Will UCI ever legalize disc's?

[pushstart]

There is definitely still a contingent of retrogrouches that swear by downtube shifters, but I think the analogy to electronic shifting is a fair one. There are tradeoffs there, obviously. I personally still run mechanical and don't feel compelled to switch, but everyone I have talked to that owns electronic says it is awesome; I imagine my next bike will be electronic. (Obviously not everyone feels that way.). I suspect it will become more revolutionary when it is wireless. I fully expect that electronic shifting will replace mechanical for road (and probably mountain) bikes at all but entry level or niche bikes. Just as I expect disc brakes to do the same. On balance, I probably think disc brake adoption will be more universal, since it is more difficult to deal with the mixture if disc- and rim-brake setups in the peleton. I am sure in a few years this debate over whether they should be allowed will seem silly. It seem silly to me already

An interesting discussion, anyway. It is exciting to witness changes like this happening to the bicycle, which tends to change very little and slowly. There certainly are some negatives: not rotor burns or crashes; those are silly arguments, but things like the effect of wider spacing on frame geo, logistics of wheel changes with various axle standards, immaturity of aerodynamic development, etc. I think everyone agrees that when it comes to stopping the bicycle, though, the disc brake is a far better solution to the problem.

[Calnago]

... I am sure in a few years this debate over whether they should be allowed will seem silly. It seem silly to me already

Me too

[Calnago]

...I think everyone agrees that when it comes to stopping the bicycle, though, the disc brake is a far better solution to the problem.

There's a problem?

[pushstart]

...I think everyone agrees that when it comes to stopping the bicycle, though, the disc brake is a far better solution to the problem.

There's a problem?

Yes, the problem is "how to stop moving bicycle". Rim brakes are one solution; discs are another.

[ianSWBB]

Thinking commercially, a lot of the top end bikes are now available in disc brake versions

Colnago & Pinarello have particularly embraced the revolution!!

I'd be surprised if these companies would have invested the millions needed to get it right, if they didn't have inside information that they were going to be 99% sure of them being approved - taking a punt on their lower end models probably isn't so much of a risk, but developing the C60 or the Dogma, as a disc brake version, that takes time and money and lots of testing to get it to the standard that consumers will expect of a £3k+ frameset - working on Ian's theory of pricing (thirdish frameset, thirdish grouppo, thirdish wheels), these framesets are going to build into £7k, £8k, £9k, £10k bikes - so they need to be amazingly perfect and not just OK

So am 99% sure we will see disc brake bikes in the Peleton in the not too distant future (latest from Campag is that it will be the 2016 range before their disc brake systems are available - would be surprised if the UCI said yes before Campag have the correct componentry available)

We have already built quite a few disc brake road bikes - building our own tubular rim wheels, we have had no real issues getting to 6.8kgs - changing wheels isn't particularly quick though and would be unbelievably difficult to adjust whilst the rider is hanging onto the side of the team car doing 30mph!! after the first 10 miles in 'sticky bottle' mode, I can imagine the commissaires getting a bit irate - so imagine it would be a bike change, rather than a wheel change when a problem arises - to that end, they're going to need at least a couple of bikes each, for each stage - so a team of 9 riders, we're looking at upwards of 20 spare bikes!! - that's a lot of team cars!!

Am sure they'll get there in the end

regards
ianSWBB

[Miller]

I remember when the first "ergo" Record shifters came out and I still have the first generation of these shifters. Shimano was quick to follow with STI. I cannot remember anyone arguing that it was gimmicky or wouldn't catch on or that it was merely manufacturers attempts to extract more dollars from a gullible group of cyclists.

That's because the internet hadn't been invented then. Seriously. I remember plenty of people arguing precisely that, not me though, I switched to ergo when Campag brought out their Veloce 8v ergo groupset in 1993.

Not to take away from your other sensible points however I'm pretty sure disc brakes will become universal in a few years. The manufacturers probably hope it will be a sea change like flat screen TVs sweeping away cathode ray tube sets. That means replacement of the entire fleet of people's road bikes; a very large addressable market.

[BCSS]

Cheers everybody contributing. However, most of the posts are opinions of people debating the sense and non sense of disc, however think would be much more interesting to hear experience of people that have disc brakes, in particular if they experienced any negatives (we had a few comments but very little compared to the opinion posts)

[Calnago]

I remember when the first "ergo" Record shifters came out and I still have the first generation of these shifters. Shimano was quick to follow with STI. I cannot remember anyone arguing that it was gimmicky or wouldn't catch on or that it was merely manufacturers attempts to extract more dollars from a gullible group of cyclists.

That's because the internet hadn't been invented then. Seriously. I remember plenty of people arguing precisely that, not me though, I switched to ergo when Campag brought out their Veloce 8v ergo groupset in 1993.

Not to take away from your other sensible points however I'm pretty sure disc brakes will become universal in a few years. The manufacturers probably hope it will be a sea change like flat screen TVs sweeping away cathode ray tube sets. That means replacement of the entire fleet of people's road bikes; a very large addressable market.

You make it sound like before the internet there was zero communication going on. But I hear you. And you're probably right... it's a matter of time, but I still believe the biggest beneficiaries will be the manufacturers, not the riders.

[dvincere]

Negatives to disc brakes?
I procured a disc brake CX bike to replace an ill-fitting ancient CX bike. It's geometry is pretty much road geometry, including the bb height drop being much more similar to a crit bike than a CX bike. Anyways, my road bike had to be retired due to unfortunate circumstances and then I raced the CX bike on the road. And I've been racing CX on it. Plus I am often riding it for training/commuting in all sorts of weather. I have NOTHING at all to say that's bad about it. And for our USAC races where there have been some disc bikes present for a couple years, there have been ZERO of these imagined problems. If it's not a UCI race or a national qualifying race, discs are good to race in the US. I haven't heard of one problem on fast descents due to braking power differences. I haven't seen any missing fingers or cauterized wounds. All I know is that when the weather gets shitty, my brakes may get a little noisy but they still work pretty much as perfectly as they would in the dry. I'll take it

[pushstart]

think would be much more interesting to hear experience of people that have disc brakes, in particular if they experienced any negatives

Yeah, sorry I think most of us feel it has been very positive which is why you aren't hearing things like "changing wheels sucks", etc. I crashed on my road disc bike (unrelated to braking) and had no issues with the disc brakes. Indeed, my front wheel was knocked out of true and rim would have been rubbing the pads had it been a rim-brake bike. As it was, no rotor rub etc. I have never heard of rotors bending due to crashes. I am sure it could happen in a very specific situation, but I have crashed my MTB and CX bikes countless times without bending rotors.

I would say that putting a wheel in requires a bit more care to line up the rotor in caliper. So going to be a little slower.

Pad wear for me seems to be better, though I was never good about tracking wear on rim brake pads. Different pads wear at different rates too. Definitely prefer changing disc-brake pads to rim brake pads. The only adjustment for me is tightening the cable (mechanical, shouldn't be needed for hydro).

Oh, noise is louder than most (road) rim brakes when wet. My brakes are pretty loud when it's raining.

[bm0p700f]

No negatives here either it is all as above.

[limniki]

I am in the same court as Padmasana, As an avid cyclist, I do look and wish for new technology on anything bicycle related. Its more about the journey then the hardware. Throughout my cycling lifetime, 40 years, I have gone from coaster brakes to DI2/Hydro Disc. Its a matter of desire and access. I think all the arguments relevant to the disc brakes, i.e. aero, weight, travel, flats, etc., are all valid. I just want to experience the simple functionality of stopping on a dime and disc brakes allow me this capability. With the production of Carbon frames, the game has certainly changed. I would guess a majority of non disc cyclists who are against this apparatus are riding carbon framed bikes. This technology did not get disparaged and the criticism of Titanium was never worthy. My next bike will be old school, full titanium, rim brakes set up with the best aluminum wheels I can buy. I may stay with Shimano Di2, however my full campy bottechia is one of the silkiest quietist rides I have been on, I cannot criticize Italian technology. I believe Disc brakes are here to stay and people who have arguments for or against will maintain that position until they want something different, new, or hi tech. If the UCI legalizes disc brakes, this does not mean the racers will immediately change formats. Obviously, the aero, weight, performance are far more important to them then an avid cyclist who wishes to be at that level of riding. I remember when skis had no parabolic shape or rocker technology, just try to buy a pair of skis without these technological features. Just illustrating change is often hard to accept, but it is important for the survival of the sport to challenge itself and try new technology.

[kermit]

Here in Belgium, Almost all the cyclo-cross champions are riding canti's - not discs. Sven Nijs rides canti's. Only few youngsters are riding discs.

What I know, is that you can change brake pads between 200 and 1500km... Do the math if you average around 10.000km a year.

Not every new technology is better. Think about outer bearings for example. What a waste. If the weather is not dry, they wear very fast.

[-Robin-]

What I know, is that you can change brake pads between 200 and 1500km... Do the math if you average around 10.000km a year.

I have disc brakes on my commuter bike and my brake pads last for about 4000 km. Since I only commute about 6000 km/year, this means the 4000 km include at least one season with crappy weather. And before you state something about the weather in Belgium ... this is in Belgium

If I compare that to my previous commuter bike with V-brakes ... there were periods where I had to replace the brake pads every two weeks

[kermit]

What I know, is that you can change brake pads between 200 and 1500km... Do the math if you average around 10.000km a year.

I have disc brakes on my commuter bike and my brake pads last for about 4000 km. Since I only commute about 6000 km/year, this means the 4000 km include at least one season with crappy weather. And before you state something about the weather in Belgium ... this is in Belgium

If I compare that to my previous commuter bike with V-brakes ... there were periods where I had to replace the brake pads every two weeks

I have v-brake pads lasting 25000km on a commuter.
On a race bike my rim-brake pads last around 35000 km.