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There is a lot of snow in the winter where I live. Different kinds of snow; soft, sticky, wet, etc. And ice too. It can get pretty cold: -25 °C (-15 °F). We drop salt, sand and gravel on our roads.
I'm about to buy a bike that I'll be using this winter for commuting to work. What kind of brake will work best in all kinds of wet and icy situations?
I'm interested in braking performance as much as long-term durability.
I have Roller Brake (a type of hub brakes) and have never had problems in the rain, I don’t know how well they will work at -25c as the grease may go hard.
You can not use them for very long hills, as they overheat, the grease melts and they stop working. However for normal transport type cycling they are great.
Like the other answers, disc brakes are the only way to go if you plan on your brakes getting wet at all. After riding disc brakes for a while now, I will never go back, even in good conditions. I would also really recommend hydraulic disc brakes over mechanical ones, especially in poor conditions. With hydraulic brakes, you don't have to pull as hard to get the same amount of stopping power.
You'll probably have the best luck with disc brakes, any other type will loose their power in the wet and snow.
After looking at the setups people were using for the arrowhead 135 race in canada that has start temps around -20f, it looked like everyone was using disc brakes. Folks were using hydraulic and cable actuated discs (Avid BB7 is wildly popular).
One of the best things for disc brakes (and your shifters) is FULL HOUSING. This will help keep areas where water could infiltrate to a minimum. Additionally, if you had bar mits or could cover the tops of your brake levers to avoid water getting in at the top, that would likely be a big help as well. Hydraulic brakes solve the full housing problem, since they need to be continuous by design.
Also, you'll have to be careful of condensation. If you bring a freezing cold bike in to a warm house, you're likely to have all the moisture in the air cling to every cold metal bit on your bike, that means cables, frame, etc. The air can pull water right in to your housing this way.
Teflon lined housing might help keep things slick even when it gets a bit frosty and prevent cables rusting to housing. A thin coating of marine grease or teflon lube may also keep things moving and prevent the cables from absorbing water and limit condensation inside the housing.
Finally, I would consider Sintered Pads for a winter commuter. Sintered pads will wear slower and are less prone to contamination than resin / organic material pads. This is especially imporant when the gray slush comes up at your bike from the road, mixed with salt and grime.
@curtismchale is right about disc brakes, but if you do stay with standard brakes you might need to change the pads to something softer.
There are good winter tips (including brakes) here
disc brakes are definitely the way to go ive seen people in portland now running disc brakes on everything and even fixed gears just to combat the wetness.
Go klunking all winter with coaster brakes, they shouldn't be affected by the weather. You can even use them in tandem with rim brakes. Whether you are going to want to use them in the conditions you ride in, that's a different story.
All brake types that lock your wheels work. Because traction is required to stop you, spend more on better studded (ice) tires, because once your wheels are locked your tires will help you stop/not. Hydraulic brakes are overhyped. They are more prone to failure when tested in salty conditions due to more small moving parts that can corrode. Mechanical brakes have less moving complex parts so are more reliable, as are rim brakes. Rim brakes require more pad changes than discs and special all weather compound pads such as kool stop salmon allow them to work better than stock pads in wet weather. Deep snow can be a challenge for less than equal v pads. But if it comes to that, should you be walking instead?
Disc brakes are definitely the way to go. The first time you pull the brakes in wet weather (and every subsequent time) be prepared for a high pitched squeal reminiscent of an articulated lorry stopping. You'll definitely be able to get pedestrian's to notice you!
Back when I was healthier I rode my bike year-round here in ("tropical") southern Minnesota, commuting 10 miles to work and back. Because I didn't have studded tires I never rode when the roads were icy, and I drew the line at riding in below 0F temps, but otherwise I rode in rain, falling snow, when the roads were wet, et al.
My bike was a Nishiki tourer at first and then my current Novara Randonee tourer, both with canti brakes. Other than needing to allow a half-second or so to squeegee the the water off when the roads were wet (which is required in any temperature), the brakes were no problem.
A word of warning on Internal Gear Hubs with coaster brakes:
You IGH won't last long.
You see, in internal gear hubs without a coaster brake, the gears are lubricated by oil. In IGHs with inbuilt coaster brake, the whole thing is lubricated with a grease that can stand high temperatures.
Use simple logic: will the high-temperature grease be ideal for low temperatures? Of course not. So if you are regularly using your bike in -10 to -20 degrees celsius, the grease will work poorly, and your gears will wore out quickly.
I once hade a Shimano nexus with coaster brake that started to work badly in it's first winter. At the shop they said that it was completely worn out and had to be replaced.
If you however go with IGH with coaster brake, then make sure that you pull it apart and grease it often, like one time before the winter, and one time during winter.
Disc brakes are great in the winter, but a high-quality rim brake (such as Shimano Deore XT, or SRAM single digit 7) will also work fine. That's what I've been using for a long time.
I have been running disks on my summer bike and rims on the winter bike for the last two years. Here is why:
Any bike ridden in the winter will be destroyed by salt in 2 seasons. (On my second winter bike right now).
Without question disk brakes will probably work better however I have had good luck with rim brakes, specificity with vbrakes.
In my opinion the best bet is to use rim brakes and (with all the money you will save) get a good set of tires, fenders, clear downhill goggles and something sweet for the summer bike.
