I’m trialling a second wheelset for my (gravel/commuter/road) bike.
160mm 6-bolt rotors are what I have on the current . I think they are the Stock Shimano fixed rotors.
Brakes are TRP HY/RD with 105 levers.
My riding is usually:\
– commuting 20km once per week \
– fornightly longer ride 65km (with some steeper descents) \
– Gravel riding – 40km fortnightly \
– groceries/other stuff around town. \
For the riding that I do, I don’t want to pay $120AUD for Hope floating rotors
Is there are happy medium that will get the job done? Like 105 equivalent
by Stingray002
15 Comments
Fish around on aliexpress and you’ll likely find a rotor option for 1/5th the price of Shimano that can last you years
Context – I watched Ribble Valley cyclist jerk off about floating rotors: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr7h7eXWzLU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr7h7eXWzLU)
When you say get the job done, they all will, a £20 Shimano rotor will work perfectly and save you a lot of money. If you specifically want floating rotors Aztek, Clarks and trp all make them. Shimano XT and SRAM centrelines can often be picked up cheap as well.
For the type of riding you mentioned, any rotor will do the job, and I highly doubt you’d notice a performance difference by spending a bunch of money on fancy rotors.
I would just get something cheap that you like the look of. Or just keep your current rotors unless there is an actual issue with them.
No issues with current rotors? Keep them.
Simple Shimano SM-RT66 will do.
Ditch the brakes, they are all-around awful
For your riding amount I would buy the cheapest rotors available.
the cheapest well regarded brand one that supports sintered pads.
I refuse to believe motor vehicles can get by just fine with plain cylindrical rotors but bicycles that weigh a fraction of the weight need fancy pants slots/holes and exotic shapes.
Any rotor is likely good enough, however any rotor may not fit right. As far as I know The TRPs use the same pads as some shimano calipers, called the B-type or Wide type, that’s different from most other shimano pads. For that reason Id get a TRP rotor or a wide compatible shimano rotor, like the sm-rt56. – That, or make sure in advance, if whatever fancy rotor you like is compatible.
[https://productinfo.shimano.com/en/compatibility/C-461](https://productinfo.shimano.com/en/compatibility/C-461)
i would go 180mm r/f. the most basic ones you can get. does not matter that much tbh. not like you get yoor rotors red like in moto gp
I would go for the cheapest laser cut Shimano. I don’t like the stamped ones.
Hope is overkill and nothing you need, it is something you want.
For your usage and your brack/lever, I think that any of these rotos are overkill!
Shimano XT (SM-RT86 160)
If you want more fanciness, and if you have them in Australia, I would order the Trickstuff Dächle UltraLeicht
A RT-56 or 66 will do the thing. We do mount them to the bikes that we repair daily, because they are cheap and reliable for doing this stuff. Rotors don’t need to be expensive to be good. Personally wouldn’t spend 100-200 on a rotor unless I drive MTB/Roadbike races somehow (semi)Professional where every % Point matters.