Switched from rim brakes to disc after a wet downhill ride...

I was always team rim brake until I took my bike down Pikes Peak in the rain last month and nearly cooked my pads to nothing. Now I get why everyone raves about stopping power in the wet. Anyone else have a scary moment that made you switch brake setups?

3 comments

3 Comments

kimr9122d ago

Nah I gotta disagree here. I've been running rim brakes for years in the Pacific Northwest rain and never had issues with stopping power. Maybe it's just how aggressive you are with braking or the pads you're using? I swapped to Kool Stop salmon pads and honestly never looked back.

white.keith21d ago

Wait till you're going down a wet 12% grade with a loaded touring bike and a logging truck bumper getting real close. I've been there more times than I'd like to remember. Those salmon pads are better than stock, no question, but they still turn to useless bricks when the water really gets into the braking surface. The real trick nobody talks about is keeping your rims clean. All that fine Pacific Northwest grit mixes with water and turns into grinding paste. You can have the best pads in the world but if your rims look like they've been sandblasted, you're just polishing the surface. I actually started carrying a small scotch pad in my seat pack to give the rims a quick scrub if the braking gets sketchy. It's a cheap fix that does more than any fancy pad swap.

taylor.brooke21d ago

I'm with white.keith on this one. I learned that lesson the hard way coming down Boone's Ferry Road on a wet November morning. @kimr91 I ran those same Kool Stop salmon pads for years and still had moments where I was squeezing those levers to the bar with nothing but noise. It's not the pads, it's the film that builds up on the rims. That fine grit mixes with rain and creates this slick paste that no pad can cut through. A quick scotch pad scrub mid-ride has saved me more times than I can count.