Rim brake road bikes becoming rare

only reason I have carbon rims on the road bike is because of disks, and I don't miss cleaning aluminium slurry of my rims, pads and frame.

I don't have a road bike. But I've cantilever on my MTB I use for commuting. I've had the odd occasion fully loaded where grit and water have got between pad and rim and I've had trouble stopping. like sandpaper on the rim. I dunno if you'd ever have the same issue on a fast descent on a road bike.

Mostly I set up rims or my cantilevers so I can usually lock the wheel if I want.

My road bike is a 2013 rim braked bike, still about 10kgs though.

I've used discs, both hydraulic and cable in at least four bikes and tubeless in 3 bikes. They require different tools and skillsets, agreed?

I wouldn't be playing the smart card when you can't do a basic repair on a 2k plus bike because you couldn't foresee the downside of buying a cheap pump..

On expensive carbon rims that you want to use often discs are the only way to go really, even the pads for carbon rim brakes cost too much and wear too fast.

Personally don't see the point in tubeless, for slightly less performance I'd put up with the inconvenience of carrying a tube or two and knowing I'll be up and running again in 5 minutes and that I'll be getting home.

Just wait until Specialized release the new 'S-Works Tarmac Aero Featherweight Edition' with revolutionary rim braking technology that shaves 1.5kg off the previous years model. Then we'll all be back to rim brakes and the cosmic ballet will go on.

You still need to carry a tube with tubeless, well I carry one anyway, for tears that won't seal even with bacon strips. I don't have the wheelsets to go tubeless on the road - but when I did have to patch a tear on my gravel (it still got me home on bacon strips), I was surprised how many "punctures" I'd had that had sealed.

I picked up a cheap 26 inch full suspension mtb that's 10 years old. running formula r1 brakes just switched to 1x12. don't feel under any pressure on the trails 😁

I have a 2017 TCR Advanced 1 (rim brake), and can't fault it except the standard PR2 stock wheels. Got second hand C60's on it now, and that's really killed any desire to upgrade I had.

I specc'd direct mount rim brakes on the new bike I built up last year. Absolutely top drawer stopping power on carbon rims and under 7kg without resorting to ridiculous exotic components. I can't see discs being any better. I only ride that bike in dry weather and my other bike has aluminium rims so they're adequate in the wet.

My old mountain bike had magura hydraulic rim brakes so I've been a fan of hydraulic brakes for 25 years. So discs ain't much of a change apart from the lack of rim wear.

Bought my first disc-braked road bike last year. Have an MTB already. I don’t think there’s much additional maintenance on them and stopping power is excellent. I think lack of wheel rim wear is the biggest benefit to be honest. I’ve worn out so many aluminium rims….

I don’t rate tubeless as an improvement. Have had so many roadside stoppages waiting for my riding mates to put in a tube in a failed seal.

Electronic shifting is a far bigger and more useful improvement in my opinion

Thanks for your reply. Most manufacturers would advise a 56-58cm or Medium sized frame for my dimensions (88.5cm inside leg, 179cm height). So probably one of the more popular sizes and hence quickest to sell in these times. Age is really slowing me down now, so I need something lighter to help maintain the denial for a bit longer! Ta for your advice, it's appreciated.

If one's goal is old school simplicity, the bike has been a solved riddle for a very long time; two triangles welded together with attention to detail in terms of sealing of bearings, quality bearing, wheel design and build etc etc were all possible and available long before the advent of

• disc brakes
• electronic shifting
• internal cable routing
• press fit bottom brackets
• innovative cockpits
• tubeless etc etc

All of the above add complexity and often reduce reliability and off course the cost to the end user (in terms of purchase price and maintenance) but are required for the continuation of the bike industry.

As far as I'm concerned they could have stopped at 7800/Sram red 10 speed, but of course it'll never stop. Pretty soon the bike industry will be convincing users they need something else.

I'd rather if I could buy a replacement 7800 derailleur, 7900 freehub or whatever but that wouldn't be good for Shimano's share price...

I've 2 full sram red tenners on the go and I'm going to keep them alive and kicking for as long as I possibly can. Only a few short years ago over 7kg was heavy. Reading a review of the new Colnago C68, best bike in the world, all the best components, 15 grand or thereabouts.. and its 7.2 kg or something

We've 3 bikes in the low sixes and anything over 7 is a winter bike! Manufacturers and reviewers can say what they like about aero and comfort and explain away the extra pork however they like but you can't hide it out on the road. It makes a massive difference.

I know this started out as a disc V rim but really for me it comes down to weight and cost. If disc braked bikes were lighter I'd be top of the queue, but the industry conspiring to tell me lightness doesn't matter a sh1te anymore, and bigger wider heavier tires on heavier bikes were actually quicker - pissin on my boots and telling me it's raining etc, and charging for all those extra grams at pick'n mix sweet shop rates! :).

Just over 7kg? For 3 grand? Pure madness 🤣😄🤣

I think it can probably be bought for c2.5k (price reduced now to 2850). Looks like value to me compared to 3900 for new with Ultegra (albeit disc). Probably this spec if available today would be c. 4.5k new?

A lot will depend on condition and mileage on frame and components. If it’s fairly fresh (big if), then I think you could do a lot worse for 2.5k.

But, as ever, it’s only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.