Wow. Didn't See It Happening This Year

[Razors Edge ★]

...but the statement from Specialized is AMAZING if true.  Sure, many S-Works & Pro are bought as framesets anyway, but that is still a pretty strong statement (but not one that seems to have a deadline):

Full stop: road disc brakes take over in 2018

To hear SRAM and Shimano tell it, more road disc brakes will sell this year than rim brakes in sales of groups and complete bikes. Bike brands such as Specialized, Trek and Cannondale back this up.

While most brands will continue to support both styles of brakes, Specialized is clearly pointed towards disc-only.

"We are going to stop selling full rim-brake road bikes, and will only sell them as framesets," says Specialized PR spokesman Sean Estes.

Tom

 

[Page Turner]

...because everyone needs dics breaks on his roady bike.

This is probably because Specialized is going full speed into e-bikes, and people need to stop them somehow.

[Razors Edge ★]

17 hours ago, Page Turner said:

...because everyone needs dics breaks on his roady bike.

This is probably because Specialized is going full speed into e-bikes, and people need to stop them somehow.

Nobody "needs" disc brakes, but I think the point where the costs are low enough that a bike can be easily equipped and sold with this better option.  You work on old bikes, and I am sure you will agree that older brakes, while not "better", certainly will be more readily maintained 10, 20, or 30 years down the line.  Heck, it seems MTB shocks from the 90s might as well be thrown away these days rather than rebuilt.  I wonder if disc brakes will be like that - too proprietary that over time, spare parts are tough to get?  

This weekend, flying down a steep wet road at 30+mph with a T-intersection at the bottom (only I had a stop sign), I would have LOVED the security of disc brakes to check my speed. As it was, I instead sat up early, used a non-aero position, and worked my brakes to get down to a reasonable speed for a stop or a coast, look, and go.  

Tom

[Page Turner]

...which is how real bicyclists are supposed to do it.  It's not a motorcycle, for god's sake.

[Razors Edge ★]

1 hour ago, Page Turner said:

...which is how real bicyclists are supposed to do it.  It's not a motorcycle, for god's sake.

As you noted, with eBikes, we're approaching "moped"-level now (hence the need for disc brakes).  How much longer until we reach motorcycle-level????

Tom

[Indy]

28 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

As you noted, with eBikes, we're approaching "moped"-level now (hence the need for disc brakes).  How much longer until we reach motorcycle-level????

Tom

Getting close already if you ask me.  Just a matter of time before we run into licensing issues.  On the MTB front, around here we are all ready getting tied up in a mess as the DNR classifies eBikes as motorcycles since they do have motors.  They say as such, they are banned from all trail use except those designated for ATV's.  So we are currently at risk of having all access to trails cut off due to people with eBikes riding on them.  The fat tire eBike crowd is the worst offenders as many shops sell them with the premise you can ride them on wet and muddy trails which is very much not the case.  In fact, according to Indiana DNR, you can't ride them on really any trails.

[Reverend_Maynard]

2 hours ago, Indy said:

Getting close already if you ask me.  Just a matter of time before we run into licensing issues.  On the MTB front, around here we are all ready getting tied up in a mess as the DNR classifies eBikes as motorcycles since they do have motors.  They say as such, they are banned from all trail use except those designated for ATV's.  So we are currently at risk of having all access to trails cut off due to people with eBikes riding on them.  The fat tire eBike crowd is the worst offenders as many shops sell them with the premise you can ride them on wet and muddy trails which is very much not the case.  In fact, according to Indiana DNR, you can't ride them on really any trails.

Yup, fat ebikes are even worse than the regular ones.  Now they figure there's never any reason they can't ride, no matter what it might do to the trails. 

They all say we're being alarmists when we say we are opposed to them because they will end up getting everyone's access taken away, but apparently you are already in that danger.  It really sucks that the lazy and inconsiderate can endanger all the hard work all the MTB advocates have put in to get the access we have today.