I have loved riding my mountain bike for upwards of a decade. In recent times it would qualify more as a hybrid bike because of the alterations I’ve made to add more comfort to the ride. This gets to be more necessary to us once we grow older.
One place where I believed it was always lacking was the brakes. While they are Shimano center pull caliper brakes, they simply will not perform well in damp weather or muddy conditions. So I was pleasantly surprised when I recently borrowed a friends bike with new disc brakes. On the list of major benefits of bicycle disc brakes could be the fantastic all-weather performance. One more point I really like is there isn’t any maintenance needed in contrast to the normal adjustments needed on cable activated standard brakes. After you install the disc brakes, setup the calipers you’ll be able to simply forget about them.
Needless to say if you do decide to upgrade to disc brakes you’ll find them more costly then traditional rim brakes. However their effectiveness is so good that most will gladly pay the purchase price. One other negative could be that the disc brake assemblies and rotor do add some weight to your bicycle. Once again, you have to decide if considering your riding habits, this can be suitable. In many instances to switch to bicycle disc brakes you will require new wheels also. Disc rims cannot be set up on regular hubs used with typical rim brake wheels.
Even though it will take some effort and extra cost to up grade to bicycle disc brakes, if you would like far better and consistently improved brake overall performance in most conditions, disc brakes are a great investment. However you must determine if the price is worthwhile. Seriously speaking, not everyone truly has to upgrade to bicycle disc brakes. Many riders are very pleased with their rim brake and ride in an natural environment where rim brakes manage the job such as in flat and dry terrain. However as you take to more steeper trails and wetter conditions, disc brakes become most effective. An additional point to think about is if you are a 200 lb rider as i am, you’ll really appreciate the improvement in braking power.
I’ve tested the Shimano disc brakes and as with all of Shimano bicycle parts, they performed flawlessly under almost any conditions from mountain trails to riding through creek beds.
In addition to Shimano, based on reports, Avid disc brakes, Hayes disc brakes, and Tektro disc brakes are all easily obtainable in kits and as individual components making it possible to suit almost any application needed.
