This is going to be a rambling post. I won’t say I’ve used every braking system, but I have used a lot of them. Caliper brakes work really well with narrow rims. On a good, modern road bike I have complete confidence they will stop me quickly and effectively. On wide rims, steel rims or on a vintage bike their effectiveness usually goes down quickly. I remember learning to brake with my foot against the rear tire on my old school BMX bike as a kid and the only disadvantage it gave me was that I had to take a foot off the pedal to do it. I considered the weight savings to be worth it. The brake really was that bad and I was seriously into BMX and all the parts on my bike were “high end”. Cantilever and V-brakes were a huge improvement. Even cheap imitation V-brakes seem to be effective if they’ve been properly set up. I’ve never used Magura rim brakes, but I understand they are the best of their kind. So we’re Avid BB7s, (best mechanical disc brake). Compared to an entry level hydraulic disc brake however those BB7’s are awful. Also, there were a ton of absolutely terrible mechanical disc brakes sold on department store bikes, some of which were nearly as bad as the old caliper brakes of the 70’s and 80’s.
These days I’m totally sold on hydraulic disc brakes. They just work really, really well. A Saint brake with a 203mm disc feels like it could stop a semi with one finger.
A beautiful ~10km morning ride. Everything was covered in 2-3 cm snow.
First ride with a Vittoria Mezcal III G2.0 TNT Folding Tire 29x2.6 at a fairly low 25psi (messures 66mm wide at the 35mm inner width rim). A very smooth rolling tire - also on asphalt. My rides are typically 1/3 asphalt and 2/3 gravel/trails. Low autosteer, and nice grip. Highly recommended. This is a keeper for me.
I rode ~7km before stepping off to stretch my legs (and take a picture) and thereby managed a section that I had not been able to ride before. Can’t say if it was the change of tire (or the lower tire pressure) but at least it was confidence inspiring and felt stable even in the snowy conditions.
The previous mounted Schwalbe Johnny Watts (also 29"x2.6") was also nice but needed more pressure as the “shoulder knobs” caused a lot of rumbling below 30 psi for me (~78kg).
The new Vittoria tire is also ~300 grams lighter which is a nice bonus.
Yeah that’s a really nice set up. I use the KH Freeride Sattel too. The Pedals are metal Pedals in Red and Pins. And the Rim Brake. I love to ride rim Brakes to ride Muni. I love the Muni but my Favourite Muni is a 24" with 150 mm Cranks and a rim brake but the 29" is a really nice size to ride in the town. That’s was my last ride for 20 Minutes to riding down into the Town and Al the way back home uphill. But a nice ride.
