Pros and cons of mechanical vs hydraulic disc brakes?

Feeling somewhat unsatisfied with the V-brake setup on my cyclocross
forks I'm contemplating disc brakes as a solution and am wondering
what the relative merits of hydraulic vs mechanical are?

So far I can think that the mechanical variety are probably cheaper
and easier to fix/adjust at the road-side whereas the hydraulic sort
have more bling and stopping power (maybe - don't know why?)

Also, any recommendations for a 100mm front fork with ISO disc tabs?
So far I've found Winwood and Airborne Aeileron - but both are US
based and don't seem to any stockists in the UK

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...ross+Fork.aspx
http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006/nov/JasonElias.htm

Many thanks,

Duncan.

On Thu, 15 Feb 2007 05:50:25 -0800, Duncan Smith wrote:

Feeling somewhat unsatisfied with the V-brake setup on my cyclocross
forks I'm contemplating disc brakes as a solution and am wondering
what the relative merits of hydraulic vs mechanical are?

Go to rec.bicycles.tech and find the thread "Mechanical disk brake"
started on Tuesday this week.


Mike

On Feb 15, 2:03 pm, Mike Causer
wrote:
On Thu, 15 Feb 2007 05:50:25 -0800, Duncan Smith wrote:
Feeling somewhat unsatisfied with the V-brake setup on my cyclocross
forks I'm contemplating disc brakes as a solution and am wondering
what the relative merits of hydraulic vs mechanical are?

Go to rec.bicycles.tech and find the thread "Mechanical disk brake"
started on Tuesday this week.

Mike

Thanks :-)

Duncan Smith wrote:
Feeling somewhat unsatisfied with the V-brake setup on my cyclocross
forks I'm contemplating disc brakes as a solution and am wondering
what the relative merits of hydraulic vs mechanical are?

So far I can think that the mechanical variety are probably cheaper
and easier to fix/adjust at the road-side whereas the hydraulic sort
have more bling and stopping power (maybe - don't know why?)

My mech/hydraulic comparison is rim brakes rather than discs, but I've
found that...

Absolute power isn't actually much of an issue. If you bother fettling
mech brakes you can lock the wheels up anyway, and if you can do that
then any extra power is moot. What the hydraulics give is a simple
in/out pad motion that means that fettling is (a) far less necessary to
start with and (b) *much* easier to do, and much easier control with
fingertip pressure rather than a monster squeeze of the hand.

Hydraulic rim brakes will fit on existing V-bosses, but you'll be lucky
to find levers that work on drops since Magura discontinued the HS 66 :-(

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Hydraulic rim brakes will fit on existing V-bosses, but you'll be lucky
to find levers that work on drops since Magura discontinued the HS 66 :-(


Agreed, the normal drop style lever didn't really pull enough wire for
the v-brake, I was thinking of mounting a more conventional mtb style
lever on the bottom of the drop bars (near where the bar end plug
goes).

A bit like this guy's got (except he's got bull bars not drop bars,
but same thing I reckon..) http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006/nov/
JasonElias.htm

Any tips for a suitable lever? - my drop bars are over-sized
apparently.

Thanks,

Duncan.

"Duncan Smith" a écrit:

I was thinking of mounting a more conventional mtb style
lever on the bottom of the drop bars (near where the bar
end plug goes).

A bit like this guy's got (except he's got bull bars not drop
bars, but same thing I reckon..)

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006/nov/JasonElias.htm

Any tips for a suitable lever? - my drop bars are over-sized
apparently.

Generally when drop bars are referred to as oversized, the oversized part is
the stem clamp - 31.8mm or thereabouts.

Most drop bars have a diameter of around 15/16" (23.8mm) in the part to
which the brake levers clamp. That's far enough from the straight bar
standard of 7/8" (22.2mm) that mountain bike levers don't work well on drop
bars. It's sometimes possible to bodge the clamp, but it's generally not a
nice solution.

The lever in the picture is a Tektro cross lever, designed to be used as a
secondary lever on drops (and therefore with a 23.8mm clamp), and the Avid
mechanical brake is the only one I know of that comes in a version designed
to work with drop bar cable pull.

What gear controls are you currently using? Will you want to keep your brake
hoods?

James Thomson

The lever in the picture is a Tektro cross lever, designed to be used as a
secondary lever on drops (and therefore with a 23.8mm clamp), and the Avid
mechanical brake is the only one I know of that comes in a version designed
to work with drop bar cable pull.

What gear controls are you currently using? Will you want to keep your brake
hoods?


Thanks James, that's good info.. Looks like the Tektro lever with the
avid mech. brakes would be a good combo. Do you have a link to the
avid brakes designed to work with the lever?

My bike's a fixie so no gear controls to worry about!

The brake hoods is a good question - I don't usually run a rear brake,
though I may change my mind after tuesday's ride in the wet... I use
them for pulling up on when climbing hills a lot though. It would be
tidier if I could remove the levers from the hoods, but they don't
seem designed to be removed easily (Tektro). Maybe you can buy some
hoods without levers...?

Thanks,

Duncan.

"Duncan Smith" a écrit:

Thanks James, that's good info.. Looks like the Tektro lever with the
avid mech. brakes would be a good combo. Do you have a link to the
avid brakes designed to work with the lever?

http://www.sram.com/en/avid/mechanic...es/bb7road.php

There's a little more information in the pdf linked from that page. Of
course if you buy that there's no need to change your levers. Or you could
keep the levers you have and add a supplementary cross lever on the bar top.

The brake hoods is a good question - I don't usually run a rear
brake, though I may change my mind after tuesday's ride in the
wet... I use them for pulling up on when climbing hills a lot though.
It would be tidier if I could remove the levers from the hoods, but
they don't seem designed to be removed easily (Tektro).

Sometimes the lever pivot is just a press fit in the body and can be driven
out with a punch. Sometimes there's a grub screw holding the pivot in place.
Sometimes the bolt that clamps the lever body to the bars holds the pivot in
place.

Maybe you can buy some hoods without levers...?

Indeed you can. They're designed primarily for tandem stokers:

http://www.canecreek.com/ergo_stoker_lvr.html

James Thomson

In article . com,
Duncan Smith
says...

The brake hoods is a good question - I don't usually run a rear brake,
though I may change my mind after tuesday's ride in the wet... I use
them for pulling up on when climbing hills a lot though. It would be
tidier if I could remove the levers from the hoods, but they don't
seem designed to be removed easily (Tektro). Maybe you can buy some
hoods without levers...?

They used to be sold as stoker hoods - ISTR Ron Kitching selling the Dia
Compe ones. If you get hold of some old Weinmann levers it's very easy
to remove the blades.

In article .com,
Duncan Smith
says...

Agreed, the normal drop style lever didn't really pull enough wire for
the v-brake, I was thinking of mounting a more conventional mtb style
lever on the bottom of the drop bars (near where the bar end plug
goes).

Why not just use a pull doubler like QBP Travel Agent?