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Disc v rim brakes



A well worn argument on cycling forums all over the internet. The discussions quickly seem to descend into insults, which all seems a bit unnecessary when all we're talking about is a bike braking system. For now, I'm sticking to my rim brakes, here's why:

Garage full of wheels
Like most cyclists I've got a few sets of wheels hanging around and unsurprisingly they're all rim brake. Also, I think we'll see lots of nice high-end rim brake wheels coming up on eBay in the next year or two as others make the switch.

Have we reached a standard yet?
Well the answer may well be yes as the industry settles on thru axles in 100x12 front and 100x142 rear, but perhaps give it a year or two? There are plenty of road disc brake frames using quick releases out there that are now looking obsolete after only a couple of years.

Weight and price
I've deliberately put weight and price together. Yes, if you're riding the Tour you can get a disc brake bike built close to the weight limit, but for mere mortals it'll cost you. For the same price a typical rim brake bike is maybe 500g lighter than the disc equivalent. Considering some of the crazy money you can spend to drop a few grammes from your bike, that's a chunk of weight.

Noise
One that matters to me whilst others may not care. My rim brakes are set up to be almost silent, whereas discs will tend to squel. They have got better though.

Ease of maintenance
Disc enthusiasts will say the system is fit and forget, but I travel a lot with my bike dismantled, and am forever fettling it and taking it to bits, so simple cables and rim brakes are a plus.

Aesthetics
One that probably depends on what cycling generation you belong to, but I prefer the look of rim brakes. I would admit though that discs can look at home on a really modern carbon road bike.

Who cares about wet weather anyway?
So if I was commuting or racing and had to ride in the rain it would be different, but I ride when I feel like it, and if it's raining I'll generally give it a miss.

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