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Disc Brakes vs Rim Brakes — The Marketing Lie Nobody Wants to Admit

CycleWorth

77,498 views

How to save $8,991 on your next bike
And $2,920 every year after 👉🏼
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⚠️ Affiliate Disclosure: The links below are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, you support the channel at no additional cost to you.

Resources & Links

Shimano RT-CL800 Centerlock Disc Brake Rotor 160mm Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BDFKCH3F?...

SRAM Centerline Center Lock Disc Brake Rotor 160mm Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CWVF5BD?...

Shimano RT10 Resin Disc Brake Rotor 160mm Centerlock Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VRPKRQ8?...

Shimano L05A-RF Resin Disc Brake Pads with Finned Alloy Back Plate Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BG3G4FWC?...

Shimano Hydraulic Mineral Oil 100ml Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VC9VYCW?...

Shimano Mineral Oil Brake Fluid 500ml Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081J2GLMD?...

Finish Line DOT 5.1 Bicycle Brake Fluid 4oz Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007HOBHXQ?...

Shimano Workshop TL-BR002 Hydraulic Brake Bleed Kit Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YJTSDHN?...

Park Tool DT-2 Rotor Truing Fork Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000R2OBME?...

Park Tool DT-3 Rotor Truing Gauge Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000R925ZW?...

In April 2016 the UCI threw disc brakes out of road racing. In July 2018 it approved them without conditions. Nothing about the physics changed in those 27 months, but every rim brake wheelset in America was quietly reclassified as a spare part. This is the honest, numbers-first version of the argument, written for riders who keep their bikes rather than replace them. A rim brake is a disc brake with a 622mm rotor that also happens to hold your tyre on, and that single fact explains both why it worked for a century and why it had to go. Inside: $7.90 Kool-Stop salmon pads against $47.50 of disc pads and a $64.54 rotor. The alloy braking wall that starts near 1.5mm, has a safe floor of 0.7 to 1mm, loses strength with the cube of its thickness, and wears out somewhere between 1,500 and 12,000 miles without ever telling you. The $53 carbon-specific pads and the warning that contaminated pads cause premature rim wear. The measured 22-mile test loop where the rim brake bike is about 24 seconds faster in the dry and still about 4 seconds faster in the wet, and why the real gain from discs was never speed. Fran Ventoso at Paris-Roubaix in 2016 calling rotors knives and machetes. Owain Doull at the Abu Dhabi Tour in 2017. The 160mm rounded-edge specification, the 2018 approval, and the carbon moulds that were already cut while the sport was still arguing. Mineral oil against DOT 5.1, the 1.5mm rotor service limit, the $60 annual bleed, and the master cylinder that lives inside your shifter. Rim brake road bikes on sale falling from 13 in 2022 to 8 in 2025, and 105 Di2, SRAM Red and Campagnolo Super Record Wireless arriving with no rim brake option at all. Then the honest verdict, the one number that explains the whole decade, and the single question to ask in a bike shop that tells you more than any braking test ever published. Every price, measurement and test figure is sourced below.

Sources

Cyclingnews — Disc brake trial continues into fourth year in 2018, with the full UCI trial timeline and rotor specification: https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/...

BikeRadar — UCI finally approves disc brakes for road racing: https://www.bikeradar.com/news/uci-fi...

road.cc — How to tell when your wheel rims have worn out, with wall thickness limits and mileage ranges: https://road.cc/content/feature/how-d...

Honey Bikes — Disc Brake vs Rim Brake Performance on Road Bikes, the measured 22-mile climb and descent comparison: https://www.honeybikes.com/blog/2018/...

BikeRadar — 8 road bikes you can still buy with rim brakes in 2025: https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buye...

You can write me at: cycleworth@proton.me

CycleWorth is run by a cycling enthusiast and is intended for entertainment and informational purposes only. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, specifications, prices, values, and historical information may change or contain errors.
All trademarks, brand names, and product names belong to their respective owners. Always do your own research before buying, modifying, repairing, or using any bicycle or cycling-related product.

20 Comments

@cycleworth Creator 3 weeks ago Pinned

How to save $8,991 on your next bike
And $2,920 every year after 👉🏼
https://cycleworth.shop/

@mtwils 3 weeks ago

Actually rim brakes have been made for large tires since the beginning of rim brake bicycles. Just not fancy ones. The Tektro brand made, and may still make, the 556/559 dual pivot calipers that easily clear 38mm tires, with the caveat that the quick release to allow wheel removal without deflating the tire did not release enough cable for many setups. I have several old bikes set up this way. There are workarounds for the quick release issue. I am pretty sure they made calipers for even larger tire clearance. Your frame is the limiting factor for tire size, not the rim brake caliper you can buy.

@thomaskonefal 3 weeks ago

I did wear a rim down past the indicator and the bike shop refused to work on the bike unless I replaced the worn (in my opinion), unsafe (in the bike shop's opinion) wheel. Regarding brakes, I have 2 1990s legacy 7-speed mtn bike frames that I updated with more recent forks that support both V-brake and disc-brake. The bike shop installed an L-shape bar end inboard of of the right side shifter and fastened the disc-brake lever to it. On very steep descents, I use the left lever for front V-brake and the bar end lever for the front disc-brake. My life no longer flashes before me braking downhill in the rain.

@gr8videofun 3 weeks ago

Fantastic presentation, 5 minutes of information condensed into a 44-minute video.

@ChimeraActual 2 weeks ago (edited)

In the mid 1990's I purchased a bike with disc brakes. I found the control provided by the hydraulic system to be superior to cables. My brother argued the same way everybody did in favor of rim brakes. So I designed a hydraulic front rim brake inside the fork for him, but we were on the outs, so nothing. Later, like everyone, he started building bikes with hydraulic disc brakes.

@pn2543 12 days ago

its the physics of leverage and force, with the same force from hand lever grip, you get less stopping power with a smaller diameter and smaller pads than large pads on a large diameter rim

@ycplum7062 3 weeks ago

Five decades ago, disk brakes was not an option. I would ride rain or shine. In the wet, I would periodically give my brakes a very light squueze every once in a while or before I anticipate braking. Not hard, just enough to wipe some water off the rim.

@Paul-io 3 weeks ago

I had two hydraulic disc brake bikes - one I used for Winter training here in wet Winter and hilly Auckland. It was no better than my rim brake bikes (many) that I added Kool Stop Salmon pads to.

@RJ-qq8kb 3 weeks ago

At 73, I’ve been using rim brakes forever on a 1980 vintage Schwinn Super LeTour. The rims are fine.

@PS-ug6xe 3 weeks ago

I have been watching your videos for some time....I think the knowledge you offer is amazing. After days of watching I just saw that you only have 5K subs? wtf! This will change ...sooner or later....there's no other way!

@rollingreene1220 3 weeks ago

This a great overview of what's available now concerning bicycle brake systems - Enjoyed the presentation very much.

@jarikinnunen1718 3 weeks ago

Rim brake can move force to frame safely. I mean situation when frame bow by braking force. I did lot of extremely hard braking. If you feel pain while braking, we talking about same thing.

@OneDayWillFlyAway 3 weeks ago

It’s not necessarily Planned Obsolescence, but if you replace a part with another part, force at least the support of the old part for at least 20plus years. I can’t get a new mowdeck for my 26 year old iseki mower which has only 700 hours of running. Now worthless.

@초가을우엉차-j4g 3 weeks ago

돈이 없는게 아님 림브 자체 그 케이블 있는게 좋음

@ridefast0 3 weeks ago

Looks like a fair assessment. I was so happy when I finally managed to wear out a set of disc pads in the flat lands of Suffolk, UK! I like a nice sharp brake so I have increased disc sizes to 200 front and 180 rear on my e-MTB. Would never dream of going back to rims for off-road battery-powered sand-shoveling.

@herihelke729 3 weeks ago

I remember my BMX had a coaster break. It was very cool, as long as the chain remained in place. :D

@videobob 3 weeks ago

Well said, thank you for sharing.

@paularckless7254 3 weeks ago

After using rim brakes on a MTB that wore the rims so thin that my rear wheel buckled on a steep decent i am happy to now have disc brakes, how i managed to stay on my bike that day i will never know i can only assume because i was near the bottom and skidded on to a flat surface, the wheel was not that old but i lived at the top of a hilly area and and went down a very very steep long hill every day sometimes more than once so it took it's toll.

@RottmannIntern 2 weeks ago

nice overview…. one point is not properly explained: Cantilever brakes make it possible to use any size of Tires ….
my decision-: i stay with rim brakes, i have a small collection of spare wheelsets and rims.. and i am used to lace rims to hubs on a relaxed evening