Wave rotors???

[Lucius]

Just wondering if anyone knows if wave rotors are worth while for road/track bikes? I had always thought that wave rotors were invented for chook chasers to get rid of any dirt between the rotor and brake pad.

[Nath]

They are purely cosmetic.

You may be thinking of slotted rotors.

[Sprint]

The experts say that wave rotors exhibit self-cleaning against the pads, and better heat dissipation than conventional rotors...
When i swapped to S3 Performance wave rotors on my 'storm i found that they required (slightly) more lever pressure for a given braking force, but didn't fade as much.

S.

[ninjaa]

The experts say that wave rotors exhibit self-cleaning against the pads, and better heat dissipation than conventional rotors...
When i swapped to S3 Performance wave rotors on my 'storm i found that they required (slightly) more lever pressure for a given braking force, but didn't fade as much.

S.

I'm assuming that's because of slightly less contact area? Hence less fade when hot?

[Rich]

Lighter due to the missing bits of metal...

Less gyroscopic force allows easier tip in and direction change...

[chew]

I also heard the heat dissipation was due to the uneven surface creating additional air movement, know anything about airflow ninjaa?

[ninjaa]

Ah yup yup, makes sense

Lol WHUT, don't know what you're talking about!

[edmands_3]

I agree with most of what these guys say: Frequently Asked Questions about Motorcycle and Motor Bike Brakes and Brake Discs

Wave Discs?

In the main we have not made a ‘wave’ disc because of the high pad wear rates they cause. To some degree, advances in pad compound technology, driven by the popular demand for the aesthetics of profiled rotors have made improvements in this area. In our opinion they should primarily be used for their originally intended purpose; that is, off road use in muddy conditions where, when made as per the original patent application, with a continuous disc band, they offer excellent pad cleaning properties. All our products are designed with the aim of producing the best performance that can be obtained without using exotic (very expensive!) materials. Braking performance is relative to the friction created between pad and rotor surfaces. To this end West Performance did not jump on the bandwagon of Stainless Steel ‘wave’ discs as we do not believe they offer any benefits for road or race use, therefore we do not manufacture them.

[Phantom1500]

many a mechanic lost a finger when spinning the wheel and forgetting the discs weren't smooth....