# Best disc rotors for cyclocross



## MCJ (Oct 8, 2002)

Of course the lightest is the best in dry conditions but what about when things turn muddy, do the highly vented rotors cause excessive pad wear? Not many solid rotors on the market these days.


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## Corndog (Jan 18, 2006)

The shimano RT99 are awesome if you have centerlock.


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## farnsworth (Apr 16, 2015)

MCJ said:


> Of course the lightest is the best in dry conditions but what about when things turn muddy, do the highly vented rotors cause excessive pad wear? Not many solid rotors on the market these days.


Based on my mountain experience I would advise against ultralight rotors. The problem is not wear. The issue with ultra light rotors is usually distortion due to warping from heat when breaking and/or squealing. 

I have been riding my cx bike on the road all year with TRP rotors. On my mountain bikes, I am running magura rotors and find that the slightly thicker cross section keeps the rotor more true to cut down on noise. Really the rotor is a pretty simple part of the disk brake system and provided you don't go with the ultralight ones I am sure most brands will work fine. I have not ridden the CX bike on dirt much. So far this year it has been mostly used as a road bike with some gravel grinding but the rotors have been great in all the conditions that I have used the bike in.

What do you have now and are they working well? In terms of saving weight rotors is not a great place to look but if you really want to go light weight you may want to consider using a 140mm rotor in the rear. I have a 160/140mm front/rear setup and feel like it is plenty of breaking power.


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## November Dave (Dec 7, 2011)

I'm with Mark. Whatever the watt loss is from 'scrape scrape scrape,' the sanity loss is through the roof. 

Solid rotors do very well with preserving pads in sloppy conditions. On an old set of 6 bolt wheels I still use I have solid Ashima rotors which work great. 

Also, I use sintered pads all the time. There was an awesome article about pad compound that Sonya Looney wrote for PinkBike (as I recall) not long ago. Maybe google that. It's worth a read


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## Stoneman (Mar 1, 2009)

SRAM Centerline seem to be good 6 bolt rotors. That's what I have to go with my Shimano hydro brakes. At 140mm front and rear that's all the stopping power I need in a CX race.


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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

Avid HS1's are good rotors and can be less expensive than AVid Cleansweep rotors.

I found (MTB) HS1's don't warp as much as Cleansweep.

on the cheap end, Alligator windcutter proved reliable on an unsuspectingly muddy (clay mud) ride where the only thing that worked on my brake was the brakes


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