New Debate On Disc Brakes In Road Cycling

As the International Cycling Union (UCI) re-introduces the disc brakes to professional road racing, the fact that the use of the technology isn't mandatory raises a new concern.

Disc brakes were tested in some events in late 2015, and were permitted by the UCI on a trial basis for the entirety of the 2016. However, due to the injury of the Movistar rider Francisco Ventoso at Paris-Roubaix, the disc trial was suspended the same year.

“Following extensive examination of the equipment and a detailed safety report”, UCI had announced that the disc brake trial, under the condition that all rotors feature fully smoothed and chamfered edges, would resume from the start of 2017. On the other hand, the use of disc brakes are optional, which presents a high possibility of a mixed peloton with some riders on discs and others on rim brakes. As the two systems operate on dramatically different braking abilities - regarding the braking distance in particular - there are concerns that crashes can occur during the races.

According to a statement from the UCI, the trial will be closely monitored and formally reviewed every month.