disc equipped bike if your new to cross" band wagon, but as for me I will be just as conten with my canti's.

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Permalink Reply by Geoffrey Grosenbach on April 22, 2012 at 8:45pm

I built a Van Dessel Gin & Trombones with Avid BB7 (mechanical) disc brakes last fall. It's my first cross bike but I'm glad I went with discs.

Cons:

• Rotor sometimes rubs if it gets a tiny bit of dirt in it.
• It's easy to install the brake pads incorrectly. I wore through the retainer spring during one race and gouged a channel in the brake pad.
• It's hard to find wheels, depending on the frame. Mine uses a 130mm rear hub. I'm using Velocity wheels and hope to build a tubular set with White Industries hubs for next fall.

Pros:

• I rode very muddy courses and never had a problem stopping.
• Massive braking power. I can easily lock up the back wheel if I want to.
• Easy wheel changes.
• Big tire options. For fun, I'm going to buy some 40mm tires. I think I might even be able to fit a 45mm tire in the back.

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