Beginner’s Guide to Buy A Road Bike

To the casual observer, carbon road bikes all look pretty similar. Drop-bars, light-weight, skinny tired. Built for speedy rides on the tarmac.

Look closer, and you’ll discover a number of subtle differences in components, frame materials, and frame geometry depending on the bike’s intended use.

We’ll be taking you through the most important factors you’ll need to consider so that you’ll be able to find the right bike for your riding style.

What kind of riding will you be doing? 

The first question to ask yourself, is Race or Sportive bike?

For new road riders, or anyone whose joints are not as good as they were, then a more relaxed, more upright position is key to keeping things comfortable. This is your Sportive bike. In the last few years, we have seen a huge growth in Sportive type road bikes, from entry-level to high performance.

Frame and fork material

Another key area to consider, when you’re purchasing your first road bike, is whether you want a carbon or alloy frame and/or fork.

Most entry-level road bikes will be aluminium-framed road bicycles, and perhaps a carbon fiber fork; this provides a good balance between reliability and robustness of the alloy frame, but with vibration absorption provided by the more compliant carbon material in the fork.

If you’re looking to have a bike with a lower weight, and greater lateral stiffness though, then you should consider a full carbon frame and fork. Carbon framed road bikes are lighter, and they can be more comfortable (because they’re more compliant); therefore they can be faster!

Groupset

The third thing to pay attention to is the groupset model specified in the bike description. This is the bike’s transmission and brakes.

The groupset manufacturers you will most commonly see are Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo. Each has a hierarchy of groupset models, from basic entry-level right up to the same parts you’ll see the pros using.

The best buying advice is to go for the best groupset you can afford. Higher-end groupsets provide smoother shifting, more gear choice, and overall lighter weight.

Disc brake road bike or caliper road bike?

Perhaps the ‘question of the moment, is whether you get a disc brake road bike or a caliper (traditional rim brake) road bike.

There are benefits and drawbacks of both systems. Disc brakes are fantastic at having consistent stopping power, in wet and dry conditions; even when the bike sprays up a quantity of dirt and grit onto your wheel rims, you can still brake consistently with disc brakes. Rim brakes, by contrast, tend to suffer in particularly wet or grimy conditions; however, they are cheaper, easier to maintain, and provide more wheel upgrade choices.

We won’t try to persuade you one way or the other; disc or rim brakes, your first road bike will be great fun!

If you want to get more tips for choosing a road bike, please visit our official website:https://www.trifoxbike.com/

Six reasons and solutions for abnormal disc brakes

6 reasons causing hydraulic brakes to rub against the disc:

1. First you have to make sure your wheels are installed in place. For non-bucket axle wheels, first, confirm whether your wheels have been installed in place. Open the quick release, press the frame with your body, and then lock the quick release in place. Incorrect installation will cause the disc to tilt against the disc. For the barrel axle wheelset, before adjusting the position of the brake caliper, the barrel axle rod must be locked to a predetermined torque and then adjusted to prevent the disc position from changing after disassembling the wheelset.
2. Confirm whether there is any play in your wheel axis. Special attention should be paid to the wheelset of the ball structure. Once the bearing has a play, no matter how you adjust the position of the caliper, the disc will always be rubbed. So before adjusting the calipers, move the wheel frame to make sure that there is no play on the left and right sides of the wheel. If the bearing hub has a clearance or shaking, deep maintenance and bearing replacement is required.
3. Confirm whether the disc has large yaw. Although the discs are more or less swaying, if your bike has a disc after being transported or crashed, you’d better check whether the disc is deformed first. If the deformation is not very large, just rub the disc without being stuck, you can use the disc correction wrench to adjust. First, find the position of the deformation, use the correcting wrench to insert it along the disc support rib, and correct it in the opposite direction of the deformation. Note that you can make multiple corrections according to the situation, and avoid doing miracles with great effort.
4. Make sure that the calipers are up so that there is enough gap between the disc and the disc. This situation often occurs in brake systems that use DOT Brake Fluid oil. Because DOT Brake Fluid oil has water absorption, it will cause the gap to become smaller when the oil expands. This situation can be solved by replacing the dot oil with a new one. On the brakes that use mineral oil, it is mostly caused by excessive oil injection or excessive thickness of the disc. Depending on the situation, the piston reset wrench can be used to withstand the brake pad and discharge excess brake fluid from the oil filling port on the brake lever, thereby increasing the gap between the brake pad and the caliper. In addition, on some high-end brakes, you can slightly adjust the piston clearance by adjusting the preload of the brake lever piston.
5. Confirm that the movement of the pistons on both sides of the caliper is synchronized and that there is no immobile or sticky piston on one side.
6. Confirm the cause of the abnormal noise. Not all rubbing discs appear in the left and right positions, they may also appear in the up and down positions. Because the edges of different discs will have different textures, coupled with compatibility problems of different discs and calipers, and the fixing position of the mounting screws or the disc itself, there will be radial jumps and rubbing against the top of the calipers. The solution is simple: add a 1-2mm spacer between the frame mount or adapter and the caliper and fix it with screws again.

Method of adjusting disc brake caliper (oil pressure):

After you eliminate the above six reasons, if you still rub the disc, it will be a good solution. For hydraulic brakes, only the fixed position of the caliper needs to be adjusted. We have mentioned that the fixing screw hole of the caliper is oval and has the ability to adjust left and right. Regardless of the fixing method, including flat-mounted calipers, direct-mounted calipers, the way of installing through the adapter, the adjustment method is the same.

My most common method is to first loosen the two fixing screws so that the caliper can move freely and then tighten the caliper fixing screws while pinching the brake lever. Generally speaking, this method has a half chance of success for calipers with tapered spacers. For ordinary direct-fixed calipers, the general situation at this time is that the disc will be close to the incoming film on one side.

Next, loosen one of the fixing screws and gently loosen the other fixing screw until the caliper can rotate around it. Then adjust the position of the caliper on the side of the loosened screw, adjust it to the center, and then tighten the screw. The same method to adjust the other end. This method is relatively easy to control the adjustment range, and it is not easy to cause the caliper to shift again due to the fixing screw.

It should be noted that if the caliper is not supplied with a tapered washer, do not add it to the caliper. This aspect will cause the caliper to rise, resulting in a reduction in the contact surface and the weakening of the braking force. Another point is that some calipers will aggravate the situation that the disc is not centered.

Method of adjusting disc brake caliper (mechanical):

For mechanical disc brakes, the method is the same as that of hydraulic brakes. The difference is that the pads on both sides of the mechanical brake have a more free adjustment range.

Most of the mechanical brakes are single-piston motions, such as the MD-M300 of Yanhao TEKTRO, the position of the discs can be adjusted on both sides of the brake. The movable side can be adjusted by the tension of the brake cable, and the non-movable side can be adjusted by the fixing screw. I usually make the movable side of the film stick out less, and the inactive side to make the film stick out more. The position of the disc is closer to the movable piston side, and the left and right gap ratios are about 1:2.

If it is a bilateral piston motion mechanical brake, such as trp’s spyre. It can be adjusted according to the same left and right gap.

The angle and spacing of the brake lever

Generally speaking, the angle of the brake lever is the extension line from the arm to the handlebar to the back of the hand under the normal cycling posture, and the first joint of the brake finger is the most suitable place to put the brake lever on the brake lever. Of course, this is just a basic adjustment angle. If some cyclists have other hobbies, then comfort prevails.

Regarding the distance between the brake lever and the finger, it can be adjusted by the fine adjustment screw on the brake lever. For the more high-end brakes, the adjustment knob is directly equipped, and most of the low-end brakes need to be adjusted from the position of the brake lever and the piston link through a 2mm hexagon wrench.

The relative position of the brake lever and the fingers is to maintain the grip posture, and the first joint of the index finger is just right on the turning point of the end of the brake lever. If it is a two-finger or three-finger brake lever, the position of the outermost finger shall prevail.

The Role Of The Pattern On The Disc Brake Rotors

Today, when disc brakes are becoming more and more popular, disc brake rotors with various patterns are flooding the market. So, have you ever considered that the pattern on the disc brake rotor is just for good looks or weight reduction? Does it have other important uses? If so, is there some kind of optimal ratio setting between these hollow styles and the material? The best here I think is more about performance, not just about aesthetics. I believe you have the same views as me. In addition, is there a relationship between these hollows on the heat dissipation, torque resistance, and deformation probability of the disc? Let’s take a look at how the technical staff of the major brake suppliers explains.

Shimano: In addition to being beautiful, the hollow pattern on the disc can also be used to clean the disc and remove the debris generated during use. Another point is that it can better dissipate heat, reduce weight, and reduce the probability of disc deformation.

Magura: For the hollow on the disc, the two biggest functions are to reduce weight and clean the disc.

Obviously, a disc with a larger hollow area can reduce more weight. On some of the most lightweight XC mountain bikes, there are more hollow discs than those on bikes that have more downhill uses. More hollows reduce weight. However, due to the reduction in the weight of the disc, the heat capacity of the disc is also reduced accordingly.

However, it should be noted that the hollowed-out part cannot be excessively pursued for weight reduction and aesthetics, because too much hollowing will reduce the contact area between the collar and the disc and reduce friction. The friction between the disc and the disc cannot be less than a predetermined threshold. Excessive hollowing will produce a cutting effect, which will reduce the braking performance and accelerate the wear of the collar.

So, what if there is no cutout on the disc? This will make the surface of the incoming film vitrified, especially on some composite materials. The cutouts on the disc will clean these to make the vitrified layer on the disc. On some discs, the edges of the disc are not hollowed out at all. You can observe it if you have the opportunity. You will see varying degrees of vitrification on the film.

Therefore, according to the different scenes of the disc, the hollow style will be different. However, the braking efficiency, heat dissipation performance, and friction will also be different due to the differences between cyclists, so the hollow style needs to be considered separately when purchasing.

TRP: There must be a reason for the hollow pattern on the brake disc. The special hollow design can reduce the impulse and noise in the brake, and it also needs to produce a consistent friction area on the disc. If the contact area between the lead and the disc changes repeatedly, noise and impulse will be generated.

In order to achieve the best performance of the braking system (a closer look at the braking power and adjustment ability), in fact, the braking effect of the disc without hollowing out is the best, because this allows the contact area between the collar and the disc to reach maximum. The same is true in racing bikes. The tires with the best grip are not with various patterns, but with a flat and smooth surface.

However, bicycles are not racing bikes, and the world we live in is not a perfect world, so the discs need to be cooled and cleaned of debris on the brake pads, and sufficient braking power must be maintained. The hollow cut is evenly divided, so that an opening can pass through the disc during the rotation of the disc, which can not only clean the collar but also perform gas exchange to take the excess heat out of the caliper.

Conversely, if too much hollowing is made on the disc in the design, although the heat dissipation performance can be improved and the weight can be reduced, the friction loss between the disc and the disc will be more correspondingly, resulting in overall reduction The braking force. Therefore, the best performance ratio on the standard thickness of the disc is more or less a compromise between braking force and heat dissipation.

However, TRP has the latest 2.3mm thick discs. Here, heat dissipation is no longer the main goal of hollowing out, because thicker discs allow greater heat capacity, so the hollowed-out design goal is to use it at maximum strength. It can reduce the vitrification of the leading piece and maintain the consistency of the braking force.

Hayes: Yes, the hollow style is very important. Hollowing will affect the heat capacity of the disc, the ability to remove water, debris, and sand, the convection conductivity of heat in the caliper, noise, the side rigidity and torsional rigidity of the disc, weight and manufacturing difficulty, and many other issues.

When designing a disc, engineers must balance all these aspects to meet expected performance requirements. For example, during the development of Hayes’ D series discs, the shape of the hollow was adjusted, which can significantly reduce noise, and the size of the hollow cut can also effectively control the temperature.