Last week's Mechanical Monday examined the 14 myths of using tubeless tires for cyclocross, offering a guide for the pros and cons of one of the best alternatives to using tubular tires. Today we move from the rubber to the rotor. With companies such as Cannondale and Ridley who have moved towards an all-disc brake lineup, the move to disc brakes in cyclocross has never been more apparent, only emphasized by the riders near or on the podium in Tabor who rode with disc brakes.
Looking to join the ever-growing legions of hydraulic disc brake users, but have questions on maintenance for the road bike systems? For today's Mechanical Monday, we have reached out to SRAM, Shimano and TRP to ask them about some of their best practices of maintaining their hydraulic brakes on cyclocross or gravel bikes.
5. Are there any additional variables for servicing hydraulic road brakes from hydraulic mountain brakes?
SRAM: No, the bleed kit and procedure is identical. Just be sure to follow all torque specs and apply DOT compatible grease where specified! Our manual is located in the service section of our website.
Shimano: The installation and service of the road brakes are similar to the mountain bike brakes. Just like the mountain bike brake levers, you want to rotate the road lever so that the reservoir is parallel to the ground. We recommend using the Shimano TL-BT03 for servicing hydraulic road brakes.
TRP: For our brakes the only difference between our mountain bike brake and road disc brakes are the location of the bleed ports. The process is the same for both.
Shimano R785 hydraulic Di2 levers on Jonathan Page’s 2015 National Championship Fuji Altamira cyclocross bike. © Cyclocross Magazine
