Disc brakes on old MTB frame

I posted this on rec.bicycles.off-road, but from the looks of the board, it only gets visited once
or twice a month. So please forgive me for posting it here too.

I have an old MTB frame, 12 years old to be exact, pre disc to be sure. Is it possible to mount disc
brakes on this frame? Using an adapter or some other mounting hardware? Which brands? I'd like to
use a mechanical type, if possible.

I don't ride a lot of dirt, certainly not enough to warrant the expense of a full fledged
dyed-in-the-wool-super-tricked-out MTB, I use it mostly for commuting, but I do get "dirty" every
now and then, and the clay here in the Carolina Piedmont makes regular rim brakes a =FE=B9=86=A2h!

If you don't want a long thread on this subject (like the recumbent/traditional one!) feel free to
E-mail your response :-3)

TIA

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

 

>I have an old MTB frame, 12 years old to be exact, pre disc to be sure. Is it possible to mount
>disc brakes on this frame? Using an adapter or some other mounting hardware? Which brands? I'd like
>to use a mechanical type, if possible.

Over on RBT there has been a discussion of the issues involving disk brakes and Quick releases.

When the disk brake is mounted on the back side of the fork, there are considerable forces trying to
dislodge the the wheel from the drop out. If your fork has "lawyer lips" these will probably be
sufficient to keep the wheel in place, but that is also not clear.

Add to that the fact that disk brakes do put more bending moments on the fork than Vbrakes and
cantilever brakes, I would advise staying away from disk brakes unless you are willing to purchase a
fork specifically designed for use with disk brakes.

If you bike is 12 years old, then it probably has cantilever brakes. If you are wanting more
responsive brakes, I suggest getting yourself a set of simple Vbrakes and levers. These work nicely
and a quite powerful.

jon isaacs

 

"Chris Zacho "The Wheelman"" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]

<snip>

>I have an old MTB frame, 12 years old to be exact, pre disc to be sure. Is it possible to mount
>disc brakes on this frame? Using an adapter or some other mounting hardware? Which brands? I'd like
>to use a mechanical type, if possible.

The only way I have seen to mount one up front is to replace the fork with a disc-ready fork. Here's
a link to a few: http://www.bikeman.com/catalog/forksmtnrigid.htm

Here's a list of mechanical disc brakes: http://www.bikeman.com/catalog/brakemechdisc.htm

As for putting one on the rear, I remember an adapter that was available a few years ago, but
a quick search doesn't bring it up. Maybe if you spent some quality time with Google, you
could find it.

-Buck