No topic is currently more hotly debated among road cyclists than disc brakes. While it is far from clear whether the new technology is a blessing for all road bikes and in all situations, the situation is different for cross racing bikes. The cantilever brake, which until recently marked the state of the art on cross bikes, is simply no longer up to date, and the arguments against this type of brake are well known: weak braking power, tendency to stutter, fiddly adjustment. The reasons why canti brakes have lasted so long in cyclocross are complex.
For a long time, the UCI prescribed these brakes in order to prevent the cross bike from becoming too similar to the mountain bike. However, at some point it dawned on the officials that brakes that do not brake properly could also hinder the development of the sport. Before the 2009/2010 season, the ban on disc brakes in UCI races was therefore dropped. Since then, the door has been open for the technical development of the cyclo-cross bike.
The bike and component manufacturers have only been waiting for this new freedom. At Eurobike at the end of August, there were already significantly more cross bikes with disc brakes on display than models with cantis. Our test reflects this trend. We invited twelve cross road bikes with disc brakes: six affordable models up to 1,600 euros and six bikes with no price limit. In addition to the TOUR lab, the candidates also had to show what they can do off-road.
The test results of these cross road bikes can be found below as a PDF download:
Wheels up to 1,600 euros:
- Cannondale CAAD X Disc 105
- Cube Cross Race Disc
- Focus Mares AX 1.0
- Haibike Noon SL
- Poison Opium Disc 105
- Rose Pro DX Cross 3000
Competition bikes:
- Felt F3X
- Fuji Altamira CX 1.1
- Giant TCS Advanced
- Ridley X-Night 10 Disc
- Specialized S-Works Crux Red Disc
- Stevens Super Prestige Disc
As an additional service for our readers, we offer you photos of the tested bikes:
Downloads:
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