@Paul...I hear you on the quick adaptation of 10 to 11 speed...one of the reasons this was quick is related to minimal redesign requirements of the bike/wheels ....this allows the the 10 or 11 spd wheels to be interchangeable between most bikes/vintages by using simple spacers @ the freehub....whereas road disc brakes are a different animal in that the front/rear fork needs redesign since it holds the caliper and wheel hubs are different to accomodate the disc... interchangeability/backwards compatibility will NOT exist for all intents and purposes... i.e. you will have dedicated wheels/bikes when you head down the disc brake path...also based on what i've read there's also a slight wieght and aero penalty associated with disc systems
@ CC rims - Both Rich & Tim express common user experiences (don't like the feel)...thus many people prefer alum brake tracks...lastly for best performance you should change brake pads when switching between CC vs. Alum rims
As a side note - engineering rule of thumb for brakes - front brakes generate 75% and rear 25% of stopping power...hence the value of ABS on motorcycles
@ Jeff - aluminum rim wheels and rim brakes have a weight penalty over a carbon wheel and disc brake...about 300 grams.
@ Tim - Giant has already made the leap. All new 2015 Defy's will have disc brakes. Trek is putting disc brakes on the upper series Madone. From Road.cc:
The headline news from the launch is that the carbon Defy is only available with disc brakes. Unless you've had your head in the sand the past couple of years, you'll know that disc brakes on road bikes are a Big Thing right now. Giant felt putting disc brakes on the Defy was a natural evolution based on the type of person buying the bike and the style of riding they're doing.
Making the new Defy disc-only for the carbon version might seem a brave commitment but Giant felt the timing was right for the wholesale switch to disc brakes.
“It's pretty bold, but everybody is going there, and we just made the decision, if you're going to do it, do it,” Jon Swanson tells us. “It wouldn't make sense to make a frame for both, because then you've got this halfway bike that doesn't really do what you need it to do. You're paying a penalty somewhere. So we committed all carbon bikes to disc-only.”
That's a scary thought. I can see it for training and riding around but not in road competition. The discs get super hot and are super sharp, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that in a crash on a crit or road course.
By contrast, the expectation is that the UCI will end up making them legal due to crash-marred TDF as a consequence of increased use of all carbon wheels. The only hold up is they might have to make it a requirement instead of an option to avoid having a race where some riders are on inferior rim brakes and some on superior disc brakes which might cause wrecks simply because rim brakes don't offer the stopping power or control of the new ones.
Hey Paul I don't know if you saw this yet.... Specialized tested disc brakes in the wind tunnel... Appears to be NO penalty for low and Zero Yaw only when in a crosswind ... Pretty surprising...Still not sure I'd want them for other reasons like wheel choice but it sure removes the assumption of added drag for the most part.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXQuSnKkS-I
Thanks for that input Tim. I'm not in any hurry, but I am definitely looking everytime I step into a bike shop (I have several that I frequent). Drag won't be much of a factor for the Swissman course. You will either be working hard going slow up the mountain or screaming down it with a lot of braking. So I either want disc brakes or I will have to pick up a set of aluminum rim clinchers like the Zipp 60 when I get a bike. I'm also interested in aero frames but with a standard seat tube that can accept the Red Shift post and seat. They are going to produce a carbon seat post in the near future and that concept seems outstanding for courses where you want a hybrid bike that can shift positions on the fly.
FYI - A former Trek salesman told me to squeeze under the middle of the top tube of a Domane the next time I'm in a Trek store. Apparently, there is flex in the tube itself and not just the hinge that they claim makes it more of an endurance bike.
Comments
@ CC rims - Both Rich & Tim express common user experiences (don't like the feel)...thus many people prefer alum brake tracks...lastly for best performance you should change brake pads when switching between CC vs. Alum rims
As a side note - engineering rule of thumb for brakes - front brakes generate 75% and rear 25% of stopping power...hence the value of ABS on motorcycles
@ Tim - Giant has already made the leap. All new 2015 Defy's will have disc brakes. Trek is putting disc brakes on the upper series Madone. From Road.cc:
The headline news from the launch is that the carbon Defy is only available with disc brakes. Unless you've had your head in the sand the past couple of years, you'll know that disc brakes on road bikes are a Big Thing right now. Giant felt putting disc brakes on the Defy was a natural evolution based on the type of person buying the bike and the style of riding they're doing.
Making the new Defy disc-only for the carbon version might seem a brave commitment but Giant felt the timing was right for the wholesale switch to disc brakes.
“It's pretty bold, but everybody is going there, and we just made the decision, if you're going to do it, do it,” Jon Swanson tells us. “It wouldn't make sense to make a frame for both, because then you've got this halfway bike that doesn't really do what you need it to do. You're paying a penalty somewhere. So we committed all carbon bikes to disc-only.”
Thanks for that input Tim. I'm not in any hurry, but I am definitely looking everytime I step into a bike shop (I have several that I frequent). Drag won't be much of a factor for the Swissman course. You will either be working hard going slow up the mountain or screaming down it with a lot of braking. So I either want disc brakes or I will have to pick up a set of aluminum rim clinchers like the Zipp 60 when I get a bike. I'm also interested in aero frames but with a standard seat tube that can accept the Red Shift post and seat. They are going to produce a carbon seat post in the near future and that concept seems outstanding for courses where you want a hybrid bike that can shift positions on the fly.
FYI - A former Trek salesman told me to squeeze under the middle of the top tube of a Domane the next time I'm in a Trek store. Apparently, there is flex in the tube itself and not just the hinge that they claim makes it more of an endurance bike.