converting front roller brake to front disk brake

[ric]

anyone know if a shimano IM70 front roller brake (as fitted to
ridgeback nemesis et al) can be converted readily to a conventional
mechanical disk brake? Are the fork mounts compatible, and could I
retain the standard brake lever? Would it be easiest to replace the
hub at my LBS and then fit the rest myself?
Any advice appreciated....

 

[Don Whybrow]

ric wrote:
> anyone know if a shimano IM70 front roller brake (as fitted to
> ridgeback nemesis et al) can be converted readily to a conventional
> mechanical disk brake? Are the fork mounts compatible, and could I
> retain the standard brake lever? Would it be easiest to replace the
> hub at my LBS and then fit the rest myself?
> Any advice appreciated....

I think that the fork mounts are compatible. As you imply, you will need
a new hub. As for ease, it depends on your ability to build wheels and
fit bits to your bike. The nexus brake levers have 2 positions for
attaching the cable, one for roller brakes, the other (with longer pull)
for V brakes. This may need to be changed to get the correct pull for
the disks, or not. I have no experience in how much pull disk brakes need.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

A child of five could understand this! Fetch me a child of five.

 

[Craig Wallace]

Don Whybrow wrote:
> ric wrote:
>> anyone know if a shimano IM70 front roller brake (as fitted to
>> ridgeback nemesis et al) can be converted readily to a conventional
>> mechanical disk brake? Are the fork mounts compatible, and could I
>> retain the standard brake lever? Would it be easiest to replace the
>> hub at my LBS and then fit the rest myself?
>> Any advice appreciated....
>
> I think that the fork mounts are compatible. As you imply, you will need
> a new hub. As for ease, it depends on your ability to build wheels and
> fit bits to your bike. The nexus brake levers have 2 positions for
> attaching the cable, one for roller brakes, the other (with longer pull)
> for V brakes. This may need to be changed to get the correct pull for
> the disks, or not. I have no experience in how much pull disk brakes need.

Mechanical discs have the same cable pull as V brakes, so the levers
should work.
Also, you are probably better off just buying a whole new front wheel.
You can get a new disc compatible wheel from Merlin for £35, getting the
hub replaced at a LBS will probably cost nearly as much.
Plus it means you have a spare wheel should you wish to use your hub
brake again.

--
Craig Wallace
http://craig.neogeo.org.uk
http://www.neogeo.org.uk

 

[ric]

On 26 Jul, 22:35, Craig Wallace <craigw84@fast_NOSPAM_mail.fm> wrote:
> Don Whybrow wrote:
> > ric wrote:
> >> anyone know if a shimano IM70 front roller brake (as fitted to
> >> ridgeback nemesis et al) can be converted readily to a conventional
> >> mechanical disk brake? Are the fork mounts compatible, and could I
> >> retain the standard brake lever? Would it be easiest to replace the
> >> hub at my LBS and then fit the rest myself?
> >> Any advice appreciated....
>
> > I think that the fork mounts are compatible. As you imply, you will need
> > a new hub. As for ease, it depends on your ability to build wheels and
> > fit bits to your bike. The nexus brake levers have 2 positions for
> > attaching the cable, one for roller brakes, the other (with longer pull)
> > for V brakes. This may need to be changed to get the correct pull for
> > the disks, or not. I have no experience in how much pull disk brakes need.
>
> Mechanical discs have the same cable pull as V brakes, so the levers
> should work.
> Also, you are probably better off just buying a whole new front wheel.
> You can get a new disc compatible wheel from Merlin for £35, getting the
> hub replaced at a LBS will probably cost nearly as much.
> Plus it means you have a spare wheel should you wish to use your hub
> brake again.
>
> --
> Craig Wallacehttp://craig.neogeo.org.ukhttp://www.neogeo.org.uk

argh, this gets trickier! the brake levers on this aren't the normal
nexave ones: they don't have the cam adjustment between roller and v-
brake. hence the front lever ain't gonna work. grr. right, so I now
need to add to the shopping list a pair of brake levers that are 2
finger style and have the cam adjuster so I can use one for the front
disk, and one for the rear roller brake....sanity check?

ric

 

[Martin Dann]

ric wrote:
> On 26 Jul, 22:35, Craig Wallace <craigw84@fast_NOSPAM_mail.fm> wrote:
>> Don Whybrow wrote:
>>> ric wrote:
>>>> anyone know if a shimano IM70 front roller brake (as fitted to
>>>> ridgeback nemesis et al) can be converted readily to a conventional
>>>> mechanical disk brake? Are the fork mounts compatible, and could I
>>>> retain the standard brake lever? Would it be easiest to replace the
>>>> hub at my LBS and then fit the rest myself?
>>>> Any advice appreciated....
>>> I think that the fork mounts are compatible. As you imply, you will need
>>> a new hub. As for ease, it depends on your ability to build wheels and
>>> fit bits to your bike. The nexus brake levers have 2 positions for
>>> attaching the cable, one for roller brakes, the other (with longer pull)
>>> for V brakes. This may need to be changed to get the correct pull for
>>> the disks, or not. I have no experience in how much pull disk brakes need.
>> Mechanical discs have the same cable pull as V brakes, so the levers
>> should work.
>> Also, you are probably better off just buying a whole new front wheel.
>> You can get a new disc compatible wheel from Merlin for £35, gettingthe
>> hub replaced at a LBS will probably cost nearly as much.
>> Plus it means you have a spare wheel should you wish to use your hub
>> brake again.
>>
>> --
>> Craig Wallacehttp://craig.neogeo.org.ukhttp://www.neogeo.org.uk
>
> argh, this gets trickier! the brake levers on this aren't the normal
> nexave ones: they don't have the cam adjustment between roller and v-
> brake. hence the front lever ain't gonna work. grr. right, so I now
> need to add to the shopping list a pair of brake levers that are 2
> finger style and have the cam adjuster so I can use one for the front
> disk, and one for the rear roller brake....sanity check?

I quite happily use my front roller brake with a V brake
lever. Although i would not want to do the opposite.
If I was to get a disk brake for one of my bikes, I would
buy a hydrolic brake with lever.

Why do you want a disk brake, as I understand it you use
this for road commuting, the roller should be excellent
for this.

Martin.

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, ric
('[email protected]') wrote:

> On 26 Jul, 22:35, Craig Wallace <craigw84@fast_NOSPAM_mail.fm> wrote:
>> Don Whybrow wrote:
>> > ric wrote:
>> >> anyone know if a shimano IM70 front roller brake (as fitted to
>> >> ridgeback nemesis et al) can be converted readily to a conventional
>> >> mechanical disk brake? Are the fork mounts compatible, and could I
>> >> retain the standard brake lever? Would it be easiest to replace the
>> >> hub at my LBS and then fit the rest myself?
>> >> Any advice appreciated....
>>
>> > I think that the fork mounts are compatible. As you imply, you will
>> > need a new hub. As for ease, it depends on your ability to build
>> > wheels and fit bits to your bike. The nexus brake levers have 2
>> > positions for attaching the cable, one for roller brakes, the other
>> > (with longer pull) for V brakes. This may need to be changed to get
>> > the correct pull for the disks, or not. I have no experience in how
>> > much pull disk brakes need.
>>
>> Mechanical discs have the same cable pull as V brakes, so the levers
>> should work.
>> Also, you are probably better off just buying a whole new front wheel.
>> You can get a new disc compatible wheel from Merlin for £35, getting the
>> hub replaced at a LBS will probably cost nearly as much.
>> Plus it means you have a spare wheel should you wish to use your hub
>> brake again.
>
> argh, this gets trickier! the brake levers on this aren't the normal
> nexave ones: they don't have the cam adjustment between roller and v-
> brake. hence the front lever ain't gonna work. grr. right, so I now
> need to add to the shopping list a pair of brake levers that are 2
> finger style and have the cam adjuster so I can use one for the front
> disk, and one for the rear roller brake....sanity check?

Before you do all this, what benefit do you think mechanical disk brakes
will give you?

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Usenet: like distance learning without the learning.

 

[ric]

On Jul 26, 11:37 pm, Martin Dann <[email protected]> wrote:
> ric wrote:
> > On 26 Jul, 22:35, Craig Wallace <craigw84@fast_NOSPAM_mail.fm> wrote:
> >> Don Whybrow wrote:
> >>> ric wrote:
> >>>> anyone know if a shimano IM70 front roller brake (as fitted to
> >>>> ridgeback nemesis et al) can be converted readily to a conventional
> >>>> mechanical disk brake? Are the fork mounts compatible, and could I
> >>>> retain the standard brake lever? Would it be easiest to replace the
> >>>> hub at my LBS and then fit the rest myself?
> >>>> Any advice appreciated....
> >>> I think that the fork mounts are compatible. As you imply, you will need
> >>> a new hub. As for ease, it depends on your ability to build wheels and
> >>> fit bits to your bike. The nexus brake levers have 2 positions for
> >>> attaching the cable, one for roller brakes, the other (with longer pull)
> >>> for V brakes. This may need to be changed to get the correct pull for
> >>> the disks, or not. I have no experience in how much pull disk brakes need.
> >> Mechanical discs have the same cable pull as V brakes, so the levers
> >> should work.
> >> Also, you are probably better off just buying a whole new front wheel.
> >> You can get a new disc compatible wheel from Merlin for £35, gettingthe
> >> hub replaced at a LBS will probably cost nearly as much.
> >> Plus it means you have a spare wheel should you wish to use your hub
> >> brake again.
>
> >> --
> >> Craig Wallacehttp://craig.neogeo.org.ukhttp://www.neogeo.org.uk
>
> > argh, this gets trickier! the brake levers on this aren't the normal
> > nexave ones: they don't have the cam adjustment between roller and v-
> > brake. hence the front lever ain't gonna work. grr. right, so I now
> > need to add to the shopping list a pair of brake levers that are 2
> > finger style and have the cam adjuster so I can use one for the front
> > disk, and one for the rear roller brake....sanity check?
>
> I quite happily use my front roller brake with a V brake
> lever. Although i would not want to do the opposite.
> If I was to get a disk brake for one of my bikes, I would
> buy a hydrolic brake with lever.
>
> Why do you want a disk brake, as I understand it you use
> this for road commuting, the roller should be excellent
> for this.
>
> Martin.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Did think about hydraulics, but it just seemed more complication on
what I could do with being a low-maintenance bike. A bit more
expensive, too.
I don't like the front rollerbrake - I don't think it's powerful
enough. I'm 14 stone and can't lock the front wheel with it. This
would appear to be due to the clutch Shimano put in the hub that
limits brake performance - in theory to stop inexperienced riders
going over the bars. I'm not after mega performance, but I do commute
15 miles each way and I'm just not that enthused with the front
roller...

 

[Tony Raven]

ric wrote:
>
> Did think about hydraulics, but it just seemed more complication on
> what I could do with being a low-maintenance bike. A bit more
> expensive, too.

IME hydraulic brakes, whether rim or disc, are fit and forget apart from
periodically changing the pads. Its the mechanical brakes that require
all the faffing with cables that deteriorate, are harder to adjust as
the pads wear and need rebalancing of the brake arms occasionally.

If you want low maintenance go hydraulic. Much better braking too.

Tony

 

[Don Whybrow]

Simon Brooke wrote:
> in message <[email protected]>, ric
> ('[email protected]') wrote:
>
>> argh, this gets trickier! the brake levers on this aren't the normal
>> nexave ones: they don't have the cam adjustment between roller and v-
>> brake. hence the front lever ain't gonna work. grr. right, so I now
>> need to add to the shopping list a pair of brake levers that are 2
>> finger style and have the cam adjuster so I can use one for the front
>> disk, and one for the rear roller brake....sanity check?
>
> Before you do all this, what benefit do you think mechanical disk brakes
> will give you?

If the OP is doing the conversion on a Nemesis, the fork does not have
any cantilever bosses. He will be limited to roller or disk. It might be
possible to fit callipers.

Personally I don't have a problem with either roller and I am heavier
then the OP and have a set of lights at the bottom of a hill on the
morning commute. OK I have never tried to lock up the front wheel, but
then I wouldn't want to.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop
diggin'.

 

[Paul Murphy]

"ric" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> anyone know if a shimano IM70 front roller brake (as fitted to
> ridgeback nemesis et al) can be converted readily to a conventional
> mechanical disk brake? Are the fork mounts compatible, and could I
> retain the standard brake lever? Would it be easiest to replace the
> hub at my LBS and then fit the rest myself?
> Any advice appreciated....

I recently upgraded my smaller Shimano IM50 front roller brake to the IM70
and I'm about 118 kg with my bike being about 21 kg. I ride it down the
steepest of hills in my local area (40 mph + if I don't brake and it's a sit
up and beg bike with all the aerodynamic drag that offers). I find the front
brake stopping power is now fine (although it was insufficient with the
previous brake). The IM70 is specified as the Hi Power version of these
roller brakes. Although there is a release mechanism to help prevent 'over
the bars' incidents, the bike shop technician who installed the brake
advised me this clutch was adjustable. I've also bought a tube of specialist
Shimano Roller brake grease for lubing the brake from time to time.

It sounds like there's something not setup or maintained correctly with your
brake unit if the IM70 isn't strong enough. If the release clutch is coming
into action regularly, you need to get it adjusted. I've tested mine and it
really does only release when you try to stop without using enough space.

Paul