First road bike: mech disc brakes vs dual pivot sidepull brakes? I'm keen to buy my first road bike to do some rides around London (evening and weekend rides for exercise and travel), I've narrowed it down to 2 within my price range:
Example: Carrera Zelos from Halfords  and Triban starter from Decathlon  There doesn't seem to be too much in it but I was just wondering whether anyone had any advice or thoughts on which might be better for a beginner?
Specifically  I've read so many different opinions on mech disc brakes vs dual pivot sidepull brakes but I'm still not set either way... mech discs better in rain vs sidepulls lighter and easier to replace(?). As someone who has never maintained a bike before I don't want to go with mech disc brakes if that means having to have expensive replacements down the line that I can't do myself.
However, Halfords appeals as they offer lifetime bike health checks, warranty on the frame and Carrera seem to be a decent brand for a beginner?
Also the dual hand position brake levers (interrupter levers) on the Triban looks appealing but the handlebars seem to be quite narrow at the top and I'm thinking when I get more into cycling they may become an annoyance/no room for lights etc?
Any advice at all is much appreciated!
Many thanks in advance :)
While specific shopping comparison questions are off-topic here due to their tendency to become obsolete, there is a perfectly good generic question here where these two bikes can be used as examples, so I will take that angle on it.
The two bikes in question have similar price points, but the braking system on the disc one is eating a lot more of the price tag. To compensate, it's a 7-speed freewheel bike in 2021 and has essentially the worst road bike components money can buy, and the unnamed brakes that are getting room made for in the price tag are probably themselves very mediocore. This dynamic is common with bikes: there's a must-have feature that stands out to consumers, so in order to fit it in at a given price point, everything else is downspecced to the point where the overall level of functionality is arguably worsened. Product managers who attempt a more balanced approach at the entry level price points, where there exists a greater amount of ignorance to be exploited, are punished for their integrity and don't stick around the business. The sidepull bike in question is more in that direction: something someone who knows about bikes would choose for themselves if that was the budget they were working with, but which lacks features deemed essential by a hype-driven market. (Few low-end road bikes are pure examples of this because of the massive impact of brifters on their price tag.) So if you do get it, you will have to live with the fact that you've chosen a bike with the wrong look and bullet-point features, and your only consolation will be that it's saner and better.
It is true that disc brakes have advantages for wet weather conditions, but people rode in those conditions avidly long before them. Meanwhile, getting and keeping bottom-end mechanical discs in good adjustment can be challenging for the novice, even assuming the brake in question is a good enough one where it's even possible (not a given), whereas sidepull caliper brakes tend to be much more approachable and easy to deal with in terms of common pad and cable type adjustments. It is very common for cheap disc road bikes out in the wild to be found with barely adequate or inadequate brakes.
Disc road bikes of all kinds, cheap or otherwise, have the advantage that they can take mudguards/fenders when a similar sidepull bike couldn't, or not with the same tire size. This may or may not be important to you, but it's a factor to consider. Contemporary cheap sidepull road bikes do often have &quot;standard&quot; aka 47-57 aka not short reach calipers that are capable of taking them if the tire is small enough and the frame/fork take advantage of the reach.