There is no reason you can't do this, and it's not all that uncommon to see.

My first winter commuting I was running V brakes. I'll never do that again. And I'll gleefully enter into a flame war with anyone who disses discs. They're superior,end of story.

BTW,got some updates for the first page:

Schwinn DBX - if by rack mount you mean rear braze-ons,yes. Tire clearance should be at least 35's,maybe as big as 38's.

Novara Element - yes rear eyelets,just in a bad spot. Tire clearance is 32 for cross tires,maybe a little bigger with slicks.

Has anyone tried brazing your own disc brake mounts on a frame / fork? If so, where can you get them?

Note that disc brakes place forces on the fork & frame which are very different from rim brakes. If you try this, best to use a heavy, overbuilt frame to avoid chatter, flex, and possible failure.

https://www.novacycles.com/catalog/pr...roducts_id=811

If you just want front disc brakes, just swap out the fork for one of the dimension disc-only forks. 1" and 1 1/8" size threadless, might be possible to thread them to fit an older setup.

Okay, then

I think discs are not needed if you live in a mostly dry area. Superfluous and a waste of money that could be spent on upgrading other components on your bike like the drive-train. I stated in another thread that I see their uses in rain, mud, and out-of-true rims. I do not see their uses in plain dry road conditions.

I have test-ridden a bike with disc brakes (Trek SU200) and have seen absolutely no difference in stopping power between that and the cantilevers on my aunt's 1993 Schwinn mountain bike. I've had V-brakes that were stronger than the disc brakes on that Trek.

Seeing as how the SoCal environment is rarely ever wet (or at least Central Orange County where we get rain like 3 days out of 365), discs are not needed down here on the streets.

By the way, thanks for the info on the Novara Element. I'm not considering that thing anymore, now that I know that it could only go up to 32's on the knobbies. I think the Schwinn DBX has everything I'm looking for in a road commuter for when I move to Seattle. It's got a triple chainring setup on front, which should make the hills less painful to climb.

That's probably because the pads weren't broken in yet/correctly (assuming the pads were adjusted correctly) or the entry level Shimano M465 that comes with the Trek SU200. Takes about 10-20 hard stops before the pads are broken in. Pretty much the same break-in procedure as a car or motorcycle.

The Schwinn World DBX you are thinking about buying comes with the Avid BB-7, which is pretty much the best you can get in a mechanical setup without going to juicy's.

I'd rather not do hydraulic discs if I can help it

Getting pretty far off the road bike topic now... and the subjectiveness of need has already been discussed. Sorry to further derail the topic, just disappointed to see an informative thread get hijacked by people with little to no interest in the subject.

Neener neener. Discs rule,rims drool!

FYI,I've had to adjust the pads on like 3 or 4 of my disc bikes after I bought them. No idea why the shops didn't do it properly.

As for retrofitting discs,there's 2 websites out there that sell products to mount discs to rim brake forks/frames. Too lazy to check myself,but if you search the forums you shold be able to find them. Also note that most discs won't work with road levers. The Avid BB7 does. Problem Solvers makes a pulley device that mounts in-line between the lever and caliper that takes up the slack. I used their V brake model when I swapped my Fuji's canti's for V's and they worked really well.

I'm rather surprised by my Element myself. If a cross bike has discs it's not legal for most competitions,plus more cross bikes are prolly commuted on than raced anyway,so you'd figure they would have more tire clearance.

A note on the DBX;mine's an '06 and when I got it the front reflector would interfere with the front cross brake lever. When you used the cross lever it would hit the reflector(drop lever worked fine). I complained to Schwinn about the design(just use a reflector that sticks out farther),but didn't hear anything back. Just something to look out for. If you get an '07 and it hits,just ditch the reflector.

I'm sorry Jeff, I didn't mean to hijack the thread. It was all in good fun, and as I stated before, I am interested in finding a road bike with disc brakes because I'm movin' to Seattle over the summer. I'll stop going off-topic now.

I run Shimano's road disc brakes, the BR-R505 and they work great as well, no extra slack issues here.

Apparently the Diamondback Podium was available with discs at some point:

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/bik/302323550.html



I used this bike for winter time commuting, and the bike defintiely outlasted me. I'm sticking with fair weather commuting.

https://forsale.kevinmills.info/Diamo...mond_back.html

It's a pity that the Tricross and the Cross Check were never made with disc tabs.

Real shame there. Particularly the Cross Check. Now THERE would be the ultimate "do anything" frame!

Big thanks to the OP, still looking for disc equipped road bikes. Since the Sojourn is unavailable (and not on the original list) I may have more money to splurge later.

The Novara Element may be discontinued, didn't see it on REI's site.

TheTouringStore sells Tubus racks and accessories, one of the accessories is a quick release skewer adapted for mounting racks to it. Don't know the pros or cons, just thought I'ld mention it for those that may want to try racks on road bikes without mount points.

If yours is the Super Sport DBX, what do you feel is the widest tire with fenders that you can run? I ask because I would want to switch to 700x35 studded tires in the winter.

Back to the OPs list, it looks like the Gunnar Cross Hairs is no longer offered in disc.

Scott Subs: https://scottusa.com/us_en/category/75/sub

Scott Sportster: https://scottusa.com/us_en/category/74/sportster

They had an '08 model. If it's not on the site it's prolly because they're sold out.

Mine was the black/copper one with the double and without stock fenders. I think you could fit 35's,cause I'm pretty sure it would take PB hybrid size fenders. BarracksSi bought mine,might want to drop him a PM and ask if he could measure it to be sure.

Those aren't road bikes.

ok. vendor on ebay is selling the 06 for $650-$850.

Yeah, the discs are getting harder and harder to find. Lemond and Trek still have them. BTW, I have an '05 Schwinn DBX still going strong, although I've replaced quite a bit of the components. I had to replace the craptastic wheels that came with it a long time ago. I am using the 135mm Mavic SpeedCitys - yes, I overstuffed the frame - yes, the wheel comes out fairly easily - no, I haven't cracked the frame despite my abuses. The SpeedCitys are low spoke count, but I haven't broken a spoke yet (which I'm really good at). I highly recommend road discs as the braking is 100% improvement over calipers. The biggest tire I've run on this bike is a 28, so I don't know about running some massive studded tire. I doubt it would work with fenders, also.

35mm studs should fit under PB's 'hybrid' width fenders(45mm? I think). If the fenders fit on the bike,then there's enough clearance for the tires. I know the fork has the room up front,I just don't remember how much clearance there was between the chain stays.

+1. If they offered a Cross Check frame with disc tabs, I'd buy one today.

thanks. I know the SKS P45s work with Hakka 700x35 studded provided the frame clears