Hydraulic vs mechanical disc brakes
- Thread starter philipp10
- Start date
I have a bike with Tektro hydraulic disc brakes. Mechanical disc brakes will need adjusted several times over the pads lifespan.
Find a Jamis dealer that stocks a Coda S1 and do a test ride. It rides better than 99% of all other bikes due to it's chromoly frame, carbon fork and 700X40 tires.
Find a Jamis dealer that stocks a Coda S1 and do a test ride. It rides better than 99% of all other bikes due to it's chromoly frame, carbon fork and 700X40 tires.
so you prefer chrome moly over aluminum for the frame? And why?
I've had both mechanical and hydraulic disk brakes on bicycles and I will never buy mechanical again. When descending down long grades, the mechanicals will make your hands tired in short order. The hydraulic actuators require much less effort.
there are hills in Illinios.....lol? I thought that was flatland.
Yes, you'll find some hills, but I'm talking about riding in the mountains.
What kind of riding? What kind of bike?
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- Dec 28, 2011
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Good luck to you! Bike inventory is absolutely insanely depleted right now. Are you looking for a road bike? Mountain bike? That along with a budget number paves the way for the answers you seek.
For used bikes, check out https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/. Lots of decent people there. I've sold 3 bikes and purchased 2 over the years there. All were positive experiences.
Hydraulic is only one I'd look at preferred Shimano
Yep. Shimano SLX is the bomb diggity.
Been pretty happy with the Hayes Dominion (hydraulic).
Well Philipp, got an update??
jamis is underrated - I usually recommend the Coda for that reason alone, it’s the only bike in its class with a steel frame. Steel is heavier than aluminum but if you live in a place with bad roads or do a lot of city riding, the ride quality is better and steel doesn’t fatigue like aluminum does.
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I retrofitted a pair of Tektro HyRd brakes onto a 2012 Specialized Tricross. They seem to decently do the job, being a hydromechanical hybrid. If I had to do it all over again, I’d get full hydraulic(Shimano 105 level or higher).
my mountain bike I rarely ride has Shimano Alivio level hydro disk brakes. It actually works well despite being lower on Shimano’s totem pole.
my mountain bike I rarely ride has Shimano Alivio level hydro disk brakes. It actually works well despite being lower on Shimano’s totem pole.
Did we ever learn what 'type' of bike or terrain??? Road, hybrid, gravel, mtb??? KInda matters ya know.
Mechanical has an edge for being a bit less prone to problems that would render the brake not operable. They also don't boil over and fade as hard in some really long downhills. Assuming they are large rotors and a good mechanical with good levers and cables.
I still prefer hydraulic though, as the increased modulation control and overall power (when not over heated) are better.
I still prefer hydraulic though, as the increased modulation control and overall power (when not over heated) are better.
I once rode 22 miles from the top of Haleakala back to the bike shop that rented me the bike. The hydraulic brakes were fantastic and the rotors got so hot they turned blue, but had zero fade. If you ever get the chance to ride down Haleakala, do it. You pedal about 100 yards in 22 miles.
It was only ever an issue when doing crazy stuff like top to bottom double black diamond downhill runs at Whistler using a heavy bike with super heavy wheels and tires. Every brake and bike I tried doing that would heat up and degrade using hydraulics. But, modulation is really critical when doing some of the crazy stuff up there on Whistler, so mechanical was also out of the question in terms of perfect performance. Many of the super technical Whistler runs are slower speed and with lots of braking, so they don't have much of a chance to cool off in the wind between hammering the brakes.
