I want to change my front brakes from v-brake to disc. But I also want to keep my Shimano brake levers. Can I just change the wheel-end of the brake cable to disc calipers? Or do I need to buy the entire caliper-to-lever set? tia!
does your fork have mounts for a disc brake? you can keep your brake levers so long as the caliper is cable and not hydraulic. you'll also need a front wheel that supports disc brake (hub having the rotor mount).
i did the same thing on my gt and the levers and shifter was one piece so all i had to do was get a longer cable and housing for the front brakes and mount up the calipers and rotors and make sure your wheels are disc capable and thats it if anything just buy new wheels
I'm also doing the same thing to an old bike of mine. I ordered a new wheelset from jensen usa and an avid bb5. All I need to do now is get a longer cable and housing and I should be set. The brakes were fairly cheap, about 35, and free shipping. I havent tried them out yet so I dont know how well they work, but if your looking for a cheap set they look great and hopefully they will work great too.
If you want to keep your levers, you're limited to mechanical disc brakes such as Avid's BB7s. Hydraulic brake levers and calipers work as an integrated system. When I was still rocking my '97 Specialized Ground Control, I swapped out my front linear pull brakes for a set of BB7s, which allowed me to keep my old brake lever. However, when I later upgraded to hydros in the front, I had to use the lever that came with the brake, so my levers were mismatched (the frame was so old that it didn't have mounts for a rear caliper). By the way, I was very happy with Avid's mechanical disc brakes, I just felt I needed the extra stopping power that hydroallic brakes provide.
I just changed mine over. I kept my levers, I got Gatorbrakes from price point ($21) each. They work great and they are inexpencive.
I went with 160mm bb7 in the front and kept the rear stock single digit V-brakes. maybe one day I'll upgrade the rear too
easiest way to know if your wheels is disc compatible is to look at teh hubs if they have the 6 hole for rotor to mount up to or not
look at the left side and notice theres no flat surface or 6 holes for the rotors to mount up to same thing for the front and heres the same exact hub model but disc version
Oh snap...thanks for visual. That really helps now. I'm sure I was gonna end up sitting there for like 3 hours trying to find 6 holes. Thanks for sure man.
Been doing research, I will need this to convert the rear... http://cgi.ebay.com/Trek-Klein-Gary...Cycling_Parts_Accessories?hash=item3a5399b8a8 Anyone know where I can find a cheaper one? This is for my 2006 Trek 3900 that I have laying around
I think thats about the cheapest one you will find... A2Z Components makes one, but that its about $5 more expensive... Then there is Brake Therapy, but those are around $150, depending on the hub. Also check to make sure you will have enough room for disk brakes in the back, because some chain stays on older bikes are "tucked in" (they curve inward), so check to make sure that a rotor would fit.
