Disk Brakes

I’ve just recently brought myself a new Giant Thermo 1 with disc brakes. All my other bikes that I have owned in the past have all had V-brakes. My question is how well do they wear. thanks

Wickid. You will love disc brakes. The advantages are endless. By wear, I assume your refering to the pad life...in my opinion, they wear quicker then v-brakes. My old bike lasted 4 years on the one set of v-brake pads and since having my new bike equipped with discs, (going on 3 years) ive had 2 sets of pads in them. If your particularly pedantic about it, look into the aftermarket pads...they tend to be a little more hardwearing then the OEM ones.

I much prefer the stopping power of disk brakes to V-brakes but I have found that most disks have a more on/off feel whereas my xtr Vees had fantastic modulation. As for pad wear rates I couldn't disagree more I am afraid. My Hope Mono M4's on my full susser are halfway through the pad life after about 6 months of hard riding. The xtr Vees on my hardtail run through a set of front pads every two rides and a set of rear pads about every three rides. I use quite a soft brake block but that is still very quick wear. vee brakes have the on the fly adjustment knob for a reason!!!!

Both brakes work very well, the vees are a little bit lighter, but the stopping power is slightly more on the disks with the vees having better modulation. By modulation I mean that you can feel the amount of power you are putting through the brake and can increase of decrease by pulling the lever tighter or softer. Disk brakes are not so good with this in my opinion.

as with any other 'wear-out' component, brake pad life w/ discs varies from rider to rider. i've run discs exclusively for 3+ years, and i get about a year's life out of a set of pads. may have been a bit longer w/ vee's, but i don't remember; what i'm absolutely convinced of is the WAY better performance of discs! just from 'seat-of-the-pants' judgment, the 6" discs were about 75% more efficient than vee's, and the 8/7" discs i run now are that much better than the 6"! i felt no real diff in modulation. sure, discs weigh a fair amount more, but clydes like me couldn't care less about a couple ounces! i lose more weight than that by having ramen noodles instead of pizza for lunch!

bottom line, discs are for performance; vee's are for lighter weight, more accessibility of repl. parts, and the (admit it) retro-embrace of low-tech. not knocking the v-brake advocates, don't misread me, i'm just a disc convert. (i LOVE doing the usual moving dismount on my bike, and one-fingering a nose-wheelie w/ less effort than it takes to flick a Bic!)

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