Opinions please. I can get a heck of a deal, on a closeout 2017 trek Boone 7...for stupid low money. Only catch...its cantis. Now, I don't own one bicycle with disc brakes, so they aren't a deal breaker, but it might be nice to be able to run 650b on occasion. What's y'alls thoughts?
I ride with cantis often but much prefer the road discs on my go-to gravel bike. Life is full of compromises - if I could save a bunch of money to get a nice canti bike that fit my riding style I would.
i will happily run canti's on a classic machine or a truly great bike, but at this point i would not buy a new bike with them, the industry is moving too quickly to discs. if you plan to have this bike for a while, you will only run into more and more issues finding compatible wheels, brakes, even the drivetrain since shifting and braking are integrated.
you can do it, and it would ride fine and be a good bike, but if you are the kinda guy who likes to upgrade parts you will always have to be looking at older stock.
perhaps more importantly, unless it's going to be a collector's item (which it isn't), the resale value of a cross bike with cantis is already plummeting. i'm struggling to sell a cross bike with canti's now in part because everyone has it in their heads that disc is the way to go. it's going to be even worse in another 3-5 years
i will happily run canti's on a classic machine or a truly great bike, but at this point i would not buy a new bike with them, the industry is moving too quickly to discs. if you plan to have this bike for a while, you will only run into more and more issues finding compatible wheels, brakes, even the drivetrain since shifting and braking are integrated.
That won't happen, there's way too many existing bikes to keep parts for.
Shimano released 8 speed drivetrains almost 30 years ago and they still make 7 speed parts.
I've been running Mafac cantilever brakes on one bike that are at least 50 years old. They still work and still use the same brake pad that will be sold for another 50 years.
Trek says the max tire size is 700x38. If you are ok with that? I say go for it. I have cantis on my Crockett and they work just fine for riding on gravel.
Griff wrote:Trek says the max tire size is 700x38. If you are ok with that? I say go for it. I have cantis on my Crockett and they work just fine for riding on gravel.
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\nRead a article this morning, in bikepacking mag, Will Sheel ran 40mm nanos....38s aren't bad tho.
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That won't happen, there's way too many existing bikes to keep parts for.
Shimano released 8 speed drivetrains almost 30 years ago and they still make 7 speed parts.
I've been running Mafac cantilever brakes on one bike that are at least 50 years old. They still work and still use the same brake pad that will be sold for another 50 years.
That won't happen, there's way too many existing bikes to keep parts for.
Shimano released 8 speed drivetrains almost 30 years ago and they still make 7 speed parts.
I've been running Mafac cantilever brakes on one bike that are at least 50 years old. They still work and still use the same brake pad that will be sold for another 50 years.
i didn't say it will be impossible, just increasingly difficult, especially if you want to upgrade in the future. companies will always make retro-actively compatible parts, i'm just saying that if you are the kind of person who in 5 years think you might want to upgrade to any sort of current technology, like 11s or electronic shifting, you will be much more limited. if that's not you, then you'll be fine.
If you aren't worried about mud clearance, get a nice set of v-brakes. TRP makes some great ones for road pull levers. If mud clearance is a concern for you, get Shorty Ultimates. Either way, put Salmon pads in your brakes. The downside- You aren't going to be able to do 650, and you'll never get monster truck tire clearance. Nice rim brake road wheels are never going away, though so you're always going to have options there.
I wouldn't do it unless the bike is going to be used primarily on pavement. While I don't feel any need to switch to disc brakes road bikes, I won't ever use anything but disc brakes off-pavement again.
A good price is only a good deal if it makes sense for you. IMO, going backward in technology simply because you can get a good price is not a good deal. However, I don't know you, the type of riding you plan to do or your personal preferences, so I can't make the decision for you.
My personal experience has been that even top-quality cantis that are set up correctly are at best mediocre brakes and at worse, they're dangerous. For 'cross racing where brakes are primarily there only to mitigate your speed - as opposed to being able to stop you - cantis are OK. Additionally, downhill sections on 'cross courses are relatively short. In comparison, for gravel/dirt roads, you must be able to stop regardless of the conditions, since you're going to have intersections and other vehicular traffic to deal with that you don't see in a 'cross race. I've also been on long, steep dirt descents where cantis could not slow the bike no matter how hard I squeezed the levers. Mini-V brakes are much better stoppers and I would advise switching to them if you do decide to buy the Boone. The one downside to mini-Vs is much less rim-pad clearance, which would be important if you ride in seriously muddy conditions. For the type of riding I do, stopping is more important than clearance, so I have TRP mini-Vs on my old 'cross/gravel bike. My new bike has discs. My girlfriend - who races 'cross - has just made the switch from a rim-brake bike to discs for the same reasons I cited above. She also had the additional complication of having small hands, which meant shimming the brake levers in. That further reduced the effectiveness of her rim brakes and required even closer pad-rim clearance. She's thrilled - and much relieved - with the performance of her new disc brakes.
Ugh, not the dreaded "Canti vs Disk" discussion again...
Yes properly canti's work just fine. Yes the canti's take more power so the smaller one's hands are, the more difficult it will be. This is a common reason women in particular much prefer disk brakes for CX/gravel.
Rim brakes are not going away for road bikes. Period.
As others pointed out, canti and rim brake components will be around for a long-long time. All the major bike makers have rim brake road bikes in their 2018 lineup. Yes there is a market for high end road bikes with hydraulic disk brakes, but this is still a new market and it is unclear if disk will take over rim brakes for the road where the rim brakes are lighter, more aero and less expensive. Pad wear, bent/warped rotors, and replacement part availability are a concerns among long distance touring and adventure touring cyclists who still embrace canti brakes.
For me, gravel riding is much closer to road than mountain biking. I've never felt the canti's lacked in stopping power while on the road or gravel. I still do a fair bit of easy singletrack with my frankenbikes (drop bar mountain bikes with, you guessed it, canti's that can in fact stop just fine but not as fast as my hydraulic disk mtb). Yes disk and v-brakes give more stopping power but I have always had sufficient power with canti's.
IMO the decision to buy the Trek should be based on the need for 650b's. I'd check with the people you'll be riding with to see what equipment they use and why. If you're setup is similar to the people you'll be riding with then at least you'll know everyone is having the same challenges. :-) If you feel you really want/need the ability to run fat(er) 650b's then the Trek won't be a great deal at any price.
Staying old skool, It should be here today....price was just too damned good to pass up. Will get a nice HT next year, or the new check point. #Iaintskeeredofnocantis
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