Hey Rock Stars!!!
Wich disc brake system os “less stressful” for carbon wheels?
Also for Disc wheels?
Cheers!!!
do you mean less stressful to own or less stress on hubs/spokes/rims?
I own both. I prefer 6 bolt.
- if you crash and severely warp a disc, almost any multi tool can get a 6 bolt rotor off so you can pedal home with one brake instead of needing to call for a ride.
- the bearings in a 6 bolt hub should be slightly wider set than a centerlock hub, which could improve bearing life and lateral stiffness. I doubt it’s enough to actually feel though.
- perhaps not in all cases, but it seems like 6 bolt rotors a few dollars cheaper per rotor than the equivalent centerlock model
On the other hand, centerlock rotors are easier to install. If you are having to swap rotors regularly for some reason, centerlock will save you time as long as you have a lockring tool handy.
- if you crash and severely warp a disc, almost any multi tool can get a 6 bolt rotor off so you can pedal home with one brake instead of needing to call for a ride.
I’ve never done this, but wouldn’t you just remove the caliper (two bolts, typically) and tie it to the frame or something? Seems easier to do that than either method of removing the rotor.
Or if it’s not waaay warped, just pull the pads, which is often tool-less.
What I’d say for those is
-
risk of the caliper going into your wheel if it’s not tied up right or comes loose. = big face plant.
-
pulling the pads out - OK until you end up pulling the lever couple of times as a natural reaction, and popping a piston out, pishing oil everywhere.
I also have both and prefer 6 bolt. After all it is the International Standard ! I.S.
So why the feck can’t bike industry manufacturers stick to International agreed standards rather than going and fecking up interchangability all the time !!
Also there’s even compatibility problems for the centre lock tools vs different hubs and axle variations. How shiite is that.
One of my mates had to buy 2 new tools (on top of the one he had) toswap his rotors from one whelset to another!
- if you crash and severely warp a disc, almost any multi tool can get a 6 bolt rotor off so you can pedal home with one brake instead of needing to call for a ride.
I’ve never done this, but wouldn’t you just remove the caliper (two bolts, typically) and tie it to the frame or something? Seems easier to do that than either method of removing the rotor.
Or if it’s not waaay warped, just pull the pads, which is often tool-less.
to be honest, i’ve never done it either and probably never will…but i like to know that i could if i had to. I’d rather remove the disc than the caliper. I don’t know what i would tie the caliper to the frame with.
Hey Rock Stars!!!
Wich disc brake system os “less stressful” for carbon wheels?
Also for Disc wheels?
Cheers!!!
centerlock all the way. not only is install much better - you have to pull those rotors off and put them on more often than you think - i have stripped the head of 1 of the 6 bolts more than once on the 6 bolt system. i expect 6 bolt to be dead and buried as a platform pretty soon.
Hey, thx everyone for your input!!
Hey Rock Stars!!!
Wich disc brake system os “less stressful” for carbon wheels?
Also for Disc wheels?
Cheers!!!
centerlock all the way. not only is install much better - you have to pull those rotors off and put them on more often than you think - i have stripped the head of 1 of the 6 bolts more than once on the 6 bolt system. i expect 6 bolt to be dead and buried as a platform pretty soon.
The thing I want to discuss is the forces applied to the hub (bearings and spokes).
Wich system is more stressful for the hub, and if tudo stress is transmitted to the spokes, and therefore , to the rims
Does it make any Sensei?
The force is the same.
The force is the same.
So the stress load os the same for each kind ir hub?
Centerlock.
One time I started a 6 hour mountain bike race with maybe ~12 mile laps. Somehow my rear 6-bolt came loose. The bolts had normal thread lock. By the time I noticed, 3 bolts were completely missing. The remaining 3 were loose enough that my rear brake failed. This happened on lap one. I had plenty of tools with me, but no extra 6-bolts. I still have no idea how this happened, but I know it will never happen to me again because I will never use 6-bolt again.
The force is the same.
So the stress load os the same for each kind ir hub?
that is an interesting question and though I do not know the answer , when I look at my bike with 6 bolt, it is a solid part of the hub flange on that side, so once the force makes it past the bolt connection it will spread out around the solid flange to hub and spokes, the center lock has a mechanical spline connection that may or may not distribute the force evenly to the hub flange and spokes? So maybe with time and wear the splines may wear and the force may not distribute evenly?
I would love to hear from a mechanical engineer who understands the forces and stresses in the system.
Hey, thx everyone for your input!!
Hey Rock Stars!!!
Wich disc brake system os “less stressful” for carbon wheels?
Also for Disc wheels?
Cheers!!!
centerlock all the way. not only is install much better - you have to pull those rotors off and put them on more often than you think - i have stripped the head of 1 of the 6 bolts more than once on the 6 bolt system. i expect 6 bolt to be dead and buried as a platform pretty soon.
The thing I want to discuss is the forces applied to the hub (bearings and spokes).
Wich system is more stressful for the hub, and if tudo stress is transmitted to the spokes, and therefore , to the rims
Does it make any Sensei?
it’s moot. go back 15 or 20 years, stiffness was everything. how stiff is the crank arm? the pedal spindle? when the real question should’ve been: is (whatever it is) stiff enough? the industry learned from that. it’s not 100 percent analogous, but the big picture question is the same. is centerlock strong enough? since the force of the brake pads are not applied laterally, it doesn’t really matter that the rotors are attached X radius from the wheel axle. yes, X is a bigger number with 6 bolt than with centerlock, but i haven’t ever experienced flex in the hub that translates to a change in the rotor’s orientation to the pads.
SRAM was a champion of 6 bolt, but over the last few years every wheel i get from them has been set up centerlock. shimano just built a better standard. i don’t even think SRAM makes any of its newer wheels with anything but centerlock anymore.
Centerlock.
One time I started a 6 hour mountain bike race with maybe ~12 mile laps. Somehow my rear 6-bolt came loose. The bolts had normal thread lock. By the time I noticed, 3 bolts were completely missing. The remaining 3 were loose enough that my rear brake failed. This happened on lap one. I had plenty of tools with me, but no extra 6-bolts. I still have no idea how this happened, but I know it will never happen to me again because I will never use 6-bolt again.
Stepve Peat used to race with only 3 of the 6 bolts fitted on purpose !
Hey Rock Stars!!!
Wich disc brake system os “less stressful” for carbon wheels?
Also for Disc wheels?
Cheers!!!
centerlock all the way. not only is install much better - you have to pull those rotors off and put them on more often than you think - i have stripped the head of 1 of the 6 bolts more than once on the 6 bolt system. i expect 6 bolt to be dead and buried as a platform pretty soon.
Thank you for confirming what I thought!
Also, can we just switch everything to Torx already…?
Hey Rock Stars!!!
Wich disc brake system os “less stressful” for carbon wheels?
Also for Disc wheels?
Cheers!!!
centerlock all the way. not only is install much better - you have to pull those rotors off and put them on more often than you think - i have stripped the head of 1 of the 6 bolts more than once on the 6 bolt system. i expect 6 bolt to be dead and buried as a platform pretty soon.
Thank you for confirming what I thought!
Also, can we just switch everything to Torx already…?
well… SRAM 6 bolt was Torx 
but as i said in the post above, i don’t believe SRAM makes any 6 bolt hubs any longer, for its newer releases.
3 tight bolts is better than 6 loose bolts I bet.
Thx for your inputs!!!
I’m a fan of six bolt. Since 1994 never had one issue. Why go Centerlock when 6 bolt just plain works. I install and always titanium bolts, anti Seize and a torque wrench in thousands of miles off road and on road. Always just happiness.
The force is the same.
So the stress load os the same for each kind ir hub?
that is an interesting question and though I do not know the answer , when I look at my bike with 6 bolt, it is a solid part of the hub flange on that side, so once the force makes it past the bolt connection it will spread out around the solid flange to hub and spokes, the center lock has a mechanical spline connection that may or may not distribute the force evenly to the hub flange and spokes? So maybe with time and wear the splines may wear and the force may not distribute evenly?
I would love to hear from a mechanical engineer who understands the forces and stresses in the system.
On the majority of hubs I’ve seen, the rotor mount isn’t directly on the flange, but at least a few mm away from it. Usually the hubs with the mount directly on the flange are older or lower end hubs. On most hubs, the hub is stepped down behind the rotor mount to about the same diameter as the center of the hub shell, so there shouldn’t be any significant difference in the stress transmitted to the flange…
I am with you. Center lock is the solution to a problem that didn’t exist.