I think about the question of brakes for road bikes a lot. There is what we have and what we could have.
The cantilever road bike brakes are a terrible design. I mean why do road brakes still have to use this archiac complex system of springs and canti-levers. They never stay straight. Most of the time they end up dragging one side of the wheel. I hate that.
What about using a form of V-brakes as well. The new “direct mount” types are a move in the right direction, but still overly complex than the simple mountain bike style.
And then there is Disc Brakes.
The Mountain Biking arena has proved the worth of disc brakes. And, with a little thought, it is easy to make these types of brakes hidden to the wind so as to entice the roadies.
Ok, so it means a minor redesign of frames.
Just like in Mountain Biking, in 10 years everyone will have re-cycled their frames and be on the next generation of technology. If some manufacturer doesn’t start the trend now, it will be another 20 years before the ball can get nudged in the right direction, and we’ll all be stuck with this terrible cantilever design that is way past it’s prime (if it ever had a prime…).
I think about the question of brakes for road bikes a lot. There is what we have and what we could have.
The cantilever road bike brakes are a terrible design. I mean why do road brakes still have to use this archiac complex system of springs and canti-levers. They never stay straight. Most of the time they end up dragging one side of the wheel. I hate that.
What about using a form of V-brakes as well. The new “direct mount” types are a move in the right direction, but still overly complex than the simple mountain bike style.
And then there is Disc Brakes.
The Mountain Biking arena has proved the worth of disc brakes. And, with a little thought, it is easy to make these types of brakes hidden to the wind so as to entice the roadies.
Ok, so it means a minor redesign of frames.
Just like in Mountain Biking, in 10 years everyone will have re-cycled their frames and be on the next generation of technology. If some manufacturer doesn’t start the trend now, it will be another 20 years before the ball can get nudged in the right direction, and we’ll all be stuck with this terrible cantilever design that is way past it’s prime (if it ever had a prime…).
Strange, my archaic, terribly designed brakes have worked flawlessly since I set them up on my bike. Yes, I would love to see disc brakes on more models in the future and I could well be tempted on the road bike. However, my n=1 is there is nothing wrong with the current tech.
This has been discussed repeatedly on these forums. Disc brakes create lots of drag at this point in time. You are already riding a disc brake, your rim. Will aero improvements happen over time? sure. Will the UCI make disc brakes legal? probably soon
Lemme take a guess - you’re currently using SRAM Red brakes. Try using the Dura Ace 9000 brakes. They’re pretty amazing and VERY cleverly designed. Personally I hate v-brakes. For something aero - TriRig Omega. Done and done!
If one of your brakes is rubbing you have either tightened the skewer down too much or the brake assembly is off a little bit, which takes about 5 seconds to straighten. Another 5 to get a hex wrench and tighten it into place. I have seen alot of people change a flat on the road and then tighten the skewer down too hard which can have the effect of pushing the wheel one way a little too much. Loosen the skewer half a turn, open the calipers a little bit with the adjuster, or straighten the brakes with your hand. It can be wicked frustrating to ride with rubbing brakes but how many times do you have to go through this before you simply spin the wheel a few times to make sure it is free and clear?
the big advantage is they allow for fender mounting because of the additional clearance. I think there is an advantage for loaded touring also, maybe more power or something, a disc would be better for both of those purposes.
Rime brakes for cyclocross are also a pain in the neck because of the rim wear–this picture below was after about 10 cross races
that said, i still use rim brakes because they are cheaper and i can use all my old 32 spoke tubular wheels
Have you ever used ‘simple mountain bike style’ rim brakes (FYI these actually cantilever brakes) on a road bike? I like many have some on my CX bike and can say they are significantly worse than normal road brakes. As soon as they get a bit wet and muddy, especially on carbon rims, they might as well be forgetten. This is why mountain and CX bikes are increasingly going to discs. As for road brakes they have yet failed to provide me with enough stopping power and let me swap wheels between bikes with limited hassle. From my limited experience even reinstalling the same disc wheel on a bike after a tire change can require significant fiddling and I imagine swapping wheels set, especially if the wheels are used on multiple bikes, would require constant adjustment. I have no problem throwing Canti’s in the dust bin of history but I will keep rim brakes on my road bike.
I think about the question of brakes for road bikes a lot. There is what we have and what we could have.
The cantilever road bike brakes are a terrible design. I mean why do road brakes still have to use this archiac complex system of springs and canti-levers. They never stay straight. Most of the time they end up dragging one side of the wheel. I hate that.
What about using a form of V-brakes as well. The new “direct mount” types are a move in the right direction, but still overly complex than the simple mountain bike style.
And then there is Disc Brakes.
The Mountain Biking arena has proved the worth of disc brakes. And, with a little thought, it is easy to make these types of brakes hidden to the wind so as to entice the roadies.
Ok, so it means a minor redesign of frames.
Just like in Mountain Biking, in 10 years everyone will have re-cycled their frames and be on the next generation of technology. If some manufacturer doesn’t start the trend now, it will be another 20 years before the ball can get nudged in the right direction, and we’ll all be stuck with this terrible cantilever design that is way past it’s prime (if it ever had a prime…).
In the time it took to write this post, you could have learned how to adjust you brakes and never had a problem with them again.
The one that did need to go away and did was the brake mounted under the bottom bracket on mountain bikes. I have a Fuji MTB from maybe 1987 that is set up that way. Huge pain in the ass.
Have you ever used ‘simple mountain bike style’ rim brakes (FYI these actually cantilever brakes) on a road bike? I like many have some on my CX bike and can say they are significantly worse than normal road brakes. As soon as they get a bit wet and muddy, especially on carbon rims, they might as well be forgetten. This is why mountain and CX bikes are increasingly going to discs. As for road brakes they have yet failed to provide me with enough stopping power and let me swap wheels between bikes with limited hassle. From my limited experience even reinstalling the same disc wheel on a bike after a tire change can require significant fiddling and I imagine swapping wheels set, especially if the wheels are used on multiple bikes, would require constant adjustment. I have no problem throwing Canti’s in the dust bin of history but I will keep rim brakes on my road bike.
