Are disk brakes worth it?

[jazclrint]

Hey,
Yes me again.  I am a hardcore XC guy.  I live in Maine, so mud is a factor, but I'm after weight numbers too.  I know, I need to lose 20-30 lbs, but it is imbarrising to have a bike as tricked out as mine, and it still be over 26 lbs.  I have Paul levers on now, which did not like working with my SRAM brakes.  So now I have Paul Moto(lite?) brakes.  Paul says the combo should give me more than enough braking power, and they are light.  Not as light as his new ones, but light none the less.  So, the question is are the disk brakes really worth the effort of the mods, not to mention the weight added!  Disk wheels are heavy.  And I don't know how much the rear bracket weighs, or where to get it!  And the front bracket for the carbon forks looks heffty.  Much less the brakes themselves.  I know I have purchced some exceptional brakes, but have yet to try them to see how they work with my Rolf Dolomite wheels.  Any insite or opinions are greatly appriciated.  I do like to race, but only in sport class.  I have a seveer lack of talent off road.  I do much better on road, even though I mostly race XC.  But everyone seems to gain several mph at race time.
Thanks.

[Dennis]

seems like v-brakes are the answer for you. Brakes like Paul's work exceptionally well, and will be lighter than discs.

with all that mud around, you will be going through some wheels, but rims are expendable items when you have v-brakes.

stick with the paul brakes, they should be awesome!

in the future, you may want to get ceramic rims.


[smiley=groucho.gif]

[Old Proflexer]

"the question is are the disk brakes really worth the effort of the mods, not to mention the weight added!"  -

Yes

But, if you already have very good brakes and they work well for your intentions  -

No

(Hope that clears things up a bit for you)

OP

[shovelon]

I went through the same quandry you are. I love my Avid Mag V-brakes. Everyone raved about Disks and I was holding out until I realised that the forks I want are disk specific.

So I went through a long research process and asked around and posted queries with this group. I Ebayed in some cheap Maguras and built a front wheel to my specs. I have it mounted and been using it for about 2 months now.

WOW! The front works so much smother than the rear.

Terry

[ChilliConCarnage]

OP said it best.

Of course, discs LOOK cooler, and sometimes looking cooler is enough!

That's why all of my bikes have been converted to disc (less my Caballero, and I'm working on fixing that now).

Besides, with the amount of mud around here (K2's backyard near Seattle) discs work so much better.  So, if you have a lot of mud....

[rapiddescent]

the problem with disks is there is a heck of a lot to upgrade all at once if you don't have disk enabled hubs.  my advice is to go for a good quality V-Brake and then get a disk enabled bike next time when the bike is ready for renewal.

The lighter disk brakes now are lighter than the latest XTR V-brakes - Hope Mno Mini and Formula B4SL.  however, the biggest weight-saving is on your wallet - which will be incredibly lighter afterwards!

callum
rd scotland  

[jazclrint]

I think that's exactly what I'll do.
Thanks.