I think that all depends on the brake and rotor combo. I've used the Avid Mech's and they aren't too loud, and hydraulic's can be nice and quiet. On my commuter, though, I have Avid Mech's with low end Shimano center lock rotors. Had to used those rotors for caliper clearance and they sound (and feel) like a bag of rocks... Maybe they just need to break in better. There's only a couple hundred miles on them.

Are the drop bar lever disk brakes getting any better? I always heard the leverage kinda sucked.

:clap

I thought about it...for about a second :D

It was fawkin' hot!, but I had to do it! My 60 Yr old riding buddy is a climbing fool, and it's hard enough to even stay close! Gotta keep riding them hills!:deal The Speed Trip has been spending a lot of time in the barn... I've got close to 1600 miles on the Rhygin.:D

And she liked it! Says she wants to go back, just not tomorrow :deal

She only crashed once, while turning in a rather sandy area (her dad crashes like that too). Other than that, she went just shy of two miles, and had a smile most of the time.

Least its truth in advertising
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...d/IMGP3418.jpg

The girl actually working on the bike however :evil

I was thinking the same thing! :lol3

MY MTB brakes (Avid Elixer CR) are noisy, too. Yet, my GF's MTB (Avid Elixer), with the same pad/rotor combo is whisper quiet. I've cleaned my rotors and sanded the pads. It starts out quiet, but, ends up back to the same noise. I'm just running it, the way it is.

A local LBS told me the same thing, but, has proven unfounded. They just feel different than rim brakes.

Not at all. In the mountains, loaded up, or in crappy weather, they're the only way to go. Much more consistent, less maintenance, and never have to worry about fade.

"MY MTB brakes (Avid Elixer CR) are noisy, too. Yet, my GF's MTB (Avid Elixer), with the same pad/rotor combo is whisper quiet. I've cleaned my rotors and sanded the pads. It starts out quiet, but, ends up back to the same noise. I'm just running it, the way it is."

Could be an alignment issue. I know most calipers have those dished washer to allow them to be aligned properly. Maybe try setting adjusting them, or take is a step further and have the mounts faced at you local bike shop. If it's the rear brake specifically, maybe it's some harmonic frequency the frame helps produce. I think that's more likely with a steel frame, though.

Of course, a little grease on the rotors will quiet those brakes right down:eek1:lol3

I knew a guy when I was in high school who wd40'd the rims of his Trek road bike to quiet them down. :lol3
When he realized his mistake, as he was riding the bike, he wound up sticking his finger into the spokes and breaking it trying to wipe the rims off.:eek1

Did he ride in the tour de france this year?

re discs on road bikes, years ago I toured 1000s of miles on a heavily loaded road/touring bike with conventional campagnolo sidepulls and never had any problems stopping, even coming down long mountain grades. emergency braking at high speeds, etc. tire traction was a bigger problem. using the right brake pads, keeping them properly adjusted, and keeping the rims clean from rubber build up was the most important factor.

disks rock on a mountain bike when you're in the mud and stuff, no question. anywhere else I think they are pretty silly... ok, on a touring tandem where you're north of 300 lbs (2 riders + bike), yeah discs would rock (old school tandems would sometimes run dual braking systems, with a drum hub brake for slowing, and cantilever rim brakes for stopping).

Prayers...friend down in Portland.
 

A friend of mine was severely injured in Portland today.

http://bikeportland.org/2012/08/06/c...ollision-75572

This is terrible news. Marilyn is a skilled rider, dedicated racer, experienced commuter and bike shop owner. She is very safety conscious and rides with lights and color day and night. She is tough as nails, and if anyone can recover from this, she will. She's already beaten cancer....she'll beat this also.

I hope She has a swift recovery, and is back on her bike asap! I'll send positive thoughts from VT!

Thanks man....