Originally Posted by BikeToWork

I have an old UAV (urban assault vehicle) Trek 990 that goes through rear wheels about once a year. The pads on the v brakes wear a groove into the rim which eventually weakens it to the point where I need to true the wheel every other ride. Then the rim cracks. It's the same pattern regardless of the rim. My last rim was a 26" 32 spoke Sun Mammoth which lasted longer than most but eventually cracked. I commute on the bike in all weather conditions and often load lots of weight on the rear. I ride on pavement only.

My question is whether or not there is a way to retrofit a bike like my Trek 990 to take disk brakes. Would it be prohibitively expensive to replace the dropouts with disk brake compatible ones and what is involved? Replacing rear wheels every year is getting kind of pricey anyway.

Question two is whether anyone here has a home remedy for sniffles. I sniffle constantly while biking in cold weather, even though my body is sweating. It sure is annoying but it seems impossible to control.