DISC or CANTI???

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Permalink Reply by John Mansell on May 13, 2012 at 6:06am

Disc have nothing to do with getting on the podium. If your looking at disc because you think they will make you faster, you are just drinking the coolaid. Its really not about the bike. Your engine, skills, tactics and luck put you on the podium. The one item that does make a difference is tires and pressure. Very, very, seldom is braking an issue on my bikes which are setup with pauls and swissstops and I would bet they have never cost me a podium spot. 

Next year, you will see lots of disc racing and you will see some wins on them BUT the brakes will have little to do with it. 

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Permalink Reply by Brandon Davis on May 13, 2012 at 7:42am

Oh...I am well aware of the "it's not about the bike" having spent plenty of time on the podium last season with your exact brake setup on a non-carbon frame :o) I guess i'm just a tried and true canti-brakes guy and am wondering what people think of the whole disc phenom....will it take off or be a fad.....

Tire pressure is a huge deal as well and I'm looking at trying some Stan's Wheels this season tubeless to facilitate even lower pressures....

I guess I just wonder why the big players aren't advocating it on their setups aside from the fact that they ride what they are paid to ride...

Will disc brakes to cx be like hydraulic to road???

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Permalink Reply by David whitlock on May 13, 2012 at 9:33am

When disc's become a pro podium norm, the Cat 4's will kick, claw and sell their first born to get disc equipped bikes. Once this happens, and a critical mass is obtained, fad will become fact. If there is indeed a measurable difference between disc's and canti's, it will be fought out at top the while being supported at the bottom; the pros are paid because they win not because of what they ride. If disc's brakes are shown to increase a pro's potential to win, then you bet your sweet arse that we'll see more disc equipped frames under the patricians of cyclocross (show me a pro who doesn't mind loosing and I'll show you next years Cat 2). Thus giving the plebes yet another piece of equipment to lust after and adding fuel to the blissful pleb daydream of overlooking the crowd from the center podium spot, massive quads covered in mud, trophy raised in triumph, competitors on one knee out of awe and all the major sponsors just begging, pleading even, to just sign on the dotted line. At least that's my daydream (insert wife's eye roll here).

I guess the answer is - we'll just have wait and see.

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Permalink Reply by Brandon Davis on May 13, 2012 at 9:37am

Priceless.....haha

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Permalink Reply by Geoffrey Grosenbach on May 13, 2012 at 12:10pm

The biggest reason for no discs on the podium is the shortage of high-end cross bikes that support them.

Colnago's newest Prestige does, so you'll probably see Scen Nys on them next year. He adopts new technology quicky and was one of the first to ride Di2, even before road racers.

I built a Van Dessel with disc brakes last fall and don't regret the choice. But disc brakes need precision adjustment. The slightest warp in the rotor is noticeable. In several muddy races last falll, I picked up mud in my warmup laps and heard it grinding on the rotor for the whole race.

But properly tuned, 160mm rotors can stop the bike immediately if I apply full pressure.

Given the love that cross racers have for experimentation and weird bike setups, I think this is a great thing to have available.

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Permalink Reply by Simon J on May 13, 2012 at 1:02pm

Are your pit wheels going to be disc equipped?

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Permalink Reply by Geoffrey Grosenbach on May 13, 2012 at 2:22pm

Bikes are usually one or the other. I'm putting together a set of disc tubulars. I'll race on the tubulars and use my current disc clinchers as my pit wheels.

However, I did take the discs off the clinchers and use them on my road bike for a recent bike trip.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Yeager on May 14, 2012 at 7:13am

The thing I find most interesting is the rear spacing issue. Is it going to be 135 or 130? Looks like the manufacturers aren't quite on board with one idea yet.

I understand the sentiment of going 135- there are already plenty of 135 MTB disc hubs out there. I understand that the 130 hub doesn't help with tensioning a wheel when you lose even more dish.

However, there's a rub: I'm much more likely to swap wheels between a road bike and 'cross bike. 700c road and CX clinchers are easily swapped (you'd have to remove the disc, but...) But to change my mountain bike tires, which are tubeless, is a real pain. So if I have 135 CX wheels, they're dedicated to that bike. I'm also going to need a road-tire 135 hub for the trainer before races.

Is this reason alone to go 135 or 130 as the future "standard"? Not really. But it's a reason to wait until it's all been sorted out before you buy. I've gone the mixed route and am getting a November with canti/130 rear, and a disc fork. All road rear wheels are still useable and all I had to do was re-build 3 front wheels with disc hubs.

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Permalink Reply by larry miller on May 17, 2012 at 11:23am

Tim Johnson used them and took 2nd place at usgp bend last season. Ryan Trebon said he will be using them on nasty race days. Peep my blog to follow my crux disc build and thoughts. Capitalbiker.tumblr.com

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Permalink Reply by Brandon Davis on May 20, 2012 at 1:40pm

will do! Interesting....I didn't know TJ was dabbling in the disc front...I agree with Yeager, the spacing of hubs will be an interesting ordeal to watch unfold. Stan's is rumored to be working on a CX disc wheelset with 130mm rear spacing. I just hate dealing with bent, squeaky disc and can't see needing THAT much stopping power..I guess I feel as though disc is a "de-evolution" in cx- thoughts??

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