Disk or V brake, pros and cons.

[flecc]

Thanks Lloyd, that's been exactly my point, like for like and not comparisons of poor with good.

And to add more complication, there's one more thing in the mix, though it's more relevant to cars, and that's the materials technology.

The design start point in cars is the intended cost of the car. That determines the best materials for discs and pads compatible with that.

The chosen disc and pad material then determines the maximum pad pressure commensurate with acceptable wear.

That then leaves only one variable possible for changes in braking effectiveness, the disc diameter, larger for faster and/or heavier cars, smaller for lighter and/or slower.

Heat is at the end of the design process and any heat resulting is dealt with by heat sinking, disc perforation and/or air flow changes including ducting.
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[Stephen-Gately]

Brakes are highly overated, they only slow you down.

 

[Footie]

Cause suicide is painless,
It brings on many changes,
And I can take or leave it if I please


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[Mandy]

Disc Brakes

Hi Guys

Well my Shimano front disc brake hasn't needed adjusting sice fitting around 7 months ago
However the back rim brakes need much more adjustments made and had one set of pads replaced in the full nine months i've owned my Wisper.
Am I lucky or what!
I use equal pressure to each brake lever so am not using one more than tother and boy I put them through some punishment!!

Talking of fashion accesories? Check these babies out
Seriously though it's a good site for all of your cycling needs.

Brakes Disc Rotors | Buy Now at ChainReactionCycles.com

Regards

 

[dazzie]

Sorry to barge in on the thread but take a look at the Buell range on motorcycles:

Features | Buell 1125R | Sportbike | Bikes | Buell Motorcycles

Rim mounted hydraulic disc Best of both worlds

 

[Caph]

There are disc brakes that aren't hydraulic. These are a waste of space, as they are really for looks only.

No, no, no. Just type "avid bb7 review" (one of the better mechanical disk brakes) in to Google and read what people say to see how wrong this statement is. A lot of people say they out perform hydraulics.

My personal experience is that my disk brakes (mechanical) outperform my rim brakes. I appreciate that this may be down to personal preference, but to say that mechanical disk brakes are "a waste of space" is just plain wrong.

 

[Phil the drill]

No, no, no. Just type "avid bb7 review" (one of the better mechanical disk brakes) in to Google and read what people say to see how wrong this statement is. A lot of people say they out perform hydraulics.

My personal experience is that my disk brakes (mechanical) outperform my rim brakes. I appreciate that this may be down to personal preference, but to say that mechanical disk brakes are "a waste of space" is just plain wrong.

Seconded.
I found that my (Avid BB7) is excellent and easily out performs my rim brakes - especially on wet and muddy lanes. I agree that most mechanical disc brakes are pants though! It's a matter of design, a good mech. disc is a good brake - you have to compare on a quality for quality basis. Mind you I would have fitted hydraulics, but the loss of motor cut out switches could be a problem.

Phil

 

[Cyclezee]

After 14 months and over 2500 miles my wave frame Agattu is need of new brake pads. I'm considering upgrading to Magura HS 11 hydraulic rim brakes as fitted to the Kalkhoff Tasman. There are two reasons for this, having used these before on another bike, I found there was much less maintainace and adjustment required compared to V brakes and they were more powerful with less of a tendancy to lock a wheel under heavy braking.

1. A few questions:- does anyone know if it would be possible to feed the the rear brake hose through the frame just like the rear brake cable is currently?
2. Is there another manufacturer of hydraulic rim brakes other than Magura?
3. Should I just change the pads and forget hydraulics?

J hn

 

[frank9755]

John, I would say that if you enjoy fiddling around with bikes as an activity in itself, change them, otherwise don't bother - just get some new Koolstop blocks. All I know about Agattu brakes is that people don't seem to complain about them, so they're probably ok, and you wouldn't gain much from the work of changing.

I would have thought more powerful brakes would be more likely to lock a wheel...?

 

[flecc]

There are other manufacturers of hydraulic brakes, Avid for example, but if undertaking the work and expense of converting to them, I think it's probably best to go for the acknowledged market leader.

I doubt if Derby would have two different frames for the Tasman and Agattu, so hopefully the frame holes are big enough for the hoses, though that might not be the case on your early Agattu, out before the Tasman was introduced.

Personally I'd just change the pads, given how good the standard brakes are.
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[Alex728]

If the Aggatu has v-brakes I'd just stick with them, not had that many problems adjusting them provided you adjust the centering screws well..

I've only ever used v-brakes or cantis on my bikes and have never had a problem stopping including emergencies, have never managed to lock a wheel to the point of things becoming dangerous...

at one particular incident in Reading, three cyclists including myself all came to the same point of a 3 way junction (all coming from different directions) at the exact time a kitten decided to run out from underneath a car - straight into the middle of all of us.

I was on a tourer with cantis, the second chap on a MTB, the third on a road bike with caliper brakes.

the three cyclists had to carry out simultaneous emergency stops - all four of us escaped totally unscathed and relatively unshaken, particularly the kitten which was completely oblivious to the mayhem it had caused ..

 

[Cyclezee]

Thanks for your opinions guys,

I think I will go with the majority opinion on this one and stick with V brakes, which to be honest have not been a problem. Converting to hydraulic would not be cost effective.

J hn

 

[LazyViking]

When I bought my Agattu I asked the shop to swap the V-brakes with Magura HS11s. This cost me £100. I use the bike for commuting all year round, also in freezing conditions.

I do a lot of trailer pulling (Burley D'Lite trailer and FollowMe tandem coupling) with up to 60kg, so good brakes are essential.

Hydraulic brakes don't suffer from cables freezing up and I find the performance of the back brake is much better than cable-based brakes. Unfortunately the Nexus gear cable (or is it the gears) is very prone to sticking in cold weather. From my experience hydraulic brakes are also much less maintainance than cable brakes.

That being said I have experienced a leak (fairly easy to fix), and the brakes cyclinders need regular lubrication to avoid seizures caused by salt. I also find that I use many brake blocks (expensive) when there is salt on the road.

I now have 3 bikes with hydraulic brakes, and I'm sure I will get hydraulic brakes next time too. You have to weigh up the cost/benifit compared to your requirements and budget

--LazyViking