Cross disc brakes

Kirt

Kirt

JORBA: Chimney Rock, Team MTBNJ.COM
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Ok now that the season is over I'd like discuss disc brakes again. At some point I'd like to get something new for next season but am wondering if it's time to make the jump or not. Lots of great deals on non-disc models, a trend I think will continue for the next few seasons until most are riding disc. What would you do? Any & all opinions welcomed.

thanks
 
My next bike will definitely be disc, I am hopeful to see more options for next season but am not sure if it will be enough to jump yet.
 
Kirt, Don't you already have a CX wheelset? That is the only thing holding a lot of people (not me, I'm just cheap as shit) back from jumping onto those disc bikes. I think Team O has 30 wheelsets to update and are going disc is 2037.
 
I'm not going disc. In fact I'm hoping to score a carbon cx frame before next season. My honest opinion is that cx brakes are not nearly as important as road or MTB. The only thing that is attractive about the disc brake idea is that mud, grass, hay, straw etc wouldn't get all bound up in the brakes.
 
I would wait until the kinks are worked out with the hydro disc brakes before making the jump. Once there is more than two models, the frames will follow quickly. If you want to do it before next season, wait until right before.
 
I feel, sooner or later the only place you will find a braking surface on any rim is in an eBay archive. That is something that appears to be trending across the entire pedal powered arena...
I.e., mtb, happening in cx and the beginning of a push on the road .

That being said I hope it is later in cx. I obviously am not blind or ignorant to the direction that braking in cx is going at an unstoppable race pace. (Insert corny pun snickers).* I, for one, enjoy the thrill of not being 100% sure I am going to be able to stop my bike in time while cornering or screaming down a hill towards a skinny plastic stake only padded with one twirl of Shimano or sram marker tape....I'm just not ready to let go. Plus my current brakes match my current frame colors...looking good is half the battle...right?

When you ride in the part of the pack I do its the little things you look fwd to and enjoy on your journey to the podium.

If im ever a contender for the podium my tune may change.
 
I am going disc next year. Using Chris King as a bell weather, the 135 spacing seems intact. As for hydros, I don't feel they ate necessary given the relatively low speeds. Most pros running disc seem happy enough with Hopes and BB7's.
 
RNG1 said:
The only thing that is attractive about the disc brake idea is that mud, grass, hay, straw etc wouldn't get all bound up in the brakes.
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This idea is always thrown around but I spoke to somebody this season with a hydro cx setup who said it was just as prone to jamming up with gunk as rim brakes when it was muddy. Maybe mechanicals have better pad clearance?

I'd like to hear more feedback from people who ran multiple disc wheelsets this season. Swapping wheels on a mtb is a bit of a pain since rotors never seem to be in the same place. Canti's give you a lot of wiggle room.

135 seems to have become the rear standard which makes sense if you want dual duty cx/29er tubeless rims but it means you can't use those fancy tubulars for the road season anymore. At least not until 135 spaced disc road bikes take off.

Not that we will be making the leap until 2037 or anything.
 
Delish said:
This idea is always thrown around but I spoke to somebody this season with a hydro cx setup who said it was just as prone to jamming up with gunk as rim brakes when it was muddy. Maybe mechanicals have better pad clearance?

I'd like to hear more feedback from people who ran multiple disc wheelsets this season. Swapping wheels on a mtb is a bit of a pain since rotors never seem to be in the same place. Canti's give you a lot of wiggle room.

135 seems to have become the rear standard which makes sense if you want dual duty cx/29er tubeless rims but it means you can't use those fancy tubulars for the road season anymore. At least not until 135 spaced disc road bikes take off.

Not that we will be making the leap until 2037 or anything.
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My Enve MTB tubeless will be doing double duty and I may set up some tubular discs with some Grifo's. Will be selling the Edge 2.25's to fund some of this. I'm hoping for better caliper tolerances vs the different rim width/brake pad stuff I dealt with the past 2 yrs.
 
Scalpeler said:
I

When you ride in the part of the pack I do its the little things you look fwd to and enjoy on your journey to the podium.

If im ever a contender for the podium my tune may change.
Click to expand...

One thing I've learned is the best chance of getting on the podium in cx is to hardly touch the brakes. Seriously. But I agree with your point. If the brakes don't work as well you will naturally carry more speed which obviously means carrying more speed and momentum. Thus, shitty brakes could be seen advantageous. That's what I'm going with.

My only real concern is rim wear actually with non disc brakes.
 
Right now the BB7 Road is the best caliper for CX. The guys I know that run them seem to have about the same issues as riding cantis. They still fill up with mud, they still go through pads, and they still don't work in the bad stuff. Think about how your MTB brake works when you're at 6-Mile on a muddy day, a CX disc will be the same.

I like the idea and will probably end up owning a disc bike at some point, like when someone other than Avid makes a brake.

I more like the idea of building up a pair of disc Major Toms and then running Challenge MTB tubies on them during the mountain bike season :D

-Jim.
 
TedH said:
Would Beloki have preferred discs in 2003?
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I assume you are referring to THE crash? Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought it was caused by him hitting a patch of greasy molten road tar magma.
 
Delish said:
I assume you are referring to THE crash? Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought it was caused by him hitting a patch of greasy molten road tar magma.
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The tubular rolled, which was deemed heat related, in addition to the magma.
 
TedH said:
The tubular rolled, which was deemed heat related, in addition to the magma.
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I believe he hit the patch of greasy molten road tar magma and slid first.
The tubular rolled when the patch of road tar ended and clean pavement began and grabbed the tire.
 
Having watched that clip a gazillion times I agree with Lance. But, it's all about as useful as discussing the Zapruter tapes. Ted's point is well taken tough since I've spent a few late nights in the basement recently with the fair wife's hair dryer warming mastik to make it easier to clean rims after my Horseshoe triple toobie fail.

Disc brakes will eventually be the standard. There is no question that making the key structural component (i.e. the rim) also a wear item is a bad idea. But are we buying a Newton now and should I just wait for the iPad.
 
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To answer the original question:
I got my first CX bike this year.
I opted to go with discs so that I could be more 'future-proof'
Since I've never ridden CX with canits, I can't give the pros & cons of each.
I can only say that I was happy with the discs.
I did 10 races, and only one of those had muddy conditions. And extremely muddy conditions they were.
The discs worked exactly the same in the mud as they did on the driest of the dry days. I saw no difference regardless of the conditions.
 
jimvreeland said:
Think about how your MTB brake works when you're at 6-Mile on a muddy day, a CX disc will be the same.

-Jim.
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I just experience this in a big way a few weeks ago. There was nothing when I squeeze the lever.... luckily I was able to hold the line and make the turn.
Mud is Mud. There is no stopping it.
 
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