Old mechanic in Tucson changed my mind about disc brakes

Used to swear by rim brakes. Thought discs were just extra weight and hassle. This 70-year-old guy at a shop in Tucson stopped me. He said 'Son, I've stopped more people with one finger on a descent than you've stopped total.' Watched him bleed a set of Shimano XTs in under 5 minutes. Made me rethink everything. Anyone else have a random stranger shift their whole view?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_faith1mo ago

Eh, discs are nice but rim brakes ain't that serious either.

joseph_ellis851mo ago

My old Fuji with 105 rim brakes got me through three centuries and a week in the Alps without a single problem, @the_faith. I only switched to discs because I wanted to run wider tires for gravel. Rim brakes still stop you just fine in normal conditions.

the_jordan13d ago

@joseph_ellis85 what wheelset did you end up running for that gravel setup

sam_thomas13d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah rim brakes still stop fine, just keep your pads clean.