'V' Brakes vs Mechanical Disc Brakes

Returning to cycling after a long absence I was wondering if these
mechanical disc brakes are as good as the older 'V' Brake bretheren?

As I'm passing by what are your opinions of the Saracen Raw as a beginners
bike?

Cheers

Ian.

Ian Brown wrote:
Returning to cycling after a long absence I was wondering if these
mechanical disc brakes are as good as the older 'V' Brake bretheren?

As with most things, there are good ones and bad ones. A good mechanical
disc brake will just about outperform any rim brake, especially in the wet.
A poor mech disc is much less of an asset than a reasonable V brake.

As I'm passing by what are your opinions of the Saracen Raw as a
beginners bike?

This thing? http://www.langsettcycles.co.uk/prod...lid=m1b1s1p184

Really really bad choice. There are so many better ways to spend £300 on a
bike. You need to stop considering full suspension frames; in that price
bracket they are 100% useless to anyone, beginnner or otherwise. Ask the man
at the bike shop to show you the advantages of similarly priced bikes with
rigid frames over these bendy things; very much more for your money.

Good luck

--
Mark

I've been reading around this subject recently, and these are the
impressions I was left with:

V-brakes are cheaper, lighter, and offer comparable breaking performance
to low-mid range discs, except in wet / muddy conditions where discs are
generally superior. V-brakes will not need re-fettling if you remove the
wheels to transport the bike - disc brakes may.

Conclusion: Disc brakes look 'cool' but unless you ride in wet and
muddy conditions a lot, you are better off with V-brakes, especially on a
low end bike, where there are more important components that would benefit
more from having extra money spent on them.

(Sorry, I'm not familiar with the Saracen Raw).



On Mon, 31 May 2004 14:28:41 GMT, Ian Brown
wrote:

Returning to cycling after a long absence I was wondering if these
mechanical disc brakes are as good as the older 'V' Brake bretheren?

As I'm passing by what are your opinions of the Saracen Raw as a
beginners
bike?

Cheers

Ian.

"Mark (UK)" wrote in message
...
Ian Brown wrote:
Returning to cycling after a long absence I was wondering if these
mechanical disc brakes are as good as the older 'V' Brake bretheren?

As with most things, there are good ones and bad ones. A good mechanical
disc brake will just about outperform any rim brake, especially in the
wet.
A poor mech disc is much less of an asset than a reasonable V brake.

As I'm passing by what are your opinions of the Saracen Raw as a
beginners bike?

This thing? http://www.langsettcycles.co.uk/prod...lid=m1b1s1p184

Really really bad choice. There are so many better ways to spend £300 on a
bike. You need to stop considering full suspension frames; in that price
bracket they are 100% useless to anyone, beginnner or otherwise. Ask the
man
at the bike shop to show you the advantages of similarly priced bikes with
rigid frames over these bendy things; very much more for your money.

Good luck

--
Mark

Thanks for the advice.

Hmm. I guess either type will help you stop but as with anything else some
are better than others.

I thought full suspension frames would assist with softening the impact I'm
about to put this poor bike through. I read a review somewhere that said it
was OK, I considered this to me fair considering the reviewers didn't have
many good things to say about any bikes in this price bracket. What
benefits would a completely rigid frame give me?

Ian.

Re-fettling? Please explain.

With the typical British weather, I'm probably going to have more wet/muddy
riding than dry

I'm looking at bikes in the £300.00 range which is obviously the budget end
of the scale. I'm not going to spend any more loot until I've got back into
the swing of things.

Ian.


"Paul" wrote in message newspr8vdf6xpxd4gh3@tarfax...

I've been reading around this subject recently, and these are the
impressions I was left with:

V-brakes are cheaper, lighter, and offer comparable breaking
performance
to low-mid range discs, except in wet / muddy conditions where discs are
generally superior. V-brakes will not need re-fettling if you remove the
wheels to transport the bike - disc brakes may.

Conclusion: Disc brakes look 'cool' but unless you ride in wet and
muddy conditions a lot, you are better off with V-brakes, especially on a
low end bike, where there are more important components that would benefit
more from having extra money spent on them.

(Sorry, I'm not familiar with the Saracen Raw).



On Mon, 31 May 2004 14:28:41 GMT, Ian Brown
wrote:

Returning to cycling after a long absence I was wondering if these
mechanical disc brakes are as good as the older 'V' Brake bretheren?

As I'm passing by what are your opinions of the Saracen Raw as a
beginners
bike?

Cheers

Ian.

"Ian Brown" wrote in message
I thought full suspension frames would assist with softening the impact
I'm
about to put this poor bike through. I read a review somewhere that said
it
was OK, I considered this to me fair considering the reviewers didn't have
many good things to say about any bikes in this price bracket. What
benefits would a completely rigid frame give me?

Ian.

It essentailly comes down to this.... you get what you pay for and as of
right now 300 pounds won't be able to get you into a fs that isn't a death
trap. For the same money you could get a much much much better ht that
would last a season or two.

Think about it becuase it is true. Don't worry about the people here who
will tell you to pay double your budget for a bike. You can get an OK bike
within your range just go to a good lbs.

"loomer" wrote in message
ink.net...
"Ian Brown" wrote in message
I thought full suspension frames would assist with softening the impact
I'm
about to put this poor bike through. I read a review somewhere that said
it
was OK, I considered this to me fair considering the reviewers didn't
have
many good things to say about any bikes in this price bracket. What
benefits would a completely rigid frame give me?

Ian.

It essentailly comes down to this.... you get what you pay for and as of
right now 300 pounds won't be able to get you into a fs that isn't a death
trap. For the same money you could get a much much much better ht that
would last a season or two.

Think about it becuase it is true. Don't worry about the people here who
will tell you to pay double your budget for a bike. You can get an OK
bike
within your range just go to a good lbs.


I could well do without a death trap. I can manage that myself with no help
from the equipment

So, you think hardtail would be the way to go for the time being?

Any suggestions?

lbs ??

Ian.

By 'fettle', I just mean 'adjust'.

Having looked at the link Mark posted to the Saracen Raw, I'm definitely
in agreement with his comments - if you want a bike that will give you the
most enjoyable 'Cross Country' ride that is. Disc brakes and full
suspension are both gizmos on a bike in this price range, aimed mostly at
kids, and people who's bikes won't ever see a mile of single-track or
ascend anything but the smallest of hills. Full suspension bikes weigh a
tonne unless you spend £1000 - £1500+. If you took the Saracen Raw out
for a decent two hour cross country ride and then you took a £300 V-brake
hard-tail (i.e. no suspension) on the same ride, I'm sure you'd wanna but
the hard-tail every time.


On Mon, 31 May 2004 15:40:02 GMT, Ian Brown
wrote:

Re-fettling? Please explain.

With the typical British weather, I'm probably going to have more
wet/muddy
riding than dry

I'm looking at bikes in the £300.00 range which is obviously the budget
end
of the scale. I'm not going to spend any more loot until I've got back
into
the swing of things.

Ian.


"Paul" wrote in message newspr8vdf6xpxd4gh3@tarfax...

I've been reading around this subject recently, and these are the
impressions I was left with:

V-brakes are cheaper, lighter, and offer comparable breaking
performance
to low-mid range discs, except in wet / muddy conditions where discs are
generally superior. V-brakes will not need re-fettling if you remove
the
wheels to transport the bike - disc brakes may.

Conclusion: Disc brakes look 'cool' but unless you ride in wet and
muddy conditions a lot, you are better off with V-brakes, especially on
a
low end bike, where there are more important components that would
benefit
more from having extra money spent on them.

(Sorry, I'm not familiar with the Saracen Raw).



On Mon, 31 May 2004 14:28:41 GMT, Ian Brown
wrote:

Returning to cycling after a long absence I was wondering if these
mechanical disc brakes are as good as the older 'V' Brake bretheren?

As I'm passing by what are your opinions of the Saracen Raw as a
beginners
bike?

Cheers

Ian.

Ian Brown wrote:
"loomer" wrote in message
ink.net...
"Ian Brown" wrote in message
I thought full suspension frames would assist with softening the
impact I'm about to put this poor bike through. I read a review
somewhere that said it was OK, I considered this to me fair
considering the reviewers didn't have many good things to say about
any bikes in this price bracket. What benefits would a completely
rigid frame give me?

Ian.

It essentailly comes down to this.... you get what you pay for and
as of right now 300 pounds won't be able to get you into a fs that
isn't a death trap. For the same money you could get a much much
much better ht that would last a season or two.

Think about it becuase it is true. Don't worry about the people
here who will tell you to pay double your budget for a bike. You
can get an OK bike within your range just go to a good lbs.


I could well do without a death trap. I can manage that myself with
no help from the equipment

So, you think hardtail would be the way to go for the time being?

Any suggestions?

lbs ??

Local bike shop

The list of advantages of a hardtail at this price point is very long, but
basically, you will get a more competant bike with much better quality
components, a frame that will last so much longer, trouble free (er)
ownership, lighter weight... the list goes on. If you pick wisely i think
you will be happy with a £300 bike for quite some time, there are plenty of
good deals out there. If you get lucky you might be able to pick up a
discounted bike from a shop selling off last year's stock.

Whilst it pains me so say this, if your local bikes shops aren't up to much
(and a fair few aren't in this country...), it might be worth a visit to
Halfords. They have their own low-mid-price range badged Carrera (not to be
confused with their other line, the lowest of low Apollo) which i am told
are quite good value for money at around this price point. A mountain biking
friend of mine once had the misfortune of working there for a while, and was
suprised by Carrera.

Hope that helps some.

--
Mark

Ian Brown wrote:
"Mark (UK)" wrote in message
...

Ian Brown wrote:

Returning to cycling after a long absence I was wondering if these
mechanical disc brakes are as good as the older 'V' Brake bretheren?

As with most things, there are good ones and bad ones. A good mechanical
disc brake will just about outperform any rim brake, especially in the

wet.

A poor mech disc is much less of an asset than a reasonable V brake.


As I'm passing by what are your opinions of the Saracen Raw as a
beginners bike?

This thing? http://www.langsettcycles.co.uk/prod...lid=m1b1s1p184

Really really bad choice. There are so many better ways to spend £300 on a
bike. You need to stop considering full suspension frames; in that price
bracket they are 100% useless to anyone, beginnner or otherwise. Ask the

man

at the bike shop to show you the advantages of similarly priced bikes with
rigid frames over these bendy things; very much more for your money.

Good luck

--
Mark


Thanks for the advice.

Hmm. I guess either type will help you stop but as with anything else some
are better than others.

I thought full suspension frames would assist with softening the impact I'm
about to put this poor bike through. I read a review somewhere that said it
was OK, I considered this to me fair considering the reviewers didn't have
many good things to say about any bikes in this price bracket. What
benefits would a completely rigid frame give me?


At that price range a bike that will work properly and last.

Greg