One final note: disc brake rotors can also be changed and customised for more or less stopping power. Without the need for a brake caliper, there is more room for the wheel, and some disc brake road bikes can now accommodate up to 38mm wide tyres. Off-road riders – from mountain bikers and cyclo-cross racers to gravel enthusiasts and bikepackers – love disc brakes because they allow for wider rims and more tyre clearance.
This is one of the biggest reasons that cyclists choose disc brakes over rim brakes, especially during winter. Variable weather conditions can hinder the performance of rim brakes, which puts you in a position where you don’t know how or when to apply your braking power in order to stop. Not only are disc brakes powerful, but they also require much less force to be applied at the lever, which is a great feature for kids, beginner-level and older riders.ĭisc brakes also function well in all sorts of weather conditions such as rain, sleet, and mud. They also generate significantly more stopping power than rim brakes, which comes in handy on steep descents and in races.
It’s just like using the brakes in your car – you can apply them gradually as you’re approaching a traffic signal, or you can apply them full-stop if something jumps onto the road in front of you. This means that you won’t be able to experiment with the two different kinds of brakes without getting a completely different bike.Ĭannondale SuperSix Evo equipped with disc brakes (Image credit: Colin Levitch) Why disc brakes are betterĭisc brakes have a level of modulation to them, which allows you to feather the brakes, and apply them lightly, hard, or somewhere in between. The design of disc brakes is not compatible with a rim brake bike, and vice versa. When shopping for a bike (or a bike frame), you will often find two different options: the disc brake version and the rim brake version. However modern-day brakes are a lot more nuanced than that, and each type of brake – disc or rim – has advantages and disadvantages. Whether they are disc brakes or rim brakes, their purpose is to slow down your wheels until they stop spinning altogether.īrakes are important in so many different scenarios, including race situations, traffic, descents, stop lights, or an unexpected run-in with wildlife (or distracted pedestrians). Perhaps we’re stating the obvious here, but brakes are important because they bring you to a stop. Tadej Pogačar descending on a rim-brake bike at the Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images) Why brakes are so important In the case of road bikes, you're most likely to encounter the latter.Īll rim brake types are quite finicky to set up, but with wider clearances between pad and rim, there's more margin for error than disc brakes, and once they're in place they shouldn't require much maintenance besides replacing worn-out brake pads and replacing cables when needed. Depending on the age and price bracket of your bike, there are actually three commonly used rim brake types: V-brake, Cantilever, and Caliper. Rim brakes are often mounted near the top of the fork for the front brake, and at the top of the seatstays for the rear brake. However, you’ll need to build extra room into your budget for hydraulic-specific shifters, and the fluid-driven system can be difficult to set up, unless you’re an experienced bike mechanic and have a bleed kit to hand. Hydraulic disc brakes, on the other hand, offer the best and most efficient braking performance due to the lack of friction thanks to not having a cable. They can also suffer from cable contamination and wear, just like any other cable on your bike. However, they can require more maintenance as they require frequent adjustment as pads wear down. Mechanical disc brakes are also cheaper than comparable hydraulic disc brakes, both in terms of the brakes themselves and the bikes designed for them. Geared toward the casual rider and at-home mechanic, the biggest upside of mechanical disc brakes is that they are compatible with normal rim brake shifters. Mechanical brakes transfer the braking force to the brake calliper via a braided steel cable, while hydraulic disc brakes use a sealed fluid system to transfer braking power to the calipers.
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