M
mike
Guest
Ok, before I start out, let me describe the riding conditions in our
area.
I am primarily a XC rider, riding in everything from hard pack, hills,
gravel, swamps, clay, heavy mud and sometimes deep water. We have had
an extremely wet summer, so everything is generally wet.
One of the main people I ride/train with, just recently purchased a
+/- $5000 bike, with all the goodies, including disk brakes.
After our first ride, which included allot of water, mud and clay, his
disk brakes started making noise. The bike has been in for service,
disks trued, and still there is noise when he is not using the brakes.
Now, my question;
Why on earth, would anyone want disk brakes on a bike that they are
actually going to use for off-road riding?
His bike does not stop any better then mine with Shimano V-brakes
(wet, dry, packed with clay/mud).
His braking system is heavier and more complex then mine.
His disk brakes have very little clearance/tolerance. I have +/- 1/8
of an inch between my pads and my rims. Makes getting the **** out of
my brakes easy while on the trail.
Currently, I am in the market for a new bike in the $2500 - $4000
range.
As it stands, I can either purchase a lower end bike with V-brakes
(more then likely spend hours repairing it), custom build my own
(expensive and pron to component compatibility issues), or purchase
the bike of choice, remove the disk brakes, and install V-brakes,
provided the frame/forks have the mounting points (which is
unlikely).
I apologise for the rant.
Mike
mlawrenc(at)gmail.com
area.
I am primarily a XC rider, riding in everything from hard pack, hills,
gravel, swamps, clay, heavy mud and sometimes deep water. We have had
an extremely wet summer, so everything is generally wet.
One of the main people I ride/train with, just recently purchased a
+/- $5000 bike, with all the goodies, including disk brakes.
After our first ride, which included allot of water, mud and clay, his
disk brakes started making noise. The bike has been in for service,
disks trued, and still there is noise when he is not using the brakes.
Now, my question;
Why on earth, would anyone want disk brakes on a bike that they are
actually going to use for off-road riding?
His bike does not stop any better then mine with Shimano V-brakes
(wet, dry, packed with clay/mud).
His braking system is heavier and more complex then mine.
His disk brakes have very little clearance/tolerance. I have +/- 1/8
of an inch between my pads and my rims. Makes getting the **** out of
my brakes easy while on the trail.
Currently, I am in the market for a new bike in the $2500 - $4000
range.
As it stands, I can either purchase a lower end bike with V-brakes
(more then likely spend hours repairing it), custom build my own
(expensive and pron to component compatibility issues), or purchase
the bike of choice, remove the disk brakes, and install V-brakes,
provided the frame/forks have the mounting points (which is
unlikely).
I apologise for the rant.
Mike
mlawrenc(at)gmail.com