UCI to Allow Limited Testing of Disc Brakes in 2015 Professional Road Calendar

I’m putting on my flame suit for this one:
I hate disc brakes on road bikes.
There, I said it. I’ve been fortunate enough to go on several rides on a high-end carbon model and I’ve been severely disappointed each time. Do they have a place in the road market? Absolutely! For heavier riders, those who frequently ride in poor conditions, gravel bikes, etc – disc makes sense. However, for someone (like myself) who loves a high-performance road bike and likes to race – disc makes too many sacrifices. Yes, it obviously brakes much better – but for this you need a much heavier, more expensive, rougher riding (if getting thru-axles) and generally slower bike. These sacrifices for 90+% of the ride don’t justify the better 10% of the ride. I hope that the UCI makes them optional or continues their ban.

wako29 – you do not seem to have a clue. Through axles and disk brakes are not heavier, not more expensive, not rougher riding and faster – as you can control and modulate speed better.

It’s a shame that bicycling continues to be hampered by the least important and most regressive aspect of the sport as well as the most close-minded and uninformed of its participants. Racing is the most uninteresting aspect of cycling and it is only there where people fail to realize that disc brakes make a superior product.

The buying public doesn’t care about neutral support for their bikes nor do they get value out of the idiotic quick release skewers that their bikes are burdened with to support activities they will never do. What they do care about is that disc brakes are a superior brake AND are an enabling technology for superior tire and rim solutions. It’s a no-brainer except for those with no brains.

I may have to get involved in this one, disk brakes work well in all weathers callipers do not and I don’t imagine that they ever will.

Disks are heavier and the tech on road disk wheels and frames is in its infancy producing heavier bikes.

With this in mind a pro rider will choose the braking package that best suits the conditions on the day as they currently do with tyres.

For the everyday rider the use of disks in racing will produce better and lighter products in the long run.

The weight argument might as well be thrown out of the window. The guy who’s gram counting is also the one who keeps a tape measure in his bedside nightstand.

It is a great feature for the people who find it beneficial. Anyone can benefit from having thru-axles and disc brakes. I think much of the limitation comes from users who are terrible at caring for disc brakes and find it challenging. I’ve had a disc road bike for the past year and it has been completely mindless in terms of care.

Yes there is some merit about a classic cable actuated road bike, they’re pretty sweet. But i am not sure why someone would throw down on a set of carbon rim brake wheels, knowing every time they use the brakes their wheel’s lifespan gets a little bit shorter. I think a lot of people will be willing to go for nicer wheel sets now that all you need to do is replace pads every so often.

If disk are all they are cracked up to be why are pro cyclo cross riders choosing cantis over them. You would think in a sport as crazy as cross they would want all of these “advantages” you guys are talking about. But in reality they are not needed. The danger alone is pretty crazy…did you see Trebon’s leg after he went down? (https://twitter.com/ryantrebon/status/430041511343185920) This was a cross race…there are countless more mass pileups in road.

I think they sound good for the guy looking to hit some mountains with packs strapped on his bike…but this is just another way to make people buy new technology.

I’m going to be riding rim brakes on my road and cross bike for a very long time…

While the weight argument may or may not be off a bit, but I think the details of the actual race might be more important. Wheel changes will take longer. Disc brakes are usually particular to the pads. Swapping to a new wheel will degrade braking until the pads and discs are bedded together. Plus all the different systems might make neutral support very challenging. It will be interesting to see what comes of this. I am sure discs are coming, but the tech in its current state doesn’t seem applicable to pro racing.

All the issues brought up are frankly easily overcome.

1. Weight – not an issue as most modern bikes are well below UCI limits. Disc brakes won’t be an issue and the tech will get lighter and lighter, just like everything else does.

2. Wheel changes. Easy. I am not even sure why this is an issue. A neutral car can have 1/2 disc, 1/2 caliper if there is a mixed field (which in 2-3 years I’d be surprised if there are any caliper road bikes except for TT). Hub widths are basically standardized. Thru axles would be the only issue, and the UCI can either outlaw or mandate.

3. Safety. If an actual issue, a very simple and light guard can be built into the forks and rear triangle which upon hitting a rider, ensures the wheel stops before significant disc to skin contact occurs. This will also act as a thermal barrier. And it need not be a full cover, just a simple guard (similar to a commuters chain guard). But frankly, I don’t see this being an issue. It rare for a bike wheel to be spinning at high speed in a pile up. There are simple too many things for it to contact and slow it down.

4. Pad bedding – serious? This is no different than rim brake now.

5. Wheel design – no radial spokes at the rear or brake side front. Who cares, since it will be universal across the board.

6. Wheel change speed – non issue with some thru axles now. Tech will only get better. But more importantly, wheel change speed will be the same for everyone.

I’m not a disc hater, but I don’t understand the apocalyptic pronouncements coming from all sides on this issue.

Milessio – I completely agree about weight and the UCI; as long as the bikes are >6.8kg, it’s not an issue. I have heard Campy is working on disks, but haven’t seen any news let along pics of such a system.

The Dude (et al) – I’ve never seen a carbon road rim fail at the sidewall, though I have seen a few aluminum rims fail, some pretty spectacularly. If anything, my experience is I go through brake pads faster when using carbon rims on the road. Has anyone else here ever heard of carbon rims being worn down and failing from normal braking wear and tear?

Everyone expousing “RAZOR SHARP DISC ROTORS SLICING THROUGH JUGULARS!!!111one” – maybe ask Clint Malarchuk about the ability of squared off metal to cut through the jugular? Fact is, it can and (though not in cycling that I know of) has happened.

Eric Hansen – Please, no more jigs, the UCI has enough trouble setting up and using their own bike jigs and I’m not sure the bike industry could come together to formalize a single standard for anything even if they tried (though I would love it if they could).

I wonder if we’ll see a floating one piston caliper soon, so save weight for road applications (and to allow for more tolerance in caliper/rotor misalignment.

Eric Hansen: “Neutral service *will* be a problem, but one that can already be solved. If you’re familiar with disc brakes, you know you’ve got to center the caliper over the rotor or you’ll get some brake rub. I expect each team will have a jig that ensures the rotors are all shimmed to the same position relative to the end cap. ”

That kinda sorta is already the situation already. Contrary to popular misconception, neutral support can’t just pop a wheel into any old frame, close the QR and off you go. Dropouts vary in thickness from frame to frame and fork to fork. This means a neutral mechanic usually has to adjust the QR when putting it into a bike, slowly down the wheel swap. Team mechanics don’t have this problem. Any good team mechanic will have a gaping tool that allows them to preset the QRs on their spare wheels so it’s quicker to swap them out. Realistically, if a rider is in a breakaway or is a team leader they will usually just be given a spare bike since that’s faster than a wheel swap. That will continue to be the case with discs. For cyclocross any smart racer knows you’re better off having two inexpensive bikes than having one expensive bike and a set of spare wheels.

For non-racers the main issue I have with discs is comfort. Moving the point of braking force from the fork crown down to the hub means the entire fork leg much be made MUCH stiffer to resist the braking force. This in turn also means the fork will be less able to absorb impacts and ride harsher. I’ve ridden a few disc bikes and even when equipped with the same tires and PSI you can tell the difference. Granted, this is probably only an issue for people who ride truly long distances such as randonneurs. If you’re just doing a century it likely won’t matter as much.

As a former team mechanic I have to say I like the idea of electronic shifting and hydraulic brakes! Maintaining cables, especially on a couple dozen bikes, is such a headache. Now if they can just make a multi gear belt drive transmission… 😉

Knocking the UCI is fun, and it deserves criticism after spending decades looking the other way on the use of PEDs, but they’re being smart about road disc. Remember that UCI is responsible for the integrity, safety, and sustainability of the sport. Formula 1 is also governed conservatively for the same reasons.

Weight minimums and design constraints are good things because they encourage innovation. Because of the ease of hitting the 6.8kg limit, we got frames that were more aero and more comfortable.

@ john –
I did not know that about Specialized.
Is it just the cassette that moved (affecting shifting) or is it the disc as well as width of the hub?
Anyway, seems like it would become standardized via UCI or via the market. Specialized supplies a lot of race bikes to pro’s but they are also not a majority in any sense. I’d think they (or anyone else with different cassette and disc spacing) would put themselves and the teams in a tough position by being bullheaded about it. The market wants it. They will ensure it will be seen in racing.

Maybe those pros need the extra braking power to help them stop at level crossings?

this won’t happen folks, riders just don’t to use them, they make the bike heavier and slower. We are talking about pro-tour racing. For training, sure most pro’s would enjoy using a disc brake road bike, and also all of us who actually pay for our bikes. But in pro-tour racing? this is a movement by the Uci to please the industry, that it’s also putting some money on it. MTB is mostly financed by the industry, uci almost gets no profit, in road they get 10 times more though. Perhaps for roubaix and similar races… maybe, but when riders have spoken, they just don’t want them in races.

And of course, some teams, a lot of them, will use them for secondary races, or non main riders, just to show them on tv, and disc brake road bike sales will go over the roof. Yes, this is gonna happen, granted. Money buys.

@Pistolero, Im concused about your statement that disc brakes will make the pros bike heavier and slower. The pros bikes built up with disc brakes will still easily achieve the under 7kg weight limit that is being used today with rim brakes. The bikes will be slower but only when they brake.

I bought my last “racing” bike back when Lance still had a reputation to defend. Every bike I’ve bought/built since then has had disc brakes, including an endurance road bike and a gravel/utility bike. If one purpose of team sponsorship is to sell product to folks like me, then pro racers will soon be riding disc-equipped bikes whether they want them or not — because having used disc brakes extensively for several years now, I will never, ever buy another bike without them. Never, ever. Print that on your team jersey.