The simple way SRAM could silence your disc brakes

Sep 11, 2023

Patent proposes rubber damper that sits between rotor and spokes

By Jack Luke

Published: March 22, 2018 at 1:00 pm

Anyone that's ridden disc brakes will be familiar with the unpleasant squealing and grinding noises they can make when ridden in the wet. Even when used in dry conditions, disc brakes can transmit fairly intense vibrations through the frame.

This patent from SRAM, filed in September 2017, proposes a solution where a rubber block acts as a simple damper, transferring vibrations from the rotor to the spokes.

There is a number of different embodiments of the design described in the patent.

The most interesting of these shows a hollow ‘frusto-conical’ (what a great word) rubber O-ring that sits over the axle of the hub and contacts the inside edge of the rotor and extends upwards, past the flanges of the hub to contact the spokes.

Further illustrations show how the outboard face of this conical damper could be moulded such that it interlocks with the cutouts of the rotor. A further version shows the inboard face of it moulded in a shape, not unlike a wavy-washer, which is designed to interlock with the spokes.

The patent stresses that while the illustrations may show a road bike, the damper could be applied to bicycles of any type, including mountain bikes. Likewise, although the patent only shows a front wheel, the device could also be used on the rear.

This is a pleasingly discreet solution to a relatively annoying problem — albeit one that most have been happy to live with so far — and unlike many of the patents that we report on, is one we wouldn't be surprised to see come to light.

What do you think of this simple disc brake damper? Is it a cool solution to an annoying problem? Or are you quite happy with your rim brakes thank-you-very-much? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Deputy editor

Jack Luke is the deputy editor at BikeRadar and has been fettling with bikes for his whole life. Always in search of the hippest new niche in cycling, Jack is a self-confessed gravel dork, fixie-botherer, tandem-evangelist and hill climb try hard. Jack thinks nothing of bikepacking after work to sleep in a ditch or taking on a daft challenge for the BikeRadar YouTube channel. He is also a regular contributor to the BikeRadar podcast. With a near encyclopaedic knowledge of cycling tech, ranging from the most esoteric retro niche to the most cutting-edge modern kit, Jack takes pride in his ability to seek out stories that would otherwise go unreported. He is also particularly fond of tan-wall tyres, dynamo lights, cup and cone bearings, and skids. Jack has been writing about and testing bikes for more than six years now, has a background working in bike shops for years before that, and is regularly found riding a mix of weird and wonderful machines. Jack can also often be seen zooming about with his partner aboard their beloved tandem.

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