Long Time Lover of Rim Brakes, Chris Froome Finally Joins the Disc Brake Dark Side

Chris Froome, 38, has long been known for taking to social media to rather hilariously air his grievances. Or just add some humor to the otherwise serious job of WorldTour racing. Earlier this year, after an especially bad Stage 5 of the Tour du Rwanda, Froome expressed his extreme dislike for disc brakes, which he felt were to blame for slow wheel changes during the race.

But recently, Froome seems to have admitted that he has joined team disc brake. Cycling Weekly reported that in speaking to the media during a visit to the Factor Bikes factory in Taiwan on Wednesday, “the Israel-Premier Tech rider said that he has had a ‘much better experience’ with disc brakes in the last year and a half.”

Froome went on to say that his initial impression of disc brakes on the road was skewed by bad experiences. But said, “In the last year and a half of running disc brakes I’ve definitely had way less problems and it’s been certainly a lot better, a much better experience for me. I have warmed to disc brakes. There’s no two ways about it, it does take more maintenance, more work. But when it works, it is great.”

Froome has taken a serious interest in Factor Bikes, a brand he initially invested in in 2021. His recent trip to the headquarters in Taiwan was his first trip there.

In 2021, Cycling News reported that Froome “joined a consortium injecting capital into Factor Bikes and its parts and accessories subsidiary Black Inc.” in the hopes of using his experience with racing products to help with product development and marketing.

Cycling Weekly spoke to Froome’s roles at Factor, “Froome explained that his two roles with Factor - as an investor, and as a professional cyclist riding the bikes - go ‘hand-in-hand.’”

“Being a competitive cyclist, you have an inherent interest in the equipment that you’re riding,” Froome said. “Having this channel, I feel I’ve got an amazing opportunity. Every bike rider wishes they could have a direct line to the factory to make changes happen.”

With Froome happily using disc brakes, what’s next, Phil Gaimon admitting that oatmeal raisin cookies are actually pretty good?

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