Why Hydraulic Disc Brakes Will Become Standard on All Bicycles in the Future by Lou Johnson
Twenty years ago bicycle manufactures started developing carbon fiber frames and forks. Even though carbon frame bicycles was a great break though, they have not changed the basic system of braking on bicycles until this year. Disc brakes have been used on mountain bikes for over 20 years, but true road bikes have never used them. Historically, road bikes installed caliper brakes that can be slow to stop and perform very poorly in rainy conditions. In 2011 several bike manufacturers, including Volagi, have started installing mechanical disc brakes on the frames and wheels of their bicycles.
Disc brake bikes are eye catching and stand out in a crowd. Long distant recreational rider can appreciate the comfort of carbon frames and the ease of discs. Carbon framed, disk brake bike create a every cozy ride but are still quick like a standard race bike. These brakes allow frame geometries that are comfortable but still perform and handles like a standard road race bikes. Some bike manufacturers are designing wishbone frames with special split seat stays (Wishbone) permitting a more flex in both the actual seat stays and it greatly softens the ride. All said, the combination of the new frame designs and the mechanical disk brakes certainly create a whoa factor to these newly designed bicycles.
Disk brakes offer consistent braking in rainy or any type of poor weather. These bicycles are able to run wider tires and/or fenders without worrying about caliper adjustments and it makes changing a puncture in a tire quicker and easier.
Current race road bikes can give you the performance you want, but can beat you up on bike rides lasting 3 or more hours or a group century ride. The great thing about these new roadbikes, beyond the claimed stopping and braking comfort, is that there are no custom parts used on the drive train of the bike.
The next step development on road bike will be the installation of hydraulic disk braking system for road bikes. Hydraulic disc brakes have been used on mountain bike for the past decade. Integrating hydraulic brakes into the shift levers has not been commercially available. Bike manufacturers of today are designing frames for hydraulic disc brakes by allowing cabling within the frame of the bike so that when hydraulic disc brakes are available, you can to run your brake housing inside the bike’s frame.
Many traditional cyclists think that bike manufacturers installing hydraulic disc brakes on road bikes are idiots for attempting to use them. But new innovative bike manufacturers are starting to prototype hydraulic disc brake bikes today. I believe this is the future of road bike braking and will grow more and more important in the next few years. As an example Volagi has been developing these bikes for over two years.
Disk brake road bike manufactures typically provide three or more models:
A low end roadbike that is aluminum,
A middle line bike that has a carbon fork and aluminum frame
A carbon bike with a Shimano Dura Ace drivetrain.
About the Author
Riding bicycles is a passion of mine and I have been riding in San Diego for over 20 years. I review bicycles that interest me and like to frequent bike shops in San Diego. I work with many San Diego Bike Shops.
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