In a year when its star rider became the first man in a quarter century to win the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, it’s interesting that the biggest buzz this summer around Colnago isn’t the V4Rs that Tadej Pogačar rode to those historic wins but that the iconic Italian frame brand released a rim-brake version of its popular C68 frameset.
That news, announced last Wednesday, led to a flurry of amusing headlines in the cycling media. I will not name and shame, but Colnago was “reviving” the rim brake “for old time’s sake” read one. “Do not adjust your screens” went another. And a third earnestly pondered whether rim brake bikes were “still needed in 2024?”
No, they’re not, although I appreciate that while that particular story framed rim brakes as nostalgic, it also gamely offered some argument for them.
I also appreciate Colnago’s work, both in offering a fully modern rim-brake frameset even at an astronomical price I won’t list here and in drawing attention to the technology. But the world of rim-brake bikes is not dead or even just resting in eBay listings of old frames and NOS Campagnolo sidepull calipers; it is and remains a vibrant subculture within cycling – if, that is, you know where to look.
The entire rim-vs-disc rider framing, in 2024, is as simplistic, overbroad and mistaken as the criticism that cyclists don’t pay road tax. Both miss the bigger picture. The latter caricature assumes that cyclists are one-dimensional monoliths, drones who do nothing but pedal and take up space all day on the road rather than, you know, car-owning members of everyday society.
Similarly, the former positioning assumes that all of us riding rim brakes are “90s roadies,” to use the phrase from a comment on Dave’s recent SRAM Red XPLR review: we’re Luddites, riding back into the past on our metal frames and only those, as if we haven’t bought a bike in the last 25 years, and of course only on pavement and with corncob gearing (Google it, kid).
To own, ride and appreciate a bike with rim brakes isn’t to be reflexively anti-disc. As both disc brakes and electronic shifting were taking hold on drop-bar bikes, I repeatedly made the argument that I found the former to be far more transformative to my riding, almost the same as my experience 15 years earlier switching from direct-pull cantilevers to discs on mountain bikes.
The superior power modulation of disc brakes reshaped my braking technique on descents: less feathering, the ability to quickly dump speed with better control means I can brake later and harder for late-apex lines and generally take on zesty descents with more confidence.
Discs helped open up gravel and all-road bike design with an explosion of wheel and tire options that did not exist even 10 years ago. Along the way, discs helped us see 25 mm and narrower road tires to the door in favor of fatter, more comfortable rubber even for pavement riding. And discs’ all-weather consistency offers both peace of mind and the knowledge that on a rainy ride I’m not sanding down my rim sidewalls every time I squeeze a lever.
But I’ll admit that every time I hit a descent on my road bike, there’s something undeniably raw and vibrant about it that I’ve never found on disc brakes. I think I’m not alone there.
Again, much of the buzz around the C68 rim brake frameset was about Colnago reviving a left-behind technology. But that’s incorrect. It’s still there; it’s just not mainstream anymore. If you know where to look, you’ll find plenty of rim-brake options. What’s more, even as disc brake-equipped bikes have come down in price, rim-brake models are still the most affordable way into road riding.
For example, Cannondale has the four-model CAAD Optimo line, including a Shimano 105-equipped model for US $1,625, but also the Optimo 4 at just over a grand. Fuji offers the endurance-themed Sportif in two rim versions for under $1,000, and its Finest 2.5 LE is just $650. Complete.
Want something more refined? There’s Trek’s Emonda ALR frameset (US $1,150), which fits direct-mount calipers. Ritchey makes the Road Logic and Road Logic Breakaway in rim-brake format. And there are a number of high-end builders like Mosaic, Rock Lobster, and Pegoretti – to name just three – who still do rim-brake options in titanium, aluminum and steel, both stock and custom.
Finally, yes, it seems a little retro, but Rivendell’s entire line of excellent steel bikes all use caliper brakes (sidepull, centerpull, and cantilever), including the sporty Roadeo model, which is made for the brand by longtime Colorado framebuilder Mark Nobilette. Heck, even Colnago has quietly offered its steel Master frameset for years – still handmade in Italy.
The bigger trick is finding parts. Colnago’s C68 rim uses direct-mount calipers and is not compatible with cable-shifting drivetrains, so it works only with the somewhat rare/hard to find Shimano Dura-Ace 9250 Di2, Campagnolo Record EPS, and SRAM Red eTap AXS rim brake groupsets; only Shimano’s is considered a “current” offering in that it’s the latest version of the group. But the other frame models listed above are compatible with cable shifting as well, which makes them a bit more versatile.
Most bike shops no longer sell rim-brake groups, but can likely source them, and reseller sites like eBay are (for now) a still-reliable source of drivetrains, including older 11-speed systems from all three major brands. (As a note, 11-speed cassette and chain dimensions are functionally identical across the three brands, meaning you can mix-and-match; my Record/Chorus drivetrain runs on Shimano Ultegra chains and cassettes.)
For brakes themselves, your options are a bit wider: there are still any number of short-reach calipers on the market ranging from inexpensive SRAM and Shimano models to swishy stuff like Cane Creek’s eeBrake. (Check compatibility with your lever pull.) Even shorter-reach models like the eeBrake and regular calipers from SRAM, Campagnolo, and Shimano have about 50 mm of pad reach, which is enough for 28 mm tires officially.
On road bikes, tire clearance is sometimes limited by the caliper arch – at the fork crown and brake bridge – rather than the caliper arms at the side, which makes the caliper mount position and reach adjustment for the pads the critical dimensions (sometimes chainstay clearance is the deciding factor). Many modern frames – and even some older ones – have more generous frame clearance, but medium-reach brakes won’t necessarily get you more clearance; that depends on the caliper mount position.
For those lucky enough to have a bike that can clear bigger rubber and where medium-reach calipers work, Rivendell carries Tektro; Shimano also still makes a good option; hit me up in the comments with others. Finally, Velo Orange’s dual-pivot Grand Cru caliper is a lovely high-performance option that has generous-enough clearance for even 45 mm fenders if your frame allows and is built more stoutly than many medium- and long-reach brakes. It’s expensive but an excellent option and has enough reach adjustment to fit a wide range of frames.
Wheels? There are a few carbon options still on the market (Campagnolo and Hunt, for two). But my recommendation is to go metal; carbon sidewalls and rim brakes were simply never a good marriage. Hunt and Hed are two brands that make complete aluminum-rim wheels (including with Shimano HG or SRAM XDR freehub bodies). Campy’s Zonda and Scirocco are rim-brake options with Campy freehubs, and Hunt offers that option as well. Ritchey also makes rim-brake wheels. Or you can build a set. DT Swiss, White Industries, Phil Wood, Chris King and Onyx are excellent boutique hub choices but you can also find cheaper options from Shimano and Velocity. Rims? DT Swiss, Astral, Velocity, Easton and Hed all still make solid offerings in various spoke counts.
What’s the point of all this? I’ve already admitted that discs are far superior in many ways to rim brakes, after all. And sourcing parts for a rim-brake bike is increasingly a labor of love when you’d probably rather just be riding.
But rim brakes do have a few concrete selling points. For one, they’re far easier to work on. Swapping pads is no harder than on discs, at least if your brakes have separate pads and holders (hot tip for Campagnolo fans: while Record brakes use Campy’s terrible press-fit retention system, Chorus calipers use shoes with Shimano’s superior set screw holder). And changing cables or even housings is faster, simpler, and certainly much less messy than a brake bleed.
Rim brakes are easy to install and adjust. You’ll never fuss and fume at a frame with improper caliper mount alignment like on disc brakes. And they’re blissfully silent: no rotor warping or tinging, and they run free with zero pad drag.
But the true allure, to me, doesn’t have anything to do with practical concerns. In my past life as a part-time gear tester, I had the opportunity to ride a number of high-performance disc-brake road bikes, which on paper should have been faster than my rim-brake road bike with low-profile wheels in almost every situation. Even my gravel bike, with its Zipp 303 Firecrest wheels and 35 mm semi slicks at lower pressure, should roll and ride faster. But it doesn’t. Even though the two bikes are similar in weight and identical in fit setup, I consistently feel fastest on the road bike, and that’s broadly confirmed by some informal time checks. And that’s not only on climbs.
Recently, I had a set of wheels made for the road bike to replace the Hunts in the above image: Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 hubs and Easton SL90 rims, 28 round spokes. Super conventional stuff – boring, even. But with 30 mm clincher (yes) tires and suitably low gearing, it’s a bike that’s more than serviceable for mixed-surface riding around Boulder. Fun, even. Over the years, on paved descents I’ve hit consistently faster average and top speeds on the road bike – with its goofy-ass lightbulb tire/rim profile – than on modern performance disc road bikes or my gravel bike with its Zipps. Is that due to rim brakes? Probably not. But curiously, the only other drop-bar bike on which I’ve hit similar speeds was a Baum Corretto, also with rim brakes.
I don’t race anymore, and don’t really even train. I track power and casually look at splits for climbs, but I don’t much care about KOMs or personal bests. I ride because I like to ride, because of the way it feels. And while I can’t fully explain it, whether going up or coming down, there’s still nothing that feels quite like a rim-brake road bike.
What did you think of this story?