Pretty sure that he got sponsored by Huffy, but this was a one off custom by someone else not Huffy. We could not buy this bike commercially if we tried. Coming back to this thread, I really think that all the people who will dump fast superbikes and fast wheels to upgrade to disc brake'd bikes will offer the rest of us an option to buy into today's high end at a bargain!

This is a bit of an obvious strawman PV.

Rim brake wheels and brake components will not vanish overnight. The frames will probably go first if this becomes the new norm. There's no reason to fear being forced to update existing equipment against your will unless you're involved in competition where it becomes mandatory (e.g. if UCI dictated that all road racers MUST use disk brakes).

I do lots of my riding on hilly terrain that's very often wet. I weigh ~82kg. Disk brakes would be welcome on many of those rides. Not essential, but an improvement over my current, good quality, properly adjusted, cable actuated rim brakes. Rim brakes are easy, light and convenient. Disk brakes have some drawbacks but are a more reliable solution, especially in wet conditions. They're brakes, I'm a lot less interested in their weight or aesthetics than their performance in allowing me to stop the bike as and when I want to.

Aesthetic objections are rather silly. Deep section rims looked silly compared to minimalist box section ones, until they became common amongst the pros, and now people can't get enough of them. STI levers looked chunky compared simple brake levers on road bikes but down tube levers have now become a rare sight. Aesthetics are mostly a matter of familiarity and association. You'll get over it.
Form driven by function should be the philosophy behind any good mechanical design.

How will YOU navigate through an empty ST with no one from the industry left to brake down your expertise ..

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I waded through a lot of BS to find what you were asking.

Just like when MTB's changed from rim to disc brakes, I bought because I needed (wanted?) a new bike but the change in brake design was irrelevant to the timing of my buying. It'll be the same with road bikes getting disc brakes, I'll just change when I'm about due for another bike. Yep my Zipps wont be transferable but wheel design has probably improved faster than bike designs anyway.

And if it hasn't, you can just change the hub & spokes on your wheels.

I like disc brakes... I also like that there might be an unloading of rim brakes wheels and other stuff.

I'm probably a few years from getting a disc brake TT bike. I'll let the industry get sorted and ride the wave of parts being sold by those that are going to disc brake wheels.

As my current ride ages, I will enjoy the superior aeroness and the fact my bike already has disc brakes 700c wide. When I finally do upgrade, I will enjoy the better braking in emergency situations and the rain. The only constant is change. Getting worked up about it is needless suffering.

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Zen and the Art of Triathlon. Strava Workout Log
Interviews with Chris McCormack, Helle Frederikson, Angela Naeth, and many more.
http://www.zentriathlon.com

I'm still dealing with the move from 10 to 11 speed bikes. I have one 11 speed and three 10 speeds. I'm thinking of upgrading another bike to 11 speed for easier rear wheel interchangeability but have no plans to go to disc brakes. I'm pretty sure there will be plenty of rim options for years to come.

The answer is easy. Enjoy the firesale prices on "obsolete" gear that is marginally (if at all) worse. From a mountain bike perspective, there were great deals to be had on non tapered, quick release, 26" forks and wheels. Since shifters are affected as well as frames, forks, wheels, etc, I bet you'll be able to build up a bike for half the price.

I take offense to the "dentist bike" reference! Thats like CEO money!

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

The early 90's... some pretty fast performances in those years. *cough*

Disc brakes in triathlon could signal a split between tri bikes and TT bikes for a while. For one to win out, UCI will have to allow non double-diamond geometries and disc brakes, since I'd imagine bike companies sell more bikes for tri than straight TT. Some people obviously want to do both, so that will limit their choices for new bikes in the future.

For TT, it actually makes more sense to remove one brake altogether than switch to discs. The weight, aero penalty, etc. make them an even worse argument for TTs. If UCI allowed disc brakes, I doubt many teams would switch since they spend so much time in the wind tunnel and weighing components that the data would drive them against disc brakes.

If this is the point in which tri and TT bikes diverge, then equipment will not be rendered useless. There will be a secondary, albeit smaller, market in TT. If UCI allows disc brakes and TTers adopt them, then I agree, we're all f**ked.

I'm going to give Mark Allen in 92 the benefit of the doubt that the super stuff that Indurain, Rominger, Riis, Bugno, Chiapucci, Delgado and crew were on starting in 91 (when they left Lemond behind) )was not quite in Kona 'yet' by 92. Mark's performance was in line with his own performance 89 and 90 and that's the year that Lemond won the TdF purportedly before the peloton went on the EPO superjuice.

So I know that Dan is more liberal with accusations now, but if you're talking 92 in triathlon you probably need to be more careful....performances from 1994 till today, well we have no clue who was/is on what.

Not accusing anyone. Not giving anyone a pass either.
EPO was introduced in 1989. No test until... 2001?

Modern equipment has HUGE advantages over the old stuff... so when I see these old times that were so fast compared to modern times, I have to wonder.

Or makes you wonder if the so called advantages of new equipment are exaggerated...

Take the most dubious wind tunnel claims and scale them back by half.... still a big advantage.

I'm navigating it just fine. I only road ride now doing the occasional Gran Fondo when I have time. However, I ride regularly with a pretty serious group of Master's cyclists who are members of my Club - there are a couple of Provoncial and National Masters champions in the group.

My ride is a 7 year old Cervelo R3 with a, 10-speed Dura-Ace 7800 gruppo (exposed shift cables - the horrors). I ride a modest amount. Keep it well maintained. I have no problem hanging with the group on hard training rides.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I will navigate it by not worrying about it.

Feeling left behind because one has a perfectly functional older generation product is a conditioned response to being bombarded by marketing. Also, stop worrying about what other people think. If they are judging because you got an old bike then they aren't friends and their opinion doesn't matter.

agree with this. It's definitely a pretty good majority of bikes that are not latest and greatest. My 2014 cervelo p2 is probably newer than a lot of bikes. Bikes/wheels also lose their value pretty quickly anyway.

Very true.

Seneca.

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'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'

Thank you for presenting an interesting side to the different debate topics on ST during this usually slow time of year. Withthat, there are three major flaws in your initial post that jump out to me: 1) the rate at which the buying public (not pros) will switch to disc brakes on a tri/tt bike, 2) the idea that I have to spend lots of money to prevent the loss of a smaller amount of money, and 3) the notion that the value of parts is going plummet in value as the market shifts to disc braking.

1) As has been pointed out in previous posts, the general public is not that quick to change standards, especially when it will cost thousands of dollars. Examples include 10-11 speeds, mech to electric shifting, aluminum to carbon frames. If the disc brake sky falls, it will take 5-10 years, if it falls at all.

2) Trying to argue that spending money now to save a little bit in the future is a good idea if it involves retirement accounts are rental properties. But just a rough calculation has a high end bike around $8,000. A used value would be around $4,000. If it becomes obsolete, maybe $0. A new disc brake bike is around $10,000. Calculate about a loss of 50% of value to depreciation to $5,000. Worst case to best case is still a $1,000 less of a loss by the rim brake bike owner.

3) There will be a market for most parts, especially high quality parts for the foreseeable future. Just trying to determine what all has to fall into place for disc brake bikes to become the dominate species shows the likelihood of your speculation playing out if very slim.

-edited for initial pleasantries

While a few thousand $ might sound like a lot, it is not enough to get most of us in this sport too riled up.

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Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite (yes, but I am not ready for a woman straight away) -Stephen Roche's reply when asked whether he was okay after collapsing at the finish in the La Plagne stage of the 1987 Tour

Considering I still have a healthy stock of 20mm Records and Cronos, I reckon I'll be fine. Be nice to pick up another P5, or even a P3, as a training bike when it's cast aside.

It was the rinsed cottage cheese