Unless you’ve had your head in the sand for the past year or two, you’ll know there’s a bit of a trend for disc-equipped road bikes going on at the moment. Well, it's more than a trend really, this is a new direction for the manufacturers and most of them have been quick to release a disc-equipped road bike.
Until now most of the disc brake development has been on endurance and sportive bikes like the Specialized Roubaix because they’re not generally used for racing - with the exception of the Spring Classics - and the common consensus is that these sorts of bikes, and the types of riding they’re used for, are well suited to the benefits of disc brakes. The longer wheelbases and chainstays also remove the chainline issues that can occur on race bikes.
Why disc brakes at all? The promised benefits are great modulation and more power, no fade in the wet, rims that don’t wear out, less maintenance and longer lasting brake pads. On the other hand, disc brakes are currently heavier than rim brakes and there are some concerns about their impact on the aerodynamics, though these are likely technological challenges that will be overcome with more development. We polled some industry insiders and they offer some interesting thoughts on whether disc brakes are a good thing for road bikes.
Here's a roundup of some of the newest road bikes with disc brakes currently available.
Race bikes
Specialized Tarmac Disc — £4,000-£7,000
The Tarmac Disc is one of the few race-ready bikes designed with disc brakes. It has the same short chainstays as the regular Tarmac and uses a specially designed hub that places the freehub further inboard to resolve the chainline issues that can occur with a wider axle and short chainstays - which is why most disc road bikes feature longer chainstays. It’s a novel solution and one that could be adopted by other manufacturers when they start getting to grips with putting disc brakes on race bikes.
Read our review of the Specialized S-Works Tarmac Disc
Find a Specialized dealer
De Rosa Idol Disc Ultegra Di2 — £2,999
Italian company De Rosa have updated their Idol and will now offer a disc brake version for those who want it. The full carbon frame and fork has fully internal cable and hose routing to keep the lines clean, and sticks with conventional axles at both ends.
Read our coverage of the De Rosa Disc launch
Focus Cayo Disc — from £999
Germany company Focus unveiled the Cayo Disc a little while ago and for 2016 has extended the disc-equipped range with three aluminium-framed bikes starting at a grand. The Cayo sits under the Izalco MAX in the Focus road bike range, and was updated with discs for 2015. With a claimed 880g frame weight, Focus reckon it’s the lightest disc-ready carbon frame currently available.
Now, there’s a bit of debate about what axles these new disc road bikes should be using. Many are sticking with conventional quick release axles, but some are borrowing the thru-axle technology from mountain bikes, lifting the same standards from the knobbly tyre world.
Focus, however, have developed what they reckon is a more suitable thru-axle standard for road bikes. They call it Rapid Axle Technology (RAT) and it involves a T-Pin that turns 90 degrees and engages with a stopper, and the lever closes. It’s pretty simple to operate.
Why have a thru axle, or thru-bolt axle, in the first place? It increases stiffness and security which, given the forces acting on one side of the frame from the disc brakes, seems like a sensible solution. They've long been a feature on mountain bikes and we are seeing more of them on disc-equipped bikes of all sorts.
Focus recently announced 2016 Cayo models with aluminium frames and disc brakes, which will bring the features of these bikes down to a lower price range.
Read our Focus Cayo 2016 launch coverage
Find a Focus dealer
Cannondale CAAD12 105 5 Disc — £1,499.99
For 2016, Cannondale has replaced the highly-regarded CAAD10 with the CAAD12, and the development process started with the disc-equipped version. The differences from the CAAD10 are subtle but that’s probably a good thing as the CAAD10 was a pretty sorted bike. The new CAAD12 Disc frame is a whopping 206g lighter than the CAAD10 Disc.
The CAAD12 is a special bike, and a worthy successor to the CAAD10: a lightweight aluminium frame with a great balance of stiffness and weight that makes it a credible rival to any carbon frame.
Read our coverage of the Cannondale CAAD12 launch
Find a Cannondale dealer
Colnago V1-r Disc — £2,399 (frameset)
The Colnago V1-r Disc is based on the regular V1-r , with the same aero shaped tube profiles. Colnago have developed a new fork with a 15mm hollow thru-axle thru-axle, while out back the V1-r Disc uses a regular quick release rear axle. You can read the review of the regular V1-r which this bike is based on here.
Find a Colnago dealer
Endurance/sportive bikes
The majority of disc-equipped road bikes being produced at the moment are sportive/endurance bikes. Why? These aren't bikes being bought to be raced, so they can be free of the restraints of the UCI's rulebook, and because the bikes have longer wheelbases (and chainstays), there are no chainline issues with the wider rear axles that disc-equipped road bikes have to accommodate the disc rotor.
Giant Defy Disc — from £849
Last year Giant overhauled its entire carbon Defy range with disc brakes as a central design feature. For 2016 the company has added aluminium-framed bikes to the range, bringing two disc-braked Giants to the important sub-£1,000 level. The £849 Defy 2 Disc, above, has an ALUXX SL-Grade aluminium frame, Shimano Tiagra 20 speed transmission and TRP Spyre mechanical discs.
Read our review of the Giant Defy Advanced SL 0
Find a Giant dealer
Trek Domane Disc — £1,500 - £6,000
Trek have shown their disc brake cards with the Domane Disc series. The Domane is Trek's go-to endurance and sportive model, and raced successfully by the likes of Fabian Cancellara in the early season Classics. Trek have adopted thru-axle technology on the Domane Disc, yet the axles can be converted back to regular quick releases if you want.
Trek currently offers three models from the £1,400 Domane 4.0 Disc to the top-level £6,000 Domane 6.9 Disc. Visually the frame is the same as the regular Domane, but Trek has developed a new fork and modified the carbon layup in the rear triangle and, of course, added post mounts for the disc brakes.
Read our coverage of the Trek Domane Disc launch
Find a Trek dealer
Cannondale Synapse Disc — £849 - £5,999
Cannondale went into disc-braked endurance bikes with both boots when it launched the 2015 Synapse range with a full range of carbon Synapse disc-equipped bikes. Cannondale also offers aluminium-framed Synapse Disc models, incuding the intriguing £1,299 Adventure model shown above.
Read our coverage of the Cannondale Synapse Disc launch
Read our review of the £2,699 Cannondale Synapse Ultegra Disc
6 highlights from the 2016 Cannondale range
Find a Cannondale dealer
Saracen Avro — £1,700 - £2,100
Although it's unashamedly a mountain bike company, Saracen produces some smart city and road bikes, and the new Avro is a really interesting package. It’s a full carbon-fibre frame and fork and uses thru-axles at both ends, as you would expect of a brand with roots in the off-road market.
Read our coverage of the Saracen Avro launch
Find a Saracen dealer
Scott Solace 20 Disc — £2,099
The Solace 20 Disc is one of four disc-braked versions of the company's endurance/sportive bike. The disc model uses the same basic carbon-fibre frame with a tall head tube and short top tube, and uses thru-axles.
Read our review of the 2015 Scott Solace 15 Disc
Find a Scott dealer
Felt Z6 Disc — £1,499
Felt offers four disc-braked versions of its carbon fibre Z bike, though this seems to be the only one currently available in the UK. Felt has taken a conservative route, adapting the regular sportive/endurance Z6 and adding disc brakes, and sticking with conventional axles and not gone for thru-axles.
Felt offers the aluminium-framed Felt Z75 Disc and Z95 Disc starting at just £795.
Read: Felt announces Z4 Disc
Rose Xeon CDX — from £2,030
Rose's road disc lineup is based on the Xeon Team endurance frame, so you get the same geometry with a focus on long distance comfort. That means a taller head tube, longer wheelbase and shorter top tube.
Rose do a tidy line of mountain bikes and the thru-axles show their influence: 15mm at the front and 10mm rear, with 135mm rear wheel spacing. Frame weight is a claimed 1,080g. All gear cables and hydraulic hoses for the disc brakes are routed internally, including through the fork, which makes it a very clean looking bike.
Read our coverage of the Rose Zeon CDX launch
Orbea Avant — from £1,919
Orbea's Avant was one of the most interesting new bikes of recent years because it offered the sort of versatility previously uncommon on carbon road bikes. It can take disc or regular caliper rim brakes, mechanical or electronic groupsets, and it has space for big tyres and even mudguard mounts.
Read our review of the Orbea Avant
Find an Orbea dealer
Raleigh Mustang Elite — £950
One of the bikes we're most excited to test this year, the Mustang Elite is part of Raleigh's expanded range of gravel/adventure bikes for 2016 and looks like a great example of the booming category. Its 6061 double butted aluminium frame is designed for both on and off road riding so if you're getting tempted by your local dirt roads and trails, or a canal towpath commute, it'll take it in its stride.
Along with an all-carbon fork with through-axle and TRP HY-RD Semi Hydraulic disc brakes, it has SRAM's intriguing new Rival 1X transmission with a single 44-tooth chainring and wide-range 10-42 11-speed cassette. It's the ultimate Keep It Simple, Stupid derailleur gear system and should be just the thing for a do-it-all bike.
Find a Raleigh dealer
Lapierre Sensium 700 Disc — £2,899.99
The Sensium 700 Disc is based on Lapierre's regular Sensium, a bike for endurance and sportive cycling, but adds disc brakes.
Lapierre say they have modified the carbon fibre layup on the disc Sensium with an alteration to the resin (the glue that bonds the carbon fibres together) by using using one with a higher heat resistance, supposedly to cope with the high heat levels a disc brake has the potential to produce. We’ve not heard of any other company doing this.
Find a Lapierre dealer
Audax/versatile do-everything bikes
Sabbath September Disc — £2,799
Blending a titanium Audax frame with all the mudguard and rack mounts you would ever want, this is a properly versatile bike ready for just about any sort of riding, with the beefy cabron fork providing plenty of front-end stiffness. Disc brakes on this sort of versatile do-everything bike make a lot of sense - the lack of maintenance and long brake pad life go well with the sort of distance riding these touring bikes are made for.
Read our review of the Sabbath September Disc
Find a Sabbath dealer
GT Grade — £599.99-£2,699.99
The Grade is another of the new breed of bike that blurs the traditional lines between a road bike, cyclo-cross bike and touring bike, and includes elements of each. The Grade is billed as a bike that can be used for any of those disciplines. With big tyre clearance, relaxed geometry and rack and mudguard mounts, this is a bike that can do just about everything. If you have space for just one bike, and want one without limitations, this could be the choice for you.