v-brakes vs disc brakes

MEAN IRISH GUY

MEAN IRISH GUY

Horse-faced space dog
ive been thinking of upgrading from v-brakes to disc brakes. can anyone give me a little input on the pros and cons of this? ALSO reccomend me some disc brake systems?
 
MEAN IRISH GUY said:
ive been thinking of upgrading from v-brakes to disc brakes. can anyone give me a little input on the pros and cons of this? ALSO reccomend me some disc brake systems?
Click to expand...

Do it, if you go the mechanical route, Avid BB7's, if you want hydraulic go with Avid Juicy 7's. Disc brakes have a very different feel than rim brakes because the braking is happening at the center of the wheel, the stopping force feels slower/mushy at first but you get used to it and when the pads and rotors break in, they feel awesome. Disc brakes rule because they work wether it is wet or dry, muddy, wheel out of true...you will lose some performance in the wet but they will work far better then any rim brake in the wet. If you go hydraulic, you don't have to work about gritty cables and you need less pressure to apply the brakes.
 
MEAN IRISH GUY said:
ive been thinking of upgrading from v-brakes to disc brakes. can anyone give me a little input on the pros and cons of this? ALSO recommend me some disc brake systems?
Click to expand...

Wait until your next bike purchase. The cost to convert a bike from Vs to disc can be prohibitive. You have to convert the brakes and the wheels. The only way I would consider it is if the wheels already has disc hubs.

I was a disc brake hold out for many years. I had multiple bikes and extra sets of wheels set up for Vs. I couldn't just forget about all that and go to disc. My next big purchase was to 29". I sold all my 26" stuff and now have disc brakes.
 
I agree with Ben. I like disc brakes but if I were forced to ride v-brakes for whatever reason I wouldn't cry that much about it.
 
MIG,

I think for mechanical discs the BB7s are the way to go. For Hydros, I have Hayes HFX-9s that I like, but I've never tried any other hydros.

If you just want to try something out, I have a set of Shimano mechanicals that I could let go reeeeaaaal cheap (beer?). They work fine but I upgraded to hydros. As Ben said though, if you don't have disc wheels, that is going to be the major cost.

Tim
 
I got a bike with and one without, I really like the disc..
I would wait until you could buy a new bike, its a costly upgrade.
 
+1 on what stb222 said.

BB7's are the hot setup if you are going mechanical. But since I've had hydros, I'll never go back to mechanicals.

For hydraulics I'm partial to Formula. I have a set of "The Ones" and they are fabulous. Big $$, though. However, the K18's are much more reasonable and have received raves since they've been out. They also make a K24 that is the same brake, except with a FCS feature (adjust contact point) and slightly better bolts (nickel plated, I think). If you search MTBR, or google it, you'll find all sorts of info and comparisons. Plus, their customer service is awesome.

2008 K18's (aebike.com) are the same price as 2008 Juicy 7's (JensenUSA) at around $160 each end for brake/rotor/adapters. Pricepoint has 2007 Juicy's for $130 each end.
 
well i wouldnt say im FORCED to ride v-brakes, im just looking to get the most out of my riding expierience. and it seems from what i see around the trails that a large majority are riding disc. so i was just curious as to what people thought. i have some money on the side for some upgrades for the bike, just trying to figure what id like to do. another thing i am thinking of doing is going to clipless pedals. my brother says id be a fool not to. haha.
 
Agree with everyone else, unless you have disc ready wheels its going to be costly. If you cant figure out if your wheels/hubs are disc compatible let us know what you ride, its usually listed online in the specs.

That being said, the Avid BB7's are probably the best mechanical brake out there. I have the Avid Juicy's on my geared bike and Magura's on my Single speed, I prefer the Maguras hands down.

That being said, buy a Single speed with discs, get that stable growing😀
 
MEAN IRISH GUY said:
... it seems from what i see around the trails that a large majority are riding disc. so i was just curious as to what people thought. i have some money on the side for some upgrades for the bike, just trying to figure what id like to do. another thing i am thinking of doing is going to clipless pedals.
Click to expand...

Stop looking at other people's bikes. 🙄 Save more money and buy a new bike next year. Upgrading an existing bike is costly and never ends. Save money, buy the best bike you can, and ride it.
 
I agree with Ben again!

OK time to get into specifics. What did you pay for your current bike, how long ago, and how much money do you have set aside?

We're talking all general stuff here. Time to get more into specifics!
 
BiknBen said:
Stop looking at other people's bikes. 🙄 Save more money and buy a new bike next year. Upgrading an existing bike is costly and never ends. Save money, buy the best bike you can, and ride it.
Click to expand...



Right!

If your bike has rim brakes there is a good chance that it is time to consider a new bike anyway.

You might want to find a local shop that offers 29er ss bikes as demos. That way you can try both a 29er, discs and SS all at once.

I might know a shop that has some demos.


J-
 
Norm said:
I agree with Ben again!

OK time to get into specifics. What did you pay for your current bike, how long ago, and how much money do you have set aside?

We're talking all general stuff here. Time to get more into specifics!
Click to expand...

well i bought it about 2 months ago. i bought a specialized hardrock. i didnt have alot of money to spend on it at the time and when i did buy. when i bought it, it was going to be strictly for recreational use. i payed about 460 for it. i didnt know i was going to fall in live with the sport the way i did. the hardrock also comes in a disk model but i didnt have the money at the time for that model. i have about 500 on the side right now plus i have another 600 coming to me(that economic stimulus thingy).
 
Your Hardrock is a great bike, but for 1100 beans you can get a that much better bike where you wont need to make all kinds of upgrades. For that kind of money, a new bike will get you disk brakes, a much better fork as well as all around better components. If you have the money to spend, keep the Specialized as a loaner/beater/town bike and invest in a bike that will last and will only need to be upgraded as things break.

My vote goes towards a 29er single speed, but Im a bit biased.😀

:EDIT: That shouldn't be read that your Hardrock wont last
 
Last edited:
Like Mike said, go clipless.

At least the money spent there, on shoes and pedals, can be transferred to any future bike. In the meantime, you can gain new handling skills. And learning clipless on your lesser bike will save your future bike from the inevitable crashes that occur when you forget that your feet are attached to the bike.
 
While I agree with the general concensus here not to sink a bunch of money into the hardrock, I think you could get disc brakes on it for not alot of money. Just quickly going through mountain bike action I found '08 avid bb7s' at Cambria for $49.00 per set and a set of mavic 317s' w/XT hubs at blueskycycling.com for $170.00.Throw in a set of shimano M520 pedals and for under $350.00 total you'll have the whole package at your door. Your lbs might even make you a package deal on that stuff. That's not too much to put into the hardy. If you can install this stuff yourself or get some help from a friend you're golden.
 
just to throw a wrench in the works, i still prefer my magura hs33 hydraulic rim brakes to my disc brakes. i have a juicey carbon and bb7's. sure they stop well, about as good as the maguras in the dry and a little better in the wet, but they are noisy as fu(!< when wet, and they seem to want to rub alot. my hs33's have been nearly problem free for 9 years straight now. just pad switches, and once i had to replace a cracked quick release bracket. that's one set of brakes, that have gone from bike #1 to bike #2. i never had to trim the line, never had to bleed them, never had to lube them, and only had to adjust them when they went from the one bike to the other.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom