[outfinofulpv]

Well, I just started running again and it feels great!!! I have been running more further then what I had expected, after being physically inactive for almost an entire year. I guess that I must have good genes.

I used to bike, and am going to get back into that too. I have a Diamond mountain bike that needs a little work. Its been awhile since I have looked at it, but all I know is that it needs new tubes. Though recently, I have been seeing a lot of bikes with disc brakes instead of the pad brakes. These new disc brakes seem really kicka$$. I am wondering if there are any avid bikers here who would know who much these brakes are, and if I could take off my padded brakes and get some disc brakes installed instead. At least get a disc in the rear, and keep the front padded.


Edit: Thank You!!!

[Xfxhbcxp]

If you really wanted to put disc brakes on an old bike, you'd actually want them on the front instead of the back. You'd need a new hub, maybe a whole new wheel and cross-laced spokes, possibly a new fork or some creative but secure way of mounting the caliper and you'd need a new lever.

It's probably not worth the money or effort. Certainly not for and old bike and most certainly not if you only ride on the road. My bicycle, which is a late-model road bike, has dual pivot calipers and they provide plenty of stopping force despite being old and largely obsolete technology. I can easily lock up the wheels.

Disc brakes may look cool but consider the application. I'm guessing you'd be better off putting the money you'd spend on the brakes, which is probably more than your entire bike is worth, towards a new bike.

[bapimporb]

I have some Avid mechanical disc brakes on my mountain bike, and they are spectacular. IMO, they work better than two other hydraulic discs I've tried. They're pretty inexpensive, too.

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/disc_bra...ct_20482.shtml

But like Inept mentioned, you can't just slap some disc brakes on your bike. Your fork has to have disc mounts on it, and if you also want them on the rear, your bike has to have mounts built into the frame.

And it's probably not worthwhile to put a couple higher-end components on a lower end bike. Just save up and get a new bike with a good component list.

[Qwjyrgij]

i really dont see the reason for this..

The orginal brakes on my bike have always worked.. in water, mudd.. etc

[outfinofulpv]

Thanks for the fix.

Was just checking to see if it might have been possible and if their was any benefits. Seems like there arnt any. I did get some new brakes on my bike a long time ago, and they are pretty kick a$$. My last set ended up falling off, which I believe was my fault by not checking for any loss screws.


Also, why discs in the front? I would think that I would want all the braking power in the rear so that I wont flip. When I was riding, I would use the front brakes, but never as hard as the rear. With the more stopping power of the discs, rear would seem better. Is it just that if you did modify the bike to take discs, that the front would be an easier mod?



I have looked at a new street bike, as my mountain bike is still a pretty good bike, but I do mostly road now. Though for an average one it was $800 and the recommended one was $1500. If I got anything, it would have been that $1500 bike but I had no where enough money and still dont.

[Xfxhbcxp]

The reason you'd want a disc on the front is that when you stop your weight transfers forward. The front wheel is where your braking power is and it is does the most substantial part of stopping you. Ever notice that cars have bigger discs on the front or discs on the front and drums on the back?

If you've never had to make a very hard stop on a road bike, then you might not know that it's actually a lot safer to slam on the front than it is on the back. If you lock up your rear wheel on a mountain bike on dry concrete, you do some fun skidding. If you lock up your rear wheel on a road bike, and it's super easy to do, then you can potentially fishtail out of control. It's very scary and it's way easier to lose control and bail sideways than it is to flip end-over-end.

Even if you're riding downhill on a mountain bike, you'd still be using your front brakes extensively. The way you avoid flipping over on a downslope is to lean back.

I ride a road bike exclusively now and what I like to do is hit the front to get my speed down and then bring the rear in to really apply the braking force. In an emergency the timespan between front and rear might be very small (like less than a second even) but in normal riding it can be several seconds.

[outfinofulpv]

Yeah thats true.

Never had to really do any sudden or emergency braking. I road mostly road on my mountain bike and I never really liked using the front because I dont like the your going to flip feeling. Even when I did go off-roading in the hills, I would mostly use my rear brake with a bit of the front add-ed in.

I would get the locking brakes every now and then, but I guess that I feel safer with that rather then the your going to flip feeling. There were times that I would use the front mostly, and have the rear tire lift off the ground. Thats never fun when you are going downhill, leaning forwards for balance reasons and braking reasons, with your rear lifting off the round. (I road with just front brakes for like a month before I got new rear brakes)

[Cvo1iRT0]

slightly off topic, but ive just been to the bike shop with my beauty!

she isnt looking so beautiful tho, did an 6 foot drop off, rear spokes snapped, reach mech is bent, and the rear caliper mount is bent, fortunetly im ok tho!! let this be a lesson to us all, spread your weight when doing silly stuff on a hardtail!