On my continuing and tiresome search for a new bike for my wife, I have come across a few attractively priced (in an ugly sort of way) Salsa bikes. The problem is, they all have disk breaks.

When we tour in Japan, it always begins with a train journey. Bikes travel free, but they must be bagged. This means taking off the from wheel, placing it against the back, turning the handlebars sideways and zipping up the nylon bag.

I have heard the disc breaks can get bent. How much of a problem is this? the bike can get bumped about was we go through the train station. Also it will belaying against something on the train.

And how about the bike falls over during a lunch break or pit stop?

Finally, is it possible to remove the front disk break and add regular one?

Any suggestions/ideas?

Waddo

You can remove the Rotors from the wheels and carry them separate

I have disc brakes and have traveled with them, no worries about the bike falling over, I've never seen that be an issue. I do worry about the disc when I travel on airlines and take the time to remove the front disc before the wheel is packed away. If you have 160mm disc I don't think it's as big of an issue, they're pretty sturdy. It's the 203mm disc on my MTB that looks as if it may get bent. Maybe you can make a packing ring out of some dense foam and place it between the disc and the spokes to provide some support in case the bike gets thrown around?

When you put the front wheel next to the bike, make sure the rotor faces inward, and zip tie the wheel to your frame in a couple of places so they stay together. Also, IGH's suggestion about the foam is a good one.

Another thing to do (if you have hydraulic discs) is to put something between the pads when the wheel is removed. If the pistons get compressed while the disc is out of the bike, the auto-adjust will make it a huge pain to put the wheel back on. Bike shops have little plastic doo-dads for that, but you can also use a folded piece of cardboard. If you have mechanical discs, its not that big of a deal.

As long as the front wheel is on the bike, the risk of the rotor getting bent from the bike falling over is pretty much nil.

That depends on the fork and the wheel. If the fork has cantilever posts, and the wheel has a braking surface, you can do it. That said, I don't recommend using two different kinds of brake on your bike. It increases the number of different things that can go wrong. Also, you'll end up needing to figure out cable-pull compatibility if you don't want to replace the brake lever too.

My recommendation: pack the bike appropriately for travelling, and possibly remove the front brake rotor. If that will being too much trouble, then just get a bike with rim brakes on both wheels.

I am on my second bike with disc brakes. I think the rotor is more likely to warp from the heat of use , than falling, or in shipping/transit if properly packed. As others stated attach wheel to frame with disc facing in and all should be ok.