I could do with some advice about disc brakes, it's not for a recumbent, but it's a situation that a lot of recumbent trike builders/riders must come across. Also can i confess that i know nothing about disc brakes, i've not got a bike with them on and i've not even ridden a disc braked bike.

Having said that i am building a load carrying trike, you know the sort with two wheels at the front and a box between them. A bit like this: www.christianiabikes.com/english/uk_main.htm and i am going to fabricate the mounts and fit mechanical disc brakes to it. As it's going to have quite a long wheelbase, and the danger of flipping forward will be minimal, i'm going to use a canti brake on the rear as a parking brake and the discs on the front wheels as the main system. The question is, as i am using two front wheels, do i need two front disc setups?, or can i buy a regular front/rear pair and use those?

I'm hoping to mount the front wheels with the discs 'inboard', as it were, so as to give some protection to the rotors. What is the difference between a front setup and a rear anyway? Is it just the mounting holes for the calipers are in a slightly different place, or are the discs or calipers fundamentally different? Help!