Bicycle Mechanics - disk brakes on a roadie

what do i need to do? i just want a disk in front, and i'm thinking i can lace a deore xt disk hub to a 700c rim up front, and have a framebuilder put mounts on my fork. any problems with this?

anything tricky with brake levers?

tia,
-rob

As long as you have a steel fork, it should work. There will be more stress on that one leg. You may run into clearance isssues, so you may end up going with a cross fork. The Avid mechanicals are available as road-lever compatible.

Let us know how it comes out. Been thinking of doing it myself.

Dave

you can get a dimension 700c rigid disk specific fork from bikeman.com i think its made for a cyclocross bike, but itll probably be ok for what you want.

what do i need to do? i just want a disk in front, and i'm thinking i can lace a deore xt disk hub to a 700c rim up front, and have a framebuilder put mounts on my fork. any problems with this?

anything tricky with brake levers?

tia,
-rob

Even though the energy to stop the bike is the same, the leverage is different because the disc is closer to the hub. If your stock fork is strong enough to handle that force, it would have been overweight in it's normal state. Frankly, I doubt that's the case.

Agree on the fork issue. I'd be concerned about clamping on a caliper and putting the braking loads into one leg of a fork that wasn't designed for it. You're creating a lot of bending moment between the caliper clamp and the axle that the fork wasn't designed for.

You could buy one of these from Winwood:

Muddy Cross Fork ISO Disc

Designed for Cyclocross and light touring
Aluminum crown and steerer with bonded carbon blades
Blade length, A*=398mm
ISO disc tabs and removable cantilever brake bosses
Rake 45mm
Fits up to 700 x 44mm tires
Sizes available: only 1-1/8" threadless
686g ( uncut steerer)
Steerer length 300mm

The problem is that the fork is lomger than standard road, and it has a cantilever brake. That plus new hub and spokes (and maybe a stronger rim.) I think you are looking at $400-$500.
Maybe you should just upgrade to abrasive brake pads and get a ceramic rim.

Just remembered something. Gene at Spcier Cycles (www.spicercycles.com) has a 700c cylco fork with a disc tab installed. Super cheap from my memory.

Dave

Why do you need disc brakes on a road bike? It is WAY too much brake for a road bike to handle.

The handy part to the disc on the road bike is that you could build a 29" Mtn bike and use the same wheel and disc on both bikes and simply switch the tires.

Rode the cross bike in snow the other day and had zero braking due to the snow on the rims with the canti's. I can see the discs eliminating this problem.

DAve

Why do you need disc brakes on a road bike? It is WAY too much brake for a road bike to handle.

well, i got an old frame which had 27"s on it, and i intend to make sort of a cyclocross/tourer/bad weather laundry/grocery bike-thing out of it. i wanna stuff some fat cross tires in there, and i'm not all about having some long-reach sidepulls on the rig. fwiw, there'd be a roller brake on the rear. i just thought it'd be kinda kick@$$ to have a disc on 'er, but i'd rather get a nexave drum up front, and keep that there original fork, as it is exceedingly pretty.

so i guess that, as for me, a front disc is out.

thanks for the input!

-rob