Chris Froome is all aboard the disc-brake hype train

Surely this is ultimately down to consumer choice rather than one brake system being better. Froome has spoken out about his concerns with disc brakes, though he's still experimenting and Pogacar uses a mix of rim / disc brakes, depending on the stage. So it would seem that at the highest level brake choice is more about suitability rather than performance. 

So, if you live in wet, hilly Western Norway I might understand your preference for discs - though some pretty outstanding riders managed without them for decades. But in Denmark or Sweden, most of which is pretty flat, I doubt you'd notice the difference.

Sam3 wrote:

That anyone is carrying on this "debate' is shocking. Here in Scandinavia this train left the station a long time ago and hardly one wou,d even publish this storyline. Disc brakes are. Rim brakes were. End of story.

Luddites need something to do, now they are no longer smashing machines in the mills.

Gkam84 wrote:

It's as simple as this. Froome is now financially invested in Factor and Black Inc Wheels. So he needs to toe the company line and with their focus on trends going forward.

Did you hear this from ISN / Factor / Black Inc, Keith?

Or is it speculative bullshit based on nothing but your own opinion?

Factor & co do not need Froome's 'blessing' to sell disc-braked bikes or wheels. Discs seem to be outselling rim-braked on road bikes by some margin.

If he had gone all gooey-eyed over disc brakes and praised their performance at the beginning we would have called him a shill who simply repeats whatever his PR handlers tell him. The guy can't ever win, which says more about the cynics than it does about him.

"At the back of the race again" eh? So a smug schadenfreude against a multi tdf winner and crash survivor who doesn't continue winning tdfs  justifies your opinion?

Secret_squirrel wrote:

Funny how tunes change when there's money at stake/risk.

Are you saying 2+2 = 7?

From the article:

"Exactly what has changed with Froome’s setup is unclear, though he certainly wasn’t shy of trying a number of different parts in his search of braking perfection."

"Israel Start-Up Nation isn’t sponsored by Shimano and therefore required to use its full groupsets, the team has been able to use SwissStop pads and rotors."

He certainly wouldn't be the first to play with components to solve or reduce a niggling issue. Eddy Merckx was famous for it, even stopping mid-race to make tiny adjustments his seat, and Mark Cavendish is one of many riders who are very specific about their bike setup.

I'd like to think that a high profile pro rider making public comments about components (after all, he didn't mind speaking his mind the first time) might even help push manufacturers in a way that us plebs bleating about it would never achieve.

Simon E wrote:

Are you saying 2+2 = 7?

From the article:

"Exactly what has changed with Froome’s setup is unclear, though he certainly wasn’t shy of trying a number of different parts in his search of braking perfection."

Nope more like simultaneous equations.  I'm saying Occam's razor applies.  If its not obvious that anything has changed mechanically then you look at what else has obviously changed.  Which is Froomey has taken a stake in Factor and now has a vested interest in upselling their bikes disc brakes and all.  Conjecture yes but plausible from the information in the article.