ausdb
Being who he is
Sorry if it sounds a bit rambling but theres lots of ideas going round in my head at the moment
and yes I have searched but most of the posts on this subject are old so I was after some current thinking/ advice.
The short story, I am after suggestions of what sort of front disk to go with a v-brake rear on an offroad touring mtb.
The longer story:
I am getting back into mountain biking and will be doing a 3 day trip on the Mundabiddi trail in WA at the end of September. My old Ironhorse Yurt FS bike has knackered bushings in the pivot and I can't easily fit a rack to it for panniers so I am going to transfer all of my parts onto one of the other hardtail frames in my bike cave (shed). I have bought a set of disc mount 07/08 reba races off the forum so I need to get a disc brake for the front but am not sure about the rear brake situation.
I know the best thing is to get a new bike/ frame but as darling wifey just bought me a $4k roadie for my birthday this is not an option and would probably end in me living on the side of the road with my bikes, "minor" component changes however tend to slip past a lot more easily.
Frame candidate one is a Barracuda Steel hardtail, I can easily braze on rear disc tabs (I have an oxy set and metalworking skills) but as this frame only ever had a 65mm travel fork on it, the rebas at 100mm are probably going to make it handle like a chopper/dragster bike especially with loaded panniers. Plus it was always that little bit to big to begin with
Frame candidate two is an old Kona Fire mountain which had an 80mm fork to begin with and was much better size wise, so with this the 100mm reba is not going to make a huge difference to the handling. The downside is a rear disk mount is not quite so easy as I will be running a rack on the rear for panniers this will probably turn into a clearance/mounting nightmare. I have read about the A2Z DM-UNI adapters and can get one from fleabay but for the reasons above is probably not worth it.
Many of the older threads suggest that a BB7 cable disc with a set of Speed dial levers is the best option as they can be dialed in to feel "similar" to the v-brakes on the rear. However those threads were from the early days on hydro discs and as this is a temporary solution until I can get a nice steel hardtail that suits a 100 mm fork I am hesitant to shell out for a single BB7, new levers and cables when there some pretty good deals on sets of hydro discs that would be better in the long run.
Is there a huge difference in feel between a hydro disc versus a mechanical disc and when when used in conjunction with a v-brake rear is it really all that bad?
Any suggestions or does anyone have a spare BB7 lying around in their parts box?
and yes I have searched but most of the posts on this subject are old so I was after some current thinking/ advice. The short story, I am after suggestions of what sort of front disk to go with a v-brake rear on an offroad touring mtb.
The longer story:
I am getting back into mountain biking and will be doing a 3 day trip on the Mundabiddi trail in WA at the end of September. My old Ironhorse Yurt FS bike has knackered bushings in the pivot and I can't easily fit a rack to it for panniers so I am going to transfer all of my parts onto one of the other hardtail frames in my bike cave (shed). I have bought a set of disc mount 07/08 reba races off the forum so I need to get a disc brake for the front but am not sure about the rear brake situation.
I know the best thing is to get a new bike/ frame but as darling wifey just bought me a $4k roadie for my birthday this is not an option and would probably end in me living on the side of the road with my bikes, "minor" component changes however tend to slip past a lot more easily.
Frame candidate one is a Barracuda Steel hardtail, I can easily braze on rear disc tabs (I have an oxy set and metalworking skills) but as this frame only ever had a 65mm travel fork on it, the rebas at 100mm are probably going to make it handle like a chopper/dragster bike especially with loaded panniers. Plus it was always that little bit to big to begin with
Frame candidate two is an old Kona Fire mountain which had an 80mm fork to begin with and was much better size wise, so with this the 100mm reba is not going to make a huge difference to the handling. The downside is a rear disk mount is not quite so easy as I will be running a rack on the rear for panniers this will probably turn into a clearance/mounting nightmare. I have read about the A2Z DM-UNI adapters and can get one from fleabay but for the reasons above is probably not worth it.
Many of the older threads suggest that a BB7 cable disc with a set of Speed dial levers is the best option as they can be dialed in to feel "similar" to the v-brakes on the rear. However those threads were from the early days on hydro discs and as this is a temporary solution until I can get a nice steel hardtail that suits a 100 mm fork I am hesitant to shell out for a single BB7, new levers and cables when there some pretty good deals on sets of hydro discs that would be better in the long run.
Is there a huge difference in feel between a hydro disc versus a mechanical disc and when when used in conjunction with a v-brake rear is it really all that bad?
Any suggestions or does anyone have a spare BB7 lying around in their parts box?