Hydraulic v Cable Disc Brakes.

[The Cumbrian]

How much better are hydraulic disc brakes than cable disc brakes?
I've got two bikes at the moment, a mountain bike with shimano hydraulic brakes, and an old hybrid with V brakes. The hydraulic brakes are fantastic, but the V brakes are pretty good too. When I started mountain biking in 1989 I had a bike with cantilever brakes, and I threw myself down mountain sides with the confidence that I'd be able to stop if I had to.
Thr hydraulic disc brakes on my current mountain bike are much better than the brakes on my old mtb, but how much better are they than cable operated disc brakes? I'm thinking of buying / building an off road bike packing bike in the future, and I'd be able to fix a cable operated brake with a spare cable if it failed, but I can't see myself carrying spares or a bleeding kit for hydraulic brakes.

[In Reverse]

You'd notice the difference switching from one to the other if you're hammering the descents but it sounds like a decent set of mechanical disc brakes will suit you fine.' The "changing a cable in the middle of nowhere" angle is a strong one.

Don't discount cable-pull hydraulic brakes either, just to further muddy the waters.

[Bearbonesnorm]

As Andy says, there is a difference generally but it's not that clear cut. You might find that cheap hydraulic brakes are 'worse' than a good set of mechanicals and you may find that a cheap set of mechanicals are actually worse than a good set of V brakes. Basically, it comes down to to what you're buying rather than simply what type of brakes you're buying.

[sean_iow]

I've never had a terminal failure of a hydraulic brake. I have had a binding brake as I'd let the pads wear down too far and the piston was sticking as it was projecting too far and getting 'cocked' in the bore. Fitted new pads and the problem was solved.

I have had a total failure of a mechanical brake, on a cold commute the cable froze and when I needed it the rear brake was solid and I couldn't pull the lever, luckily I had the front. Once I knew that moisture could get into the cable due to the routing I cleaned it out and liberally lubricated and also cable-tied the rubber boot thing on the end to try and keep the rain out.

I wouldn't let the potential for trail-side maintenance dictate your brake choice. Go with whichever you prefer for feel/looks/price etc. Unless you buy dirt cheap then all brakes are reliable enough not to be an issue. Plus you have 2 brakes so in the unlikely event of a failure you'll still have some means of stopping.

Your much more likely to have a ride ending/catastrophic failure of a freehub, bottom bracket, dyno-hub or pedal - I know people who have suffered all of these on big rides, though not all at once, that would be very unlucky

If you look at my picture of old bearings in the myog thread about lock-down projects that's only 4 years worth. That gives an idea of the reliability of revolving bits v's brakes. There are no old brake parts in my scrap metal box. I have some old Hope Mono Mini's on an old bike I don't ride anymore. They were second hand when I bought them and they are the 2004 version. I wouldn't hesitate to use them on a ride of any length and have no worries at all that they'd need any trail-side maintenance.

[Single Speed George]

depends what you are doing , hydralic disks are amazing regarding stopping power ... wouldnt have anything elce on my enduro or XC bike... and use my XC bike for bikpacking and stand by that desision as it works well and stops verry verry well....
however i did burst a hose in a crash in nepal and as a result had to ride the down hill half of the Annapurna circuit with just a front brake .... so if i had had cable i might have fixed it...???
buuuut my one front 180mm disk with a hydraulic SLX brake on the front was enough to slow and stop me for several days of going down hill in dust and mud with a fully loaded bike so good hydralic brakes are pretty ace
abd up till that point i had done probably a couple of thousand miles on that bike with no issues ... i now just have braided hoses for a bit of extra strength.

[whitestone]

The only downside of cable disk brakes is that the system doesn't automatically adjust for pad wear.

After that it's the quality of the pads, I've had brake fade which on an accelerating fat bike halfway down a steep 300m descent in the Dales isn't the best place to have your brakes go!

If I was going on a big trip I'd probably replace all cabling, gear and brake, a couple of weeks before I set off - a stitch in time and all that. Things do go wrong but regular and consistent maintenance tends to avoid most problems.

Hope Minis? My brother-in-law rang up the other day about how to get the pistons back so the pads would fit on the bike I'd given to his son. The bike's fifteen years old and the brakes haven't had a service* in that time and still work fine.

*probably could do with one mind!

[Lazarus]

EDIT: I had a fully seized one [hope mini]and you can force the piston out with air pressure/compressor into the caliper and then lube seals etc and re insert - only ever happened once though.

I have hy-RD hydraulic fluid caliper disc brakes
They are more powerful than the cable they replaced and more faff but have never failed on a ride.

[Jurassic]

I'm contemplating this question at the moment. I've been using TRP Spyre cable disc brakes on my gravel bike for a while now (before that I had BB5s which were okay but a bit of a faff to adjust). I've only had one occasion when I've felt the Spyres were lacking and that was on a ridiculously steep and long off road descent (the track that leads down to Cailness Cottage on Loch Lomondside, if anyone has ridden it they'll understand). I have also had the cable on the rear brake freeze like Sean mentioned, in my case it meant the rear brake would stick on and I had to jump off and manually pull the arm back on the brake to free it before continuing. Overall I think if you use compressionless cables (which is vital) and go for decent brakes cable discs are okay. This is particularly true on a skinny tyre bike where the tyre contact patch is quite small and traction is the limiting factor rather than brake power. Having said all that I'm thinking that an upgrade to hydraulic brakes is my next upgrade, my mate that rode the Cailness descent with me was on a gravel bike with hydraulic brakes and coped with it a lot better than I did (and I'd regard myself as a better bike handler than him).

[TheBrownDog]

Hope Minis?

Wonderful brakes and many years ahead of their time. I had a set on a bike in 2000, I think. After two or three years of use and neglect, I split the bike and stuck the brakes in a box. 17 years later I gave them to a mate who pulled out the bits of ply wood I'd jammed between the pads and they were good as gold.

[In Reverse]

however i did burst a hose in a crash in nepal and as a result had to ride the down hill half of the Annapurna circuit with just a front brake .... so if i had had cable i might have fixed it...???

Done the same in the Alps and had to do a 1200m descent with only one brake then catch a coach to a bike shop in another country to get the brake repaired.

Still probably preferred having hydraulics in that situation though.

[mechanicaldope]

EDIT: I had a fully seized one [hope mini]and you can force the piston out with air pressure/compressor into the caliper and then lube seals etc and re insert - only ever happened once though.

I have hy-RD hydraulic fluid caliper disc brakes
They are more powerful than the cable they replaced and more faff but have never failed on a ride.

I imperceptibly kinked the cable on my hyrd's somehow which rendered the back one useless. Might have been a rock strike or something but really ruined it till I could replace the cable.

[Alpinum]

On my exped fatbike I ride mechanical disc brakes, on all other bikes hydraulics. The fatbike mainly because I often use it in temperatures where mineral oil based brake fluids fail and in rare cases even DOT struggles. Then there's the repairs reason.

What I currently use:
Avid BB7, SRAM Guide Ultimate, Shimano SLX and also XT.
Huge difference from all hydraulics to the mechanics.
In power, in feel, modulation.
All hydraulics run much smoother, lever move much smoother back and forth, despite high grade cables/hoses for the mechanical.

The power is hardly comparable. Of course, I had just about enough power from the BB7 with 180 mm discs to ride through parts of the Andes with some long descents and a bike loaded with more than 30 d of food and up to 15 L water(!). In some spots I took short cuts of swooping switchbacks on very rough jeep tracks and felt the brake being weak. Well, it was I who was weak as my fingers start to cramp, something I never have, despite much, much steeper and longer descents in the Alps with the hydraulics.
Also the mechanical glazed quickly and caused to a major pad failure during my trip in south america. But that's more proof of the importance of good pads and large discs in mountainous areas, especially when loaded.

I agree that a rubbish hydraulic can be weaker than a good mechanical, but I've not (yet) made that experience.

Then... whilst I can fix issues with the mechanical brake easier and mostly en route, I have more problems with it. Yet, if I have a problem with the hydraulic (last time was ages ago), I mostly had to fix it at home and couldn't do it en route.