Upgrading to disc brakes?

[MrJamie]

Im wondering if its worth a partial or full upgrade to BB7s from standard Tektro V-Brakes as we're heading to winter. Ive seen them for about £40 each, im wondering if I could just slap them on my hybrid (has the mount points) and connect them to the combined vbrake/gear shifters or even just replace the fronts for reasonable deceleration in the wet.

As a heavy rider on a fairly loaded bike, when it rains I really have to reduce speed drastically because my stopping distances get silly. Riding in the rain yesterday despite keeping speed lower, i nearly got caught out twice by just how bad they were, it felt really dangerous. Ive tried a few different pads, all great in the dry but ineffective in the wet.

 

[ianrauk]

Having gone from commuting in all weathers on a bike with v brakes to a bike with BB7's I would say it's a no brainer. Mine run from 105 levers and work perfect.

 

[MrJamie]

Having gone from commuting in all weathers on a bike with v brakes to a bike with BB7's I would say it's a no brainer. Mine run from 105 levers and work perfect.

It slipped my mind, i think ill need new wheels with rotor mounts? I guess i can get some cheapish ones, since im plenty happy with the standard ones that came with the £450 bike.

Im wondering if just upgrading the front brake(/wheel) would be a reasonable cost-effective idea.

 

[HovR]

Im wondering if just upgrading the front brake(/wheel) would be a reasonable cost-effective idea.

That's what I'd do if I was upgrading on a budget - Might just want to be careful with the front brake in icy weather though.

 

[summerdays]

Mr Summerdays did it years ago, partially for the fettling practise. It wasn't that cheap by the time he had new wheels I think, and certainly the brakes themselves, and because he had dual brake/gear shifters he also needed new gear shifters too. He ran with that set up for a couple more years before buying a new disk braked bike.

 

[andrew_s]

BB7 will give almost normal braking in wet weather. In the dry there isn't much difference as V brakes are more than powerful enough.

Use good quality cable outers, and take care to square the cut ends of the outer off accurately.
You should also make sure that you have lawyer lips and use a front QR that has a strong grip (i.e.shimano), and check it's properly tight on a reasonably regular basis. This is because the brake reaction force on a front disc brake mounted behind the fork blade works to pull the wheel out of the dropout

...and because he had dual brake/gear shifters he also needed new gear shifters too.

There is a road version of the BB7 that can be used with road STI/Ergo levers (grey rather than the black MTB version).

 

[MrJamie]

Thanks for advice

Mr Summerdays did it years ago, partially for the fettling practise. It wasn't that cheap by the time he had new wheels I think, and certainly the brakes themselves, and because he had dual brake/gear shifters he also needed new gear shifters too. He ran with that set up for a couple more years before buying a new disk braked bike.

It is starting to look that way, that it isnt very cost effective spending ~£200 on a £450 hybrid just for wet weather performance when I live in one of the driest parts of the country and dont use it for commuting, but im still tempted to replace the front if its economical enough.

I think I can use the vbrake levers in the existing combined shifters with the mtb version, but finding a replacement front wheel is the issue at the moment. The current ones are 622-19 double walled rims that came with it. Unfortunately buying single wheels seems expensive and the information on most websites is very poor about what size/width etc they are and tend not to mention if theyre presta/schraeder drilled.

1. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/700c-Rigi...-Double-Walled-Wheel-/290753854758#vi-content
2. http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/raleigh-urban-disc-700c-wheel

Would either of them do the job reasonably? I really cant find much else? but I don't imagine the stock rims were particularly amazing and I put M+ tyres on which make them heavy anyway. Then ive still got to decide if £85 (all in) for a front disc brake upgrade is worth it. Ill probably keep the bike a long time (hopefully) and make it more of a XC trail bike as it has front suspension, if I buy a cyclocross/road bike maybe next year.

 

[Red Light]

It would be much cheaper if you just bought a new hub and swapped the rim over. It would be a good opportunity to learn how to build a wheel yourself. With a little patience its not a difficult task and its very satisfying when you've finished. Just follow the instructions on Sheldon Brown's website (use the improvised tools rather than investing in a truing stand and stick to start with) If its a road bike I have a pair of road BB7s that are surplus to requirements and barely used (discs and calipers plus mounting posts) that I'd be happy to do a deal on much cheaper than new.

 

[MrJamie]

I quite like the idea of rebuilding wheels and it means I can definitely do it one wheel at a time, ive adjusted the odd loose spoke and trued a buckled wheel quite confidently so not totally scared of the idea. Its a 700c hardtail, mtb combined brake/gear shifters so im after the mtb version. I really appreciate the help and ideas, ~£60 for front brake and hub sounds reasonable and theres some pretty good deals on hubs, and depending on how it goes I can do the rear later

 

[andrew_s]

If you intend to put a new disc hub in your existing front wheel, look up both the old and new hub dimensions beforehand, and aim to buy a new hub that has similar dimensions. If the sizes are too different you would need to buy new spokes as well.
This spoke length calculator has a reasonably good database of hubs and rims.