Disc brakes
Disc brakes
There’s almost certainly no component to have made such an impact, or create such a stir in the last few years, as the introduction of disc brakes into the notoriously traditional realm of road cycling. So much so that the UCI (the cycling world governing body) is still yet to sanction the use of disc brakes at the sharp end of professional road racing.
Bike manufacturers across the world have had no so such issues when it comes to putting disc brakes on their creations however. Depending on your target price point, sportive bikes either come fitted with cable disc brakes, like Cannondale’s Synapse 105 5 that retails at a penny under the magic thousand pound mark, while at the other end of the scale is the Trek Domane 6.9 disc that sports Dura-Ace Di2 in conjunction with Shimano’s R785 hydraulic disc brakes. The big brands have also clearly identified sportive riders as their target demographic as far as disc brakes on the road are concerned, and the bikes they’ve appeared on are testament to that: Trek have a disc Domane, but not Madone; Specialized have a disc Roubaix/Tarmac but not Venge and Cannondale have the Synapse disc but the SuperSix remains untouched. Plus, there are no UCI restrictions in the real world, so brands are free to go to town with innovations on bikes for consumers.
The benefits derived from disc brakes are well documented: greater all-weather stopping power, better modulation, won’t gradually wear away your wheel rims and any added weight is minimal and held centrally at the hub anyway avoiding any rotational penalty. All of which arguably have more ‘real world’ applications than benefits for the professionals. And from a functional point of view, what’s there not to like? Aesthetically, the clean look of disc brakes doesn’t look all that out of place on a road bike and once the pro peloton gets their hands on them, the die-hard cantilever brigade will soon be left out in the cold.
Perched high at the top of the disc brake tree sits Shimano’s Ultegra hydraulic system as found on Cannondale’s Synapse Disc Black-Inc. Bikes like these are part of the new stock of sportive steeds that tick all the right boxes when it comes to finding that sweet-spot compromise in in both frame design and componentry.