So, some of you will have kept tabs on these. I’m pondering switching so I can just run disc brakes on my race wheels.
Class A:
Latest new models, the drool section.
Class B:
What’s actually out there being used and coming up for 2nd hand grabs? Seen some P3x and even a P5 disc (non-x) but they 2nd hand around the £5k marker. Surely some of the Trek etc will drop soon? Or are we on the £1500 china-copy frame market?
These would probably help my woeful downhill skills but there will be a few about in the next 6 months as the dentists and southerners buy the new improved 2022 model.
So these are all the new models. Didn’t know Storck had one but can also add the Pina Bollide to that list if you want dentist pricing.
I guess they are all too new to filter down yet. Road bikes are starting to have a lot of budget disc brake models, thought TTs would have somewhat started catching up by now but perhaps not.
Might need to wait until there is a Speedmax Disc since it’s still my favourite looking TT.
I wouldn’t buy a Chinese copy frame but would have no problem buying a Chinese open mould frame. Many brands use open mould frames with a paint job and decals.
But then disc brakes have never been about being aero?
They’re about stopping power. If you have courses like Nice 70.3 Worlds last year, some people wanted the security of discs, so a TT disc brake bike will give you that. With not many available, a few on here used road bikes from memory.
I sold my rim brake P2 and bought a Venge Pro with discs. I love it. But then I live in Yorkshire so it’s mostly wet, poor roads, and lots of hills. I wanted a speedy bike for TTs, Draft Tris, and general riding.
I think that Disc brakes are actually more useful on a TT bike than a road bike. In my experience, aero brakes on TT bike are pretty poor, while calipers on a road bike are very good. My latest build with a set of SRAM AXS rim brakes has stunning stopping power, excellent modulation and they don’t shriek like discs.
I am a triathlete, meaning I race whatever the weather. I want my TT bike to stop, even when I am riding full speed, in the rain with deep rim carbon wheels. If its raining and I am on my road bike, I am probably taking it a little more cautiously, or riding a bike more suited to the rain
Hmm…as triathlon doesn’t pay my bills, work does, if it’s raining and looking sketchy, I’d go a little slower and try to get home alive, or with all of my skin intact.
What’s the SRAM AXS rim brakes on?
Also, have you tried the Mavic Exalith rims and brake combo?
Wondering if they’d be comparable to discs?
(Also, did a google - the aero benefit is negligible of disc vs rim, so…)
Isn’t the aero advantage with disc brakes (and Di2/eTap) that you can hide all the wiring and hoses away? I’m sure that was the logic behind the Venge going disc-only and one of the reasons why Specialized reckoned the disc version was more aero than its’ predecessor.
Re Mavic Exalith rims, I found them great in dry weather and slightly wet conditions, but in heavy rain they were awful. You’d get no braking at all and then they’d suddenly grab. I did a night ride years ago and most of us were riding the same team bikes with Exalith braking and we descended off Beachy Head into Eastbourne in the pouring rain and it was terrifying because none of us had proper braking.
Prime BlackEdition 28 Carbon Wheelset, on a Cervelo R5, They have a textured rim like the Mavic, and really great braking. They make a really nice noise when braking, and in the dry have excellent modulation, like a disc, they require very little pressure on the leaver (I am using R9000 Dura Ace levers). Not tried on any long technical descents, and not tried in the wet.
Once racing I lose the ability to go anything other than as fast as I can