Can Disk Brakes flip you over the handle bars?

JG wrote:
My physics-fu is feeling a little weak.

While it is true that the limits on grip strength and size will limit
how much force you can put into the brake pads, it does seem that
that force on the pads at a 28" rim is going to be four times as
effective as pads on a 7" rotor, and that a disk brake will be
inherently less effective than a rim brake. Or am I missing
something?

JG

I'm ASSuming that the disc pucks float much closer to the disc than the
rim brake pads do to the rim, so you can get more mechanical advantage
with the discs without bottoming out the levers.

NB: I know far, far more about car brakes than I do about bicycle discs,
never even having looked closely at one, so I'm just throwing a WAG out
there.

nate

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