Rim brakes or disc brakes? 🤔

Should you choose disc brakes or rim brakes at entry level? Here are Ollie’s tips for checking out the components on your new entry level bike!

Which would you pick? 🆕🚲

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[olke]

Still riding rimbrakes. But I live in Berlin, where EVERYTHING is flat.

[Gee]

That’s a super good point actually. My friend got into cycling recently and bought a Triban RC500 with entry level disc brakes! We live in a mountainy and rainy area…
For him it’s a great choice since he’s also heavier and newer to cycling. Felt like the safer option in this case.

[stephenconnolly]

It doesn't matter with bicycle disc brakes if only one piston moves for braking, discs are designed for this. Good quality cable disc brakes are fine in my experience and less fiddly than hydraulics - I use TRP Spyre and Avid BB7 and those really work well. I don't know why Olly is making these rather banal and frankly silly points.

[Jay-Jo]

Rim brakes are for all around whether it's descent climbing speeding skidding brakes don't have specific purpose for places brakes are brakes

[xHadesStamps]

Yeah. As someone with a bike with rim brakes, they’re really not bad, and perfectly fine for where I live. Not like I’m in a mountainous region, though; I’m in the dissected till plains (known for having rolling hills). Not that I hate disk brakes; I don’t. Rim brakes, however, are perfectly fine.

[Rose_Butterfly]

Although we also need to keep in mind that entry level rim brakes may not work very well.
It's probably better nowadays, but 10 years ago, the Sora rim brakes really did not work. They would not stop the bike on steep descents. Which is an issue because some traffic lights are on a downslope and it would slow me down but it would not stop the bike.
If it was raining, it was like having no brakes at all.

[gwis]

And then you just replace wheels instead of disc rotors. When they worn out and thats not cheap. So cheap options are expensive in long term.

[knifesharpeningnorway]

How is the shimano 105 brakes? And are the Ridley grifn allroad aluminium frame any good?

[chrisp]

Hydraulic disks for the win. Wont get hand pain from braking down steep singletrack descents

[kearywilson]

I've both, disc for winter which is great but the only reason I bought a disc for dry/ summer riding bike is a bigger tyre options, the road conditions are absolutely shocking, and use of a larger tyre helps . But still use my rim brake bike on rides where I know the roads aren't bollocksed .

[reinholdachleitner]

I have old Shimano single pivot rim brakes from 1988 BR-L490's and once they bed in they are pretty strong.💯👌🏻🚴‍♂️

[EJMags]

I've had one 'racing' bmx with disc brakes ... Next day threw on mag wheels, coaster wheel, front v brake ... Ran through brake shoes almost every 2 weeks.

Now I'm pushing +20mph on a fixed gear with a front u-brake and havent had to replace a thing.

[matthopper]

I agree that single piston cable operated disc brakes are not as responsive as rim brakes, but the dual piston ones (ie. TRP Spyre) works almost as well as hydraulic for far cheaper. I've used both hydraulic and dual piston mechanical and still prefer the mechanical. They're far easier to service, especially if I have issues during a ride. It's not worth the cost and hassle for such a negligible performance gain.

[brynhendry]

I used to chew through 4 sets of rim brake pads per year. Haven't replaced my disc brake pads since buying new bike last year. Have 2 50kmh descents on my commute.

[diegoeleazar]

I dont feel safe riding rim brakes if everyone around me uses disc brakes..

[yourfriendlyneighborhoodjinx]

This, definitely. Grew up on rim brakes and my new bike is a cheap commuter with disc brakes and holy crap are they terrible. And unlike rim brakes you can't just swap pads to make it better, the core brake design is just bad because it's cheap.

[Archiconocido]

Problem is getting carbon wheels for rim brakes.

[larisonjohnson]

Or pick up a pair of used Dura Ace BR-9000, add some Swiss stop pads, and don’t feel like you settled….cuz you didn’t!

[alexanderresurreccion]

you can bought 2 piston mechanical brakes😅, there are cheap ones out there, I'm using one of it btw😅

[mooose]

So the question should be higher end rim brakes or entry level disk brakes