Drop barred, disc braked race bikes

[tigger]

Sram are soon to launch road hydraulics. Having ridden BB5s for a year now I can't see why you need anything more than mechanical discs on road bikes? Hydraulics may offer a bit more modulation I suppose but not sure I'd want the extra maintenance hassle.

If my Boardman CX team weighed under 8kg I don't think my summer road bike would get a look in. One of the main reasons I won't consider a new road bike at the moment is because I don't think it will be future proofed with the new advent of discs

 

[tigger]

No sure that the geometry of this is quite racey enough, but change the tyres and maybe the wheels in time and its a helluva bike

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBPXXLSF/planet_x_xls_carbon_cyclo_cross_sram_force_bike

 

[StuAff]

Shimano hydraulic discs already being test ridden by pro CXers.

 

[lb81]

I think that road bikes are still perceived and marketed very much on weight and ever lighter components and there is no getting away from the fact disks, hubs, rotors etc are always going to weigh more than rim brakes.

But if you want disks then a light 'ish' cx is the obvious choice, I've had my boardman for just over 6 months as my only bike and it does everything from hard trail to long road rides just by changing tyre. (Ideally with a lighter wheel set with 25mm slicks pre fitted!) i wouldn't swap it now for anything except perhaps a better one.

Obviously not to everyone's tastes and ultra light road bikes clearly have their place well established, but for anyone wanting disks for road use etc should just buy a decent cx, stick on some slicks and wonder why you didn't get one sooner...

 

[User482]

Rim brakes are easy to set-up and adjust, discs are a bit fiddly. The Avid BB3 discs are supposed to be a real pain in the bum, requiring a special tool to adjust.

Hydraulic discs are extremely easy to adjust, and rarely need attention once set up. The only issue is bleeding, but in my experience that needs doing once per year at the absolute most.

I expect we'll see lots of bikes with electronic shifting and hydraulic discs in the next few years.

 

[uclown2002]

Sram are soon to launch road hydraulics. Having ridden BB5s for a year now I can't see why you need anything more than mechanical discs on road bikes? Hydraulics may offer a bit more modulation I suppose but not sure I'd want the extra maintenance hassle.

If my Boardman CX team weighed under 8kg I don't think my summer road bike would get a look in. One of the main reasons I won't consider a new road bike at the moment is because I don't think it will be future proofed with the new advent of discs

I'm looking at the Boardman CX, with a view to putting a thinner tyre on when weather allows. Would it take a 23 or 25mm?

 

[tigger]

I'm looking at the Boardman CX, with a view to putting a thinner tyre on when weather allows. Would it take a 23 or 25mm?

25mm is fine, 23mm may be a bit borderline. Great bike, love mine. Road geometry, a go anywhere workhorse with quality components at a great price. Looks cool too IMO.

 

[uclown2002]

25mm is fine, 23mm may be a bit borderline. Great bike, love mine. Road geometry, a go anywhere workhorse with quality components at a great price. Looks cool too IMO.

Excellent. This could well be my winter/commuting bike!

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

£3K and it's still mechanical discs ?
I'd wait, hydraulics for road levers are, apparently, not far away.

This will be the thing that brings change

Only issue I can see is that STI road shifters are still quite pricey for lower-end everyday use, STI road shifters with hydraulics will be more. Top spec race bikes, okay. For amateur use, then filtering down to a commuting / GP bike I would balk at having a protruding, first-thing-to-get-damaged component at the proice point that I see road hydraulic STIs coming in at

Maybe another 5 years or more

 

[Cycleops]

£3K and it's still mechanical discs ?
I'd wait, hydraulics for road levers are, apparently, not far away.

You'll be wanting servo assisted next.

 

[ianrauk]

I see (chat to) a chap on my commute, who like me rides a drop bar, disc braked bike.
An On One. Very nice it is too. It is a CycloCross bike but he changed the tyres for slicks. Weighs just over 9kgs which is pretty good. (My Kona is about 10kgs)

 

[Andrew Br]

That's like mine:-


On One Dirty Disco by Chocolatebike1, on Flickr

8.4kg in that trim ^.
It's currently my main road bike and I've done rides up to 175 miles on it.
The brake pads were replaced at ~7800 miles.

.

 

[ianrauk]

^ That's the one, except his has the logo's.

 

[PpPete]

£3K and it's still mechanical discs ?
I'd wait, hydraulics for road levers are, apparently, not far away.

You'll be wanting servo assisted next.

I won't .... I'm quite happy with rim brakes, thanks all the same.
Wearing out rims is a good thing in my book, it's a good excuse for a(nother) wheel upgrade.