Cons of disc brakes

Disc brakes weigh more - When road cyclists are often doing everything they can to make their bike as light as possible for speed reasons, the addition of discs brakes will add weight to a bike. Disc brakes, especially hydraulic disc brake systems, are generally heavier than rim brakes.

Cost more - Disc brakes are a costlier option both from the point of view of initial purchase and maintenance. Although disc brake pads will generally last longer than rim pads they are costlier to replace and can be as much as three times the cost of equivalent rim pads.

Difficulty of maintenance - Hydraulic disc brakes shouldn’t need much in the way of day to day maintenance because they are sealed, but when something goes go wrong this can be more difficult to rectify. Occasionally disc brakes may need ‘bleeding’ if there is an air bubble trapped in the system, which isn’t a straightforward task as say adjusting a caliper rim brake.

Not transferable - You couldn’t just transfer disc brakes onto your road bike that has previously been set up for rim brakes and vice versa. The frame and wheels would not accommodate both types. To use disc brakes you’d need a different wheel hub than on standard rim brake wheels, and the fork would need brake mount tabs to accommodate disc brakes.

Discs brakes can be dangerous - Problems can arise when riders in a group are using a mix of disc and rim braking systems, meaning that some are able to brake with different effectiveness than others. In some instances riders have claimed they have been injured by a disc brake following race incidents. However, the governing body for cycling, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), has after extensive testing, authorised (from July 2018) the use of disc brakes in the pro peloton. That year saw the first winner of a Tour de France stage using disc brakes. Discs had already been permitted for use for cyclo-cross, mountain bike, trials and other mass participation events and their use is likely to proliferate across the whole pro peloton.

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