Are cable discs still rubbish?

[Ashaman42]

I haven't mountain biked in about 8 years (though I did start road biking about 4 years ago) and remember the opinion back then (MBUK magazine rather than interweb) was that cable disc brakes were at best on par with a decently set up V-brake and that hydraulic discs were much better.

Well I'm seriously considering getting a MTB again and wondered if cable discs have improved or if hydraulics are the one to look for.

My old mountain bike only had Vs and I wasn't super keen on them - though most of that was the clogging up with mud which I guess is less of a problem with discs of either category.

[greenmeansgo]

No, cable discs aren't rubbish. It's just that hydraulics are better.

I only have experience of Avid Juicy 5s  (hydraulic) and Avid BB7s - the latter are supposed to be the best cable disc bar none. And they are pretty decent. I've ridden other random cable discs and have been distinctly underwhelmed by their performance.

Hydraulics are a bit of a faff, but not really very difficult to bleed, and they feel great at the lever compared to cable brakes. Hydraulic disc brakes are amazingly powerful compared to a V-brakes especially the more you spend. Cable discs can also be much more powerful than V-brakes (though the stopping power for all discs depends to a large extent on the rotor size).

The biggest advantage  from my perspective is that you don't lose much braking power in the wet.

[DrMekon]

Has anyone made hydraulics that are progressive enough to trim coaster wheelies yet? I've tried various, and you'd have to have the finger control of I don't know what to do anything other than stop yourself ridiculously quickly.

I much preferred the feel of the BB7s I tried to any of the hydraulics I've tried so far. Perhaps there is there a non-linear lever for hydraulics?

[Ashaman42]

My only experience of hydraulic brakes is my trials bike which has Magura rims brakes, they feel very nice at the lever but don't think they'd like off-road as the pad is only about a mm from the rim (which means I know about it if the true is even slightly out).

So I guess cables would certainly do as like you say they're good in the wet, and less of a problem with mud.

And I guess the other advantage is fixing a broken cable when out and about is much easier. Whilst I've never broken a cable on any bike so far I know someone I used to ride trials with who broke his Maguras at least twice.

Has anyone made hydraulics that are progressive enough to trim coaster wheelies yet? I've tried various, and you'd have to have the finger control of I don't know what to do anything other than stop yourself ridiculously quickly.

I much preferred the feel of the BB7s I tried to any of the hydraulics I've tried so far. Perhaps there is there a non-linear lever for hydraulics?

Well I don't know about discs (hence the thread) but my old hydraulic rim brakes were good for coaster wheelies with one/two fingers on the lever.

Though that may be a rim vs disc factor rather than hydraulic vs cable.

[frankly frankie]

No, cable discs aren't rubbish. It's just that hydraulics are better.

Exactly that ^^^

I used hydraulics (Hope) for a few years and when they were on song, they were fabulous.  But they weren't on song very often.

I now use BB7s (cable) and am much, much happier with them, even though in the dry they feel much the same as V-brakes really.

[Polar Bear]

Any disk has a massive advantage over a rim brake when it comes to muck, shit and clag.   Add in that in the dry they still perform rather well makes them an all round winner.

Cable disks are reputed to not have the absolute power of hydraulics, but, they have ease of service and outback serviceability in their favour.   As ever, quality matters.   I wouldn't rely upon the disks found on your average sub £200 BSO, but I would happily use Shimano (Deore or higher) or Avid cable disks.   My eldest boy has Shimano Deore cable disks on his MTB and he's more than happy. 

I have a bike with some Hope Mono's which I will get round to swapping out for some Avid cables.   The Hope's are a great disk but I've had nothing but trouble with a weeping connection.   A brake is useless if it doesn't work, no?

[Chris N]

I've not used hydraulics, but do have BB7 discs on two bikes and they're pretty good.  Three issues I have with them: in the wet (and I mean water-over-the-hubs kind of wet) they take a while to start stopping; they squal a bit when damp; and if you drag the brake it's easy to glaze them and you'll need to pull a few hard stoppies to bed them back in.  I guess that would be an issue with hydraulics too though.

[Gandalf]

I have Tektro IO on my commuting bike and have never had a problem, have never used hydraulics so can't compare.

I can definitely see the difference between that and my Ultegra SL equipped road bike, the discs are much better.

[Euan Uzami]

The main advantage of hydraulics is that you can brake pretty hard with just one finger, which leaves three fingers on the bar for better control. I've had hope hydraulics for about a year and found them to be 100% reliable

[Steve Kish]

If you're looking for a very good set of cable disc brakes for about £50 (inc. cables and discs), try these:-

KOOKA CABLE DISC BRAKES 203/180 THE BEST AROUND on eBay (end time  07-Oct-10 17:10:31 BST)

These are quite unique as they have a cam action that allows both pads to move inwards rather than just one, as is the norm with cables.  I've used these for off-road with great success.

[greenmeansgo]

If you're looking for a very good set of cable disc brakes for about £50 (inc. cables and discs), try these:-

KOOKA CABLE DISC BRAKES 203/180 THE BEST AROUND on eBay (end time  07-Oct-10 17:10:31 BST)

These are quite unique as they have a cam action that allows both pads to move inwards rather than just one, as is the norm with cables.  I've used these for off-road with great success.

They sound pretty decent - certainly cheap! That's one of the design problems with standard cable discs addressed. Most have a stationary pad, so the rotors necessarily bend each time you brake, which doesn't seem like a great idea. I'll certainly be remembering Kooka for when I need a set of cable discs!

[Ashaman42]

Thanks for the replies everyone, sounds like cables will certainly do the job.

Was originally planning to save for a MTB (poss a Carrera of some description) for a bit of off-road and for winter commuting but am thinking with those Kooka discs, some studded tyres and a bigger chainring I could just winterise my trials bike for this winter.

 


***Edit****

I realised last night that I am, of course, an idiot. My plan for winterising won't be that cheap given that changing to disc brakes obviously requires disc compatible wheels.

[Steve Kish]

The big plus with the Kooka is that they allow individual adjustment of both pads with 3mm and 5mm Allen key ... you can't even do this on my Hope X2 that cost six times as much!

[greenmeansgo]

... for a bit of off-road and for winter commuting but am thinking with those Kooka discs, some studded tyres and a bigger chainring I could just winterise my trials bike for this winter.

Commuting on a converted trials bike? Please explain.

[Torslanda]

Cable discs are great.

Just don't grease them . . .