Shimano discontinuing rim-brake hubs?

[Patrick Moore]

Per Grant's blog:

Shimano is going to stop making  middle-to-upper end non-disc brake hubs soon, road and mountain. 

Thank God there is always Phil Wood. And no doubt vast quantities of old Shimano rim-brake hubs buried in garages worldwide.

--

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Patrick Moore
Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Christopher Cote]

There is no practical reason at all that you couldn't run a disc-brake hub with a rim-brake rim. Maybe you can make a valid objection for aesthetic reasons, but it's hardly a reason for concern, IMHO. 

Chris

[George Schick]

Chris - while there are other rim brake manufacturers (Paul, Tektro, etc.) who are still making rim brakes, I think one of the concerns - and it has been batted back and forth on this blog as well as by Grant on his own Blug - is that if rim brakes disappear entirely (which I doubt) and cyclists are forced to use disc brakes, they won't be able to do so without a front fork change.  AND, as Grant has pointed out, not all forks are built substantially enough to work safely with disc brakes.  One of the issues discussed had to do with which side of the bike's fork the disc caliper is located.

Just this past week a cyclist in my area had a front wheel "fall off" while riding on a path and he sustained serious head, face, and other injuries.  I'm waiting to find out the details, but I wouldn't be surprised if the bike had a left-side disc brake mount and he hadn't tightened the QR sufficiently, and it worked its way loose during hard braking. 

[Brewster Fong]

LOL, this sounds so much like carbon forks. The fear of death and destruction. On the other hand, if you listen to my buddies, you shouldn't be on disc brakes if you don't have the proper hydro disc brakes and thru axle.  They probably look down at you at mechanical disc brakes and qr axles. LOL

I'm still a rim brake hold out and have actually gotten some good deals as people want to "upgrade!" 

[Andy Beichler]

It depends on the build. If I was building a practical bike, it would not matter to me. If I was building up a beautiful to look at and ride bike, it would matter to me.  Unused disc mounts are not pretty.