Updated: UCI officially suspends disc brake testing

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2014 accident stats from the Dep't for Transport. Plenty of nuggets here to support many sides of the argument and of course it's very difficult to prove a correlation between cause and effect outside of the reproducible lab controlled experiment. However, my reading is that even though overall numbers killed are now lower, cyclists are the only group for whom current overall casualty rates have increased since the 2005 - 2009 baseline figures even after taking account of increased cycle miles over that time.

Personally I don't discount theories of increased risk taking being a result of an increased perception of personal safety and that has to quite literally impact on vulnerable road users. However I would also contend that whereas most of the current improvements in car design and safety features are for the benefit of passengers in those vehicles or to put it another way, systems that help reduce injury in the event of an accident, that the newer technologies are being developed to avoid collisions in the first place, and that has to be better news for vulnerable road users.

If nothing else, the continued (relatively) high incidence of pedal cyclist injuries should be used as a stick to beat the road planners and to demand better Police enforcement of speed limits, mobile phone usage, close passes and other stupidity / aggression occuring on our roads. At the same time, it's still obviously dangerous enough out there to take a few precautions, so I'll be continuing to use my lights and hi viz as part of my overall survival strategy.

If you prefer rims brakes for aesthetics or extra fractional weight saving that's just fine as they are good valid reason. But please do not come out with flat earth claptrap that they work just as well. They. Do. Not.  

When testing various road bikes last year I found the perfect bike. Light, perfect fit, very comfy and oh so very fast. Luckily it rained lightly during the ride and I quickly remembered how reallly, really crap rim brakes are in the wet. Did the same route straight after with a heavier bike [not because of the discs BTW] and had zero issue stopping.
I also rode Col De la Madone shortly after on a lovely light road bike and sadly had to descend the very twisty road quite cautiously in the very hot and dry conditions. Why? The rim brakes were so inferior to discs, they simply could not slow me enough. I would have descended faster on my mountain bikes.
V- brakes are way more powerful and effective than the caliper brakes that one person claimed were so much better than canti brakes that discs were unnecessary and yet V-brakes vanished from mountain bikes. I've ridden the Alps off road quite happily with v-brakes, as they are very good indeed. But and this is a big but, it was bone dry at the time.

I rode road bikes before I got an MTB and yet like many MTBers, now I will not buy a road bike with braking from the last ecentury. I live somewhere with lots of steep hills and with this being the UK it can rain heavily at any time of the year and being able to brake consistently, controllably and powerfully is a must. My girlfriend's road bike which I also ride at times is lovely and fast, except for downhills where I dare not go the speed I do on a road bike with discs because it simply has nowhere near the stopping power, so can be a  tad scary to ride as a result.

Quote:

To take the example of the motor car: 'teching' your way out of trouble has coincided with a rather considerable reduction in road traffic related casualties amongst all groups of road users.

What happened as they made cars 'safer' is that drivers took more risks, resulting in more vulnerable road users being killed. That in turn made people think cycling was dangerous, and that letting their kids walk to school was dangerous. So it wasn't all great.

My discs look lovely on my bike

SP,

To take the example of the motor car: 'teching' your way out of trouble has coincided with a rather considerable reduction in road traffic related casualties amongst all groups of road users. All cars now come equipped with safety devices from the humble seat belt, airbags and ABS equipped disc brakes to a myriad of unseen electronic driver aids such as traction and stability control. Some newer vehicles can be ordered with radar controlled collision avoidance systems. Even if you feel you don't need such aids I'd much rather you (and everyone else) did have them. Whilst I agree wholeheartedly with your premise that responsibility for the vehicle rests with the driver and commend your attitude in relation to being constantly aware of the car's ability to injure and kill, I hold out no such hope for the majority of fallible human beings in possession of a driving licence. Personally I welcome every advance that allows for the vehicle to mitigate a potential incident and look forward to the widespread use of self driving vehicles and all the 'driver aid' spin off technologies along the way.

As to the disc brakes on my bicycle? Well the way I look at it is that my bike needed some method of stopping and discs were a small premium cost over conventional rim brakes, plus I think that discs look pretty cool and I really do like my carbon rims and hate seeing them all scuffed up. But ultimately, if in the expected 10 or so years that I own the bike they allow me to stop a bit sooner just once in a critical situation, then they have earned their place. And yes they most definitely do allow me to stop quicker. I really do recommend that you try them when you come to replace your current bike, I think you would actually enjoy the extra finesse and control.

What does it matter to anyone outside the pro-peloton if they use cheezy watsits as brakes next year?

Unless you're the sort of saddo that dresses up in full team strip to match your bike, just ride what you like and to hell with trying to emulate the pros. All the good new stuff will still arrive on bikes you can buy, it's just that in this case it came via MTBs instead of the TdF.

As for disk brakes looking ugly, that's a personal opinion. Not one I share.

Anyway, I've got disk brakes on my "road" bike and Vs on my MTB. Do I care? no.

Is that rider going to return to racing or is he permanently out?

Disc guards? How heavy are they? Aero? Blown about in high winds? Some new challenges to overcome  or use rim brakes.

Call me a luddite but Disc brakes should never have been allowed on road bikes in the first place. The stopping power of modern calliper brakes on road bikes has been exceptional now for a long time. Just try a vintage 531 frame with centre pull brakes and compare. Disc brakes just make a road bike look ugly. 

Superpython, by your own admission you are a superior cyclist and car driver to all around you. Whilst of course we would all aspire to the infallible standard that you set, would you allow us lesser beings the benefit of superior / slightly more idiot friendly technologies to make up for our lack of ability?

Whether Francisco Ventoso was actually injured by a disc or not is missing the point. However looking at the pics I have never seen that type of slice on a cyclist before - having been in more than a few bunch spills in my time.

Crashes in the peleton are an (unfortunate) reality and a much more serious (apologies to FV) injury would be inevitable were the UCI to allow the continued use of discs.

Or introduce leathers to the peleton. Rapha would clean up...

There is no absolute proof it was caused by a disc, it was 'possibly' caused by a disc brake rotor.

Put a bunch of people on bikes racing closely at x miles an hour and anything can happen disc brakes or no disc brakes there will be something that hurts you. Disc rotors definately aren't "razor sharp" as some keep mentioning, ran my finger firmly round the edge of my rotors on my planet x London Road  and (I know they weren't spinning at x miles per hour, but apparently neither was the rider who had "stopped" in front of Francisco) there was no way I could cut my finger. I have no doubt slamming into a disc rotor would hurt like hell and could very well badly injure a rider the same way other parts of the bike could but I'm very suspicious of his injury, he doesn't even really know for definate that is what hurt him, he just thinks it is and is jumping to conclusions. 

In all my years working on my bikes the only time I have hurt/cut myself is when dealing with the cassette and chainrings, they really are like razors! bang into those and they sink in a slice!

I had a rim brake road bike before discs and wet weather performance was never good when dealing with cars pulling out in front, now my discs provide me with consistently great performance in all weather and give me the confidence I can stop when I need to.

I do think that more research should be done before re-introducing discs to the peleton to put peoples minds at ease but at the end of the day it should be up to the rider. They aren't always in a bunch, If they feel safer with discs hurtling down a mountain in the wet than with calipers then let them have discs. 

Anyway I'm just happy to ride no matter what brakes I have on my bike.

The decision the UCI had to make is not about whether disc brakes are a good thing or not.  It is only tangentally about whether they are safe or not.  It is also not that important whether the injuries from P-R are caused by a disc or not.

As someone who manages a workforce in a hazardous industry one thing you learn quickly is that if you don't take your people with you when you make a change then it gets difficult very quickly.  While the riders in the pro-peleton are not exactly UCI employees it seems clear that they have not bought into the idea that discs will provide them an advantage.  If they did they would be rushing to adopt them, safety concerns or not.  The trials of the last few months don't appear to have sold it to them either.  So if the riders are collectively saying no, I don't think continuing with the trial was sustainable.  A time out to re-evaluate and make the performance arguement to the riders seems sensible.

None of this has much bearing on the whether any of the rest of us who are not racing should ride road bikes with discs.

I don't see what the problem is. What's right for the pro's might not apply to the rest of us - there's no need to be so defensive about it!

The problem I have with manufacturers pushing discs is that it requires a LOT of investment to 'upgrade'. (Ditto 11 speed to a lesser degree). You don't just stick on new brakes, you basically upgrade the whole bike for discs. Fine for those making a first time purchase but I'm heavily invested in rim brakes in my equipment - frames, wheels etc.

Staying on rim brakes for the forseeable doesn't make me a luddite, nor does holding the view that they aren't necessary. There are indeed downsides in weight, aerodynamics etc (remember the industry is still pushing those, too!) Sure, they're likely to be better in raw stopping power and in wet conditions. If that's important to you then you should invest.

There's a regular twisty descent close to home ending in a T junction, requiring heavy braking usually to zero. It's on the majority of my rides by necessity. Last night Garmin showed deceleration from a max of 48.5mph to 0mph. I weigh 89kg+bike and had no problems at all stopping. Perhaps (probably) I'd have stopped a bit quicker with discs. But it's not much of a limiting factor on my overall times or even my safety.. fitness and technique certainly are though!!

I agree with the WFSGI to have a full investigation of the accident.

Afterall, there is a big allegation hanging in the air that disc brakes were at fault but it is not followed up by any logical explanation of Ventoso's claims in his statement. (questions about cut in the wrong shape, on the wrong leg?)

I also agree that disc brakes are not necessarily needed, afterall everyone was able to race before disc brakes and was able to stop in the wet and so on and so forth...

However, it doesn't negate the fact that you can brake better and quicker with disc brakes,even on road bikes. Some might find this to be important, others don't....

I leaned disc rotor gurad is already exist for the people paly bike polo.

http://www.fixcraft.de/collections/frontpage/products/disc-rotor-guard

Racers just can use  carbon version of this. 

Sponsors will be happy to have another expensive carbon piece with brand logo.

Sure they could be covered with a lightweight carbon cover and have ducted air for cooling .

Am loving this debate, lets stick some buzzsaws on bikes in a pelaton. I'm trying to think of another sport where it's governing body has tried to make it more dangerous. Maybe FIA Group B cars in the 80's.

As I've stated before disc brakes will not stop crashes or pile ups. Riders reaction times and handling skills are far more important. Why introduce bacon slicers on top of the weaponry that bikes already have seems insane to me!

It's been a great couple of days. The anti disc gang feel smug / vindicated and the pro disc brigade are furiously paddling (or is that pedalling?).