Mounting disc brake on an old steel road fork

[remejy]

I have a Raleigh Super Course. Nothing fancy right but it's green and it's a keeper. So I won't be changing the fork on it nor do I have the money to get mounts welded. But I need mounts for a disc brake, right? At least two. I have one, a fender eyelet, just behind the fork's dropout. Now, the other? How? Help?

Please help. The solution is possible, see picture.

That's the setup I'm looking for. That adapter, or something like it. Disc brakes have too many advantages for me to ignore, I live in Montreal and the winter here is brutal. I've heard the added stress disc brakes put on forks make mine incompatible, or at least prone to buckling. I say whatever. I have looked around, that picture is the only example I could find. I don't know where it comes from.

Also, I know very little about disc brakes.

 

[garage sale GT]

Why not get a drum brake instead?

 

[alfeng]

I've heard the added stress disc brakes put on forks make mine incompatible, or at least prone to buckling. I say whatever. I have looked around, that picture is the only example I could find. I don't know where it comes from.

I think that you heard right ... it is also my understanding that a standard, steel road fork is not capable of withstanding the forces generally associated with a disc brake.

If you want to put a disc brake on your Raleigh, you should look for a WINWOOD Cyclocross/Touring fork which has a 1" steerer (they are the only company that I know who made one, though there may have been others) ...

OR, bite the bullet and pony up for a frame with a 1 1/8" steerer & then get a fork that already has a disc brake mount on it to use with the 'new' frame.

I recommend that if/when you get a disc brake that you opt for a MECHANICAL disc brake otherwise you'll be saddled with a MTB lever (with a smaller clamp size) which might be awkward if you're still using drop bars ... and, you should be able to use your road lever with a mechanical disc brake ... if not a "regular" road brake lever, then the TEKTRO V-brake road lever will work.

Also, there are at least four different types of fluids being used for hydraulic disc brakes on bicycles ... if you accidentally use the wrong one, you'll destroy the seals on the lines.

 

[alfeng]

BTW. I'm going to guess that the front disc mount is a one-of-a-kind custom adapter.