Specialized CEO Mike Sinyard said that "rim brakes will be eliminated from road bikes." While this might seem a bit exaggerated, it's not impossible. We can clearly see that disc brake road bikes are becoming increasingly popular.

Looking at the brake systems used in cars and motorcycles, disc brakes are clearly the market standard, and bicycles are moving toward the same situation. Let's explore the advantages of disc brake systems.

1. Superior Braking Power

With the same amount of braking force applied, disc brake systems can provide greater stopping power, allowing riders more control in situations such as long descents or steep declines.

2. Less Effort Required

Compared to rim brake systems, disc brakes require less force to achieve the same braking power. This can boost confidence for female riders with smaller hands during braking. Relatively speaking, less force means less effort, which is undoubtedly a great advantage for long-distance riders.

3. Eliminates Concerns About Rim Overheating

As road bikes have moved into the carbon era, carbon frames have become incredibly popular due to their high rigidity and lightweight advantages. However, early carbon rims had issues with heat resistance, meaning that using rim brake systems on long descents could not only damage the wheels due to high temperatures but also pose a danger. Disc brake systems can easily solve these problems.

4. Performs Well in Harsh Road Conditions

Compared to rim brake systems, disc brakes are less affected by weather conditions. Additionally, the disc mounting position is relatively far from the tires and the ground, making them less susceptible to dirt and rainwater. This ensures excellent braking power and enhances safety during rides.

5. Easier Maintenance

Traditional rim brake systems use brake pads to frictionally engage the braking surface of the wheel, which wears down over time. While brake pads are easy to replace, the entire wheelset must be replaced if the rim wears out. In contrast, with a disc brake system, only the disc needs to be replaced.

Evolving Disc Brakes

The biggest concern with early disc brakes was the added weight. Since lightweight design is a fundamental requirement for road bikes, many people avoided disc brakes. However, with continuous development and design improvements in recent years, their weight has steadily decreased. For a complete high-end groupset, including calipers, discs, and brake levers, the weight increase compared to caliper brakes and brake levers is only about 400g.

Disc Brakes: A Key to Victory

While disc brake systems have been applied in the mountain bike field for a long time, their application to road bikes is a more recent development. This dates back to 2012 when Colnago and Formula collaborated to launch the Colnago C59 Disc, ushering in the era of disc brake road bikes. Subsequently, the three major groupset manufacturers – Sram, SHIMANO, and Campagnolo – successively released their disc brake products, and now each system offers a full range of disc brake options.

The rapid development of disc brake systems in the road bike sector is not only due to the strong support from the three groupset manufacturers, but also to the crucial role played by the UCI. Although the UCI initially permitted a one-year trial of disc brakes in 2016, they were temporarily suspended in April 2017 before being reinstated. As star riders chose disc brake road bikes for races and consecutively won championships, disc brake systems gradually gained prominence in the market.

Currently, all brands feature disc brake road bikes as their main products, and there is a growing trend for them to surpass rim brake road bikes.

We at ICAN have just launched our new disc brake road bike, the A9. If you're interested, please consider it.

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