Originally Posted by
monsterpile
Its great that Swift is seeing so much riding. Now I am more glad I bought it so it could make it's way to its new owner. Its funny it traveled from Minneapolis to Lincoln NE, then to Portland to find someone that would actually ride it.
Funny thing is, I'm from Minneapolis originally, and travel there once or twice a year. So this bike has definitely NOT been there for the last time!
Originally Posted by
bendembroski
I can't compare it to a disc, but here's the process:
1. Disconnect brake cable at drum (5 secs.)
2. Loosen jubilee clamp that holds reaction arm to fork (20-30 secs)
3. Loosen axle nuts & remove wheel
The only thing that's a pain is when it comes time to put the wheel back on, the reaction arm flops around a bit while lining the axle into the front dropouts. A technique is quickly developed, but I'd recommend practising a few times when you're not in a hurry. (My first time was in the rain, with two whiny kids in the trailer yelling for me to hurry up!).
So, just a bit more hassle than the v-brakes.
That actually sounds like
less hassle than V-brakes with a big, high-pressure tire (Big Apple or the BMX tires I'm using), where the procedure is:
1. Disconnect brake QR.
2. Deflate tire to 30-40 psi so it can fit between the brake pads.
3. Loosen QR and remove wheel, working it back and forth a few times to get it past the pads.
Disc brakes are the ideal, of course:
1. Loosen QR and remove wheel.
I doubt I'll be upgrading to a front disc though, but not for lack of research and interest. My understanding is that the Swift's stock fork uses a 1 1/8" threaded headset, with a steerer diameter of 1" above the headset to allow for a 1" I.D. riser. So the ideal replacement fork would also have a 1 1/8" steerer, probably threadless (headset upgrade) and require a new 1 1/8" riser like the Airnimal or Rans ones mentioned earlier in this thread. There only steel 20" forks out there with disc mounts and 1 1/8" steerers that I can find are mod trials forks with 365-370mm A-C. Wayyy too long. The only ones I can find with the right A-C length and offset are aluminum with 1" steerers. I suppose I could make this work with a reduction headset like the Chris King Devolution, but I'm wary of the use of aluminum in a fork and I'm guessing I'd give up a LOT in terms of ride quality. One other option would be a custom fork, but that's nearly $300 plus a new headset.
So basically, if I decide I can't live with a front V-brake the path of least resistance is overwhelmingly the drum route. Should be less than $200 to have a drum wheel built up.