Questions about brake rotor type

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cpml123

Zen MBB Master
I am thinking of getting a new carbon wheelset from Lightbicycle. I am trying to figure out the pro's and con's of centerlock vs. 6 bolt disc rotors. My current Velocity wheels have 6 bolt rotors, which I am going to use for gravel riding. For the new wheelset:

1. Should I get the centerlock hub instead of 6 bolt (only because it seems that there are more options for rotors)? It seems to me 6 bolt is easier to install, or it's all the same?
2. Would my existing TRP Spyre caliper still work with centerlock rotors (I am guessing yes)?
3. Any recommendation on rotors? Shimano ultegra finned rotors look really cool (but way more expensive) than the standard 2-piece TRP or Shimano rotors, and it's centerlock only. :-(

Thanks,

Michael
 
RojoRacing

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
It really doesn't matter either way but I will say 6 bolt are easier to find in stock generally. Center lock also require special tools to tighten the look ring so keep that in mind if you aren't someone who already has a collection of bike tools.

I'd go sram centerline rotors for both centerlock and 6 bolt, Easy to come by, reliable quality. If you need 6 bolt I think I have 4-5 160mm brand new in a box somewhere I'd be willing to sell for a reasonable offer.
 
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cpml123

Zen MBB Master
Hi Jason,
6 bolt 160mm centerline rotor sounds good.

Is yours 2-piece or 1-piece rotor? Do they also come with bolts or I need to buy them somewhere else? I want to make sure I get the right info to make you an offer.

Thanks,

Michael
 
RojoRacing

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
I think I have both but I want to say mostly two piece rotors since that’s what comes in the build kits. Sram 6 bolt rotors come with 6 bolts included as would most brands I think. If you order some metallic sintered pads from TruckerCo.com you can also pick up some nice Titanium bolts for the rotors if that’s your thing.
 
paco1961

paco1961

Zen MBB Master
My main consideration is to pick one type and stay with it for all my bikes. That way when I bend a rotor doing something stupid I can just steal a spare off one of the bikes hanging in the shop.
 
C

cpml123

Zen MBB Master
RojoRacing said:
I think I have both but I want to say mostly two piece rotors since that’s what comes in the build kits. Sram 6 bolt rotors come with 6 bolts included as would most brands I think. If you order some metallic sintered pads from TruckerCo.com you can also pick up some nice Titanium bolts for the rotors if that’s your thing.
Click to expand...
Jason, I sent a message to you. Thanks.
 
A

anotherbrian

Active Member
Whoa, what year is it?

Centerlock is so much easier than 6 bolt. Only hubs I still have that are 6 bolt are circa 2005 Hadley MTB hubs and a threaded Phil Woods I used for singlespeed MTB.

But I standardized on DT Swiss hubs around the time they started supporting Centerlock and haven't looked back since. Chris King, White Industries, I9, Phil Woods ... all the premium brands are supporting it these days (ok, Paul Components may not) and a single lock-ring (that uses a very standard freewheel tool) is all that is needed to mount them.
 
A

anotherbrian

Active Member
Robert Holler said:
If you have 6b hubs you can get rotors anywhere. If you lose or strip a centerloc nut you are SOL.
Click to expand...

6 bolt has five extra bolts to lose or strip the head of? An extra five bolts to over-torque? You'll never confuse which order to torque the bolts down if there is only one.

With 30 years+ of wrenching on my own bikes (20 years on recumbents) I've never stripped a single bolt during install. _I HAVE_ broken the heads off of multiple Hope aluminum rotor bolts (from their Mono Mini or Mono M4 brakes) though when trying to remove them, requiring screw extractors/easy outs before the bike was ride-able again. After that nonsense I switched to Avid's steel Torx-headed bolts.

You will never strip the internally (for QR) or externally (for thru-axles) splines provided you use the proper tool.

Centerlock uses _EXISTING_ tools that anyone who works on their own bikes should already have. For the internally splined lockring it uses a cassette removal tool, and for the externally splined it uses the Hollowtech bottom bracket (the "old" size anyways) tool.

While typing the above up, I found this:
Which is a good overview.

I started with Centerlock on my S&S'd custom Waltworks 29er MTB due to the convenience of removing the rotors for packing, and after a decade+ of travelling with that bike, I would do it no other way.

[and as for getting a rotor anywhere, as mentioned in that video, you can use an adapter that holds a 6 bolt rotor on to a Centerlock hub.]
 
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