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Disc Performance 20"/26" (or 24" Even Come To Think)


Alun Goch

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Ok, I'll explain this best I can, apologies if it's hard to make out:

Anyway, the larger the diameter of your wheel, the more leverage available from the rim. True?

So effectively, there are greater forces landing on ledges etc with a larger wheel. True?

With a rim brake, this is compensated for, as the brake also has more leverage. True?

Therefore in theory, as diskbrakes work on rotors of a certain diameter, would they perform better on a smaller rim?

I think it would because there is the exact same amount of power available from a disk brake, on whatever wheel its on, but a larger wheel would have more leverage to work against the brake.

Am I making sense?

Anyone with opinions or greater knowledge please could you learn me!

Thanks beforehand, Alun

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I think i get what you mean, A disk brake will work better on a smaller wheel becuase there's less force being applied to it. Also shorter spokes mean that theres less wobble in the brake.

Yes, thats what I mean.

So does it have any effect? Or is it negligable?

Alun

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Yes, thats what I mean.

So does it have any effect? Or is it negligable?

Alun

Definately has an effect i think, i used to have an avid as a rear brake (on a stock) and it used to slip a lot, i like my maggie much more :P Although on a disc specific frame such as richs leeson or a Kot i think it might be less of an issue as the mounts are designed strictly for trials.

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I beg to differ, I run a 165mm rotor on my 24. Hope mini originial if you'd like to know. And it is simply the best disc brake I have ridden. A mate of mine has a 205mm and his is no where near as good as mine. Alot of people will vouch for this. :) Larger does not always mean better.

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I beg to differ, I run a 165mm rotor on my 24. Hope mini originial if you'd like to know. And it is simply the best disc brake I have ridden. A mate of mine has a 205mm and his is no where near as good as mine. Alot of people will vouch for this. :) Larger does not always mean better.

technically, it does.

his could have been contaminated/badly set-up etc...

lots of variables.

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technically, it does.

his could have been contaminated/badly set-up etc...

lots of variables.

correct, a larger disc means providing the brake has the same amount of power (from lever) theoretically the larger disc will stop quicker than the smaller one due to basic laws of physics.

its all to do with momentum and speed; a larger disc has a higher speed (mesured on perimiter of disk) but less momentum which means that the same amount of power through the lever will actually produce the same amount of pressure, but because of the momentum being minimised by using a larger disc, it means that the wheel will stop quicker.

"So effectively, there are greater forces landing on ledges etc with a larger wheel. True?"

FALSE

wheel size is a similar matter although strength comparisons are hard to make as more money is put into research in 26" wheels than 20", not to say that there arent good 20" wheels on the market today.

there are a lot of variants in these things but careful concideration and reviews can help.

Edited by hardcore_raver
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the mini will feel better almost like it has more 'snap' because its got a smaller rotor but it will take a later force to move the wheel with the bigger rotor

the best way to explain this is in terms of car brakes, you would think if a car with normal rotor skids when trying to stop fast then if bigger discs are fitted the car will just skit sooner, but this is not the case the bigger disc sloow the car faster than the smaller disc and they stop it from skidding as soon when under hard braking

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So if Im getting this right, providing all variables are equal (and er...not varied) a magura on a stock bike will work better than a magura on a mod bike?

Im using the "opening-a-farmers-gate" principal in my mind, its easier to control the further away from the fulcrum...

...Hmm I think this is going to be a thread similar to the plane on a converyor belt one.... :P:lol:

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26" wheels:

Rotor size

160mm - 0,242

180mm - 0,272

185mm - 0,280

203mm - 0,307

24" wheels:

Rotor size

160mm - 0,262

180mm - 0,295

185mm - 0,303

203mm - 0,332

20" wheels:

Rotor size

160mm - 0,314

180mm - 0,354

185mm - 0,364

203mm - 0,399

With these numbers it is easy to realize that a 203mm rotor on a 26" wheel will be less effective than a 160mm rotor on a 20" wheel. The larger the number, the more power the disc will deliver.

More accurate calculations are dependant on the size of disc race and the shape of the pads. This however requires calculus and I'm not yet quite familiar with using it.

edit: of course I'm not taking the power of the caliper and grip of the pads etc under consideration, after all we're only talking about disc sizes here

Edited by Inur
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So if Im getting this right, providing all variables are equal (and er...not varied) a magura on a stock bike will work better than a magura on a mod bike?

Im using the "opening-a-farmers-gate" principal in my mind, its easier to control the further away from the fulcrum...

...Hmm I think this is going to be a thread similar to the plane on a converyor belt one.... :P:lol:

Well, technically, they have a better lock, but because of the larger diameter, the forces from ledges etc. are also greater, so I suppose this makes no difference.

Inur, what are the figures measured in?

Alun

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Yeah it has an effect, thats why most people will reccomend a 160mm disc for a mod and a 180mm dosc for a stock (Y) to compensate for the extra forces needed with the bigger wheels

f**k that rule, 180mm hope trial on a mod, is a f**king beast!!

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So if Im getting this right, providing all variables are equal (and er...not varied) a magura on a stock bike will work better than a magura on a mod bike?

I think you're right, cause rim brake surface diameter/wheel diameter ratio is higher in stock wheels (even using the same height tyres).

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Well, technically, they have a better lock, but because of the larger diameter, the forces from ledges etc. are also greater, so I suppose this makes no difference.

Inur, what are the figures measured in?

Alun

the figures are not measured in anything its the disc size to wheel ratio. these figures are merely to be compared between each other. someone might want to put that up into FAQ for future reference.

f**k that rule, 180mm hope trial on a mod, is a f**king beast!!

getting a setup like that tomorrow, i'm not sure if it will not be too powerful. yet i probably won't need to bed the brake in for it to work well :)

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