chrisvw said:
I agree with the general consensus that disc brakes are generally better. I'm not sure I'd agree that hydraulics are necessarily any better than mechanical disc brakes. My tandem has mechanical (so it can be disassembled) 8" discs and I don't have the least hesitation to go down even serious hills (I live in Colorado where a serious hill can be hundreds of feet of descent).
My ebike has v brakes. They are barely adequate as they are cheap brakes. I've had the metal release bracket on the top fail on both the front and rear. Unfortunately, I haven't found a sturdy, long reach V brake that I need to reach around my fenders.
If you do both rain and hills you should also be aware that rim pads can wear really quickly. It is literally possible to wear through a set of pads in a day. The crap that carries up into your pads from the road in the rain will abrade the pads in no time. In the "triple bypass" bike ride two years ago, a number of the riders had to stop when their pads wore "metal to metal". (Again, long descents)
All that said, with regular maintenance, you should be able to use either rim or disc brakes
You know, the real problem is slowing down on those descents! They just need to tuck and go!
:lol: jk he he
I'm sure that you're right on pad wear, but again, I really believe it goes to your design of E-Bike also, when your forced to go big, as with most any hub motor kit, then you have to go big with the frame, the brakes, the battery, etc. , etc.
If you stay light, as in a RC friction drive, anything that was good enough for the bike when it was non-motorized will be good enough with just a scant 5 - 10 lbs added to the weight.
Here again, it all really depends on how, where and how fast you ride (off road needs disc if your getting muddy, I'm mainly talking street riding). I just wonder why if discs would be so needed even on heavy bike, why then are bikes such as the Surly Long Haul Trucker still using rim brakes? So I think it's really about speed and how you ride.
I agree once you hit that mark of high weight (especially un-sprung weight) not sure where the line is .. maybe 80lbs? THEN you DO need to upgrade brakes, frame, etc. But as long as you stay on the lighter side, I think any good quality brake will serve you well.