Debate on rim brakes vs hydraulic brakes - which onef is better?

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

7.12.2021

There is an on going  debate between disc brake and rim brakes   Who is the winner

For the rim brakes:

1.  Lighter

2.  Cheaper to maintain

3.  More mechanically efficient (since the force is applied further from the center)

For the disc brake

1.  Better when conditions are wet;

2.  Less chance of mechanical failure

3.  Thus more reliable

However maintenance for disc brake is more expensive and tedious.  If you do not use this it may get stuck up and you need a lot of skill centering the brake and you change the pads more often.  Then there is the fluid and the bleeding.   It can give you head ache.

I have seen both system.

I favor the hydraulic brake.  Especially the xt system which employs only single finger force.  The hydraulic btake, the Pascal's law and the physics behind this is reassuring.