fed up with 451s
I bought my (first) Swift from a guy who had upgraded it with drop bars and an improved (Capreo) drivetrain. brifters won't drive the stock v-brakes, so he used sidepulls, which won't reach 406 rims, so he put 451s on the bike. he sold me on these rims as faster.
many miles later, I'm not convinced. moreover, I'm frustrated by the lack of tire options, the difficulty of finding presta-valve tubes at the LBS, etc. I've broken two spokes on the 451s but none on the 406s (could be coincidence I suppose). I also miss the power of the v-brakes at times. plus, I've got a matching set of 406 Marathons and Marathon Winters on my flat-bar Swift that I'd love to use on my drop-bar Swift. not a huge fan of the Primo Comets on my 451s.
unfortunately my sidepull brakes are just barely too short for the pads to rest on the 406 rims. so what are my options? I can think of a couple of possibilities.
1. get a set of V-brakes for the drop-bar folder and use the TravelAgent hack to drive them from the brifters (a new Tiagra set). I've heard mixed reviews on TravelAgent though.
2. find a set of extra-long-reach calipers so I can place the brake shoes to grab the 406 rim. I currently use Tektro R556, and but it looks like the 984 would be long enough.
either way, I need to get a 406 rear wheel built with a Capreo hub. Harris Cyclery will do that for a not-outrageous sum.
thoughts on the two options above, or is there a possibility I'm missing? in a perfect world I'd get a carbon fork with a disc brake mount and not worry about the back brake :-)
Last edited by mtalinm; 12-17-11 at 08:59 PM.