The LHT is setup for Canti's/V-Brakes. It does come with the fork. So you'd be replacing a good fork. FWIW, I weighed mine, 5lbs 7oz for the frame, and 2lbs 6oz fork. Not the lightest by road racer standards, but I'll probably have around a 23lb bike when I'm done. Properly setup cantis are cheaper than disk brakes. Just throw some good pads on them and you'll be fine. Oh, I forgot to mention, check out girlbike.com http://www.girlbike.com she's got a new LHT and loves it.