Hydraulic vs mechanical disc brakes

[ManBearPig]

Ciao.
I have been looking at gravel bikes and showed one (that's finally in stock) to a friend the other night. He looked at the specs and immediately said "nah, don't get one with mechanical brakes".

What do you think about mech disc brakes on a gravel bike? Should I invest extra $$ and get one with hydraulic? What are the cons of using mechanical disc brakes?

Thanks

[flyin_scotsman]

Hydraulic brakes make up the lion’s share of the market and at the top end provides the best modulation and power. Don’t be put off by mechanical brakes back bikes though as they can work perfectly well. I’ve used avid BB7 since they came out and like the fuss free cable management and worry of being stranded with brake issues and no bleed kit. There’s no problem with power either as long as you’re not too heavy. As an 80 kg rider constantly riding on mountain bike steep terrain my 160 rotors stopped me just fine.

[TomC]

subscribing to this thread

[JoJoJo]

@ManBearPig
with hydraulic brakes you can apply the braking power more gradually (you can "feel the brakes" more) and in general they're typically a bit more powerful

as regarding gravel bikes in particular i think it's mostly about having better performance in worse weather conditions and dusty roads and muddy trails as the brake system is sealed compared to mechanical brakes with cables etc

hydraulics can sometimes fail you though

[Henry_G]

(05-29-2021, 06:08 AM)JoJoJo Wrote:  with hydraulic brakes you can apply the braking power more gradually (you can "feel the brakes" more) and in general they're typically a bit more powerful

as regarding gravel bikes in particular i think it's mostly about having better performance in worse weather conditions and dusty roads and muddy trails as the brake system is sealed compared to mechanical brakes with cables etc

I have hydraulics on my Focus gravel bike and they feel exactly like that, strong, reliable, and adaptable.

p.s. no experience with mechanical disc brakes