trail wrote:
Yeah, in 300+ mass starts, I can't say I was ever held back by braking.
There are a few technical TTs where I may have been (Strava side-by-side had me losing a few seconds in technical turns), but it may also have been the guys who beat me simply being willing to take more risks, rather than being able to brake later because of equipment. Hard to tell.
Most triathletes barely need brakes at all in racing since most tri bike legs do not feature high-speed chicanes,. etc
Have had a few instances of brake rub after taking neutral wheels with a slightly different brake track position.
I have had occasional brake problems in tri's, but the nice thing about regular rim brakes is that is only takes a few seconds to adjust the pad spacing and you are on your way with functional, non-rubbing brakes.
Disk brakes (at least all the ones I have had) are not field serviceable. If you have a significant problem you are hosed.
Maybe the big push for disk brakes will result in ones that allow for quick/no tool adjustment of pads to fix rubbing. For all I know there are already models like that out there.