Bicycle Mechanics - Specialized HardRock Uno brake upgrade to disks

Has anyone upgraded the Specialized HardRock Uno to disk brakes? It came with V brakes that work well. I was thinking of 6" mechanical disks from Shimano, but have not settled on any brand or type at this point. I mainly ride cross country trail riding. No DH, big drops, or anything radical. (unless I didn't see it coming... :p ) Perhaps I don't need to upgrade to disk brakes? Thanks for your opinions in advance.

I recently upgraded mine to the Avid Mechanicals, great brakes and really easy to setup. I have to confess that I've not yet ridden it much off road since I've been spending all my time on my rigid singlespeed :D

I'm running mine with Avid Speed Dial 7 levers, the standard combo brake/shifter levers didn't pull quite enough cable for me to get the lever feeling I wanted. Of course by changing the brake levers you'll need to also change the shifters, I went with 9 speed XT and did a complete drivetrain upgrade. Shame I haven't really ridden it much since ;)

Do you have specific questions about the upgrade ?

Of course by changing the brake levers you'll need to also change the shifters,
Not necessarily. Unless they're an integrated Shifter / lever combo he can keep his shifters (and or levers) if he runs the Avids

Not necessarily. Unless they're an integrated Shifter / lever combo he can keep his shifters (and or levers) if he runs the Avids

Unfortunately the Uno does have integrated shifter/brake levers. The Avid brakes seemed to work fine with the standard levers but I much prefer the feeling I can dial in with the adjustable Avid levers.

I'd try it with the current levers first to save some coin and upgrade a bit later. I'm basing this on the adage: If it ain't broke...don't fix it. Of course he's free to do as he likes. Pity about the integrated bit though.

Hi guys. Thanks for info! The only specific question I have after reading your posts is did you replace the wheels or are the original wheels compatible for use with the disk brakes?

Hi guys. Thanks for info! The only specific question I have after reading your posts is did you replace the wheels or are the original wheels compatible for use with the disk brakes?

You'll need to replace the wheels with a set that have disc compatible hubs - the brake rotors bolt directly to the hub. You could I suppose just have your hubs swapped out at your LBS. I went with XT Disc hubs laced to Sun Rhyno Rims, got a good deal on them from pricepoint. Sadly the new wheels are likely to cost as much as, if not more than, the disc brakes...

If you're still deciding on upgrading you should definatley go for the disc breaks. No matter what kind of riding you do the breaking is so much nicer. I found my old Vbreaks to be kind of jerky and when I upgraded to disk's everything was smoother.