Disc Brake adapters - any experience?

[Meejoir]

I've had a 1998 Marin Mount Vision since new and I ride it regularly. It still kicks ass, albeit with a bigger spring on the rear suspension these days :facepalm: Over the years almost every component has been replaced/upgraded in some way or another - all except the brakes, which are the original XT V brakes. They're fine, bar the odd parallelogram squeak, but I've been considering an upgrade to disc brakes. Of course this is no problem on the front as the Fox RLT80 has a disc mount, but the swing arm has no disc tabs.

It seems my only options are a) replacing the swing arm for a later version (probably difficult without buying a whole bike and swapping it over, a possibility if I could find one cheap enough) or b) using a disc brake adapter. The only one I've seen is an A2Z adapter but I'm not sure it would fit the machined dropouts of my Mount Vision, I've read that the dropouts need to be relatively flat to be able to install the adapter.

Does anyone have any experience of this type of adapter or better still, have a spare, post '98, swing arm lying around for a Marin? Hehehe. :mrgreen:

 

[mechanical_vandal]

Re:

I used an a2z on a dirt jump type build years ago. It wasn't ideal as it twisted around if you braked while moving backwards or even weighted the bike backwards while the brake was on.

I wouldn't use one again.

I do however have an FSR Sharkfin on my kona Humu Humu now and it seems much more solid. I had to drill my dropout but on the Humu they are big and flat so it wasn't a problem.

There's a Tensile one that looks a bit more universal whilst still being braced to the canti post but I suspect that being a few pieces jointed together it wouldn't be as rigid as my Sharkfin.

I definitely wouldn't use anything that's not braced to the canti post.

 

[jb72]

Have you considered just adding the disc at the front? Most of the braking effort takes place at the front anyway. I know it's not the answer you're looking for ... just a thought.

 

[Meejoir]

Re:

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm still running the original XT shifters and brakes which are combined in the same unit. They are nice but they don't move as smoothly as they once did or the newer models for that matter, so I guess I could just add the front disc brake and keep the XT v brake on the back. I've seen a few swing arms with disc tabs on Gumtree but unfortunately they're usually attached to the rest of the bike, and the missus would kill me if another bike shaped object arrived at our door. You know how it is....

 

[dazdc5]

Re:

I swapped the XT V-brakes off the front of my (now son's) Mount Vision.
Replaced with an ebay sources suitable front wheel and runs a 160mm disc with Avid hydraulic anchors.
The rear XT's rattled like a rattly thing rattles, so were swapped for some Avid type V's which stop him just fine.
But if you find a disc mounting solution for a swingarm with no mounts it might be worth the upgrade.

 

[Adam_S]

The best disc adapters are the ones that attach on to the brake boss at one end and the dropout at the other. Woodman used to do one but I can't track it down for love nor money. It's a heavy piece of kit too and you need a special hub. Another option is Brake Therapy (http://2btherapy.com/bikes/brake-therapy-conversion-kit). I have one of these on my Explosif. Basically you have a special adapter which replaces the non drive side spacer on the hub. The brake mount sits on top of that with a pin to hold it in place and the other end attaches to the brake boss. It will only work with certain hubs and it's certainly not cheap but it seems to work OK.

There are also a lot of these on Fleabay but I have no idea if they're any good.

 

[cce]

i've been running a "mullet" (disc front, v rear) and it's just grand

 

[foz]

I ran a BB7 cable disc brake on the front for a while, with the original XT V levers and rear brake. I've recently swapped to a magura HS33 on the rear and a basic shimano hydraulic disc brake on the front, chosen because the lever shape and appearance is very similar to the HS33 so they look and feel pretty much the same.

I thought about a sharkfin or tensile type adaptor, but think they look a bit fugly compared to the magura option.

 

[cce]

latest magura rim brakes have the same levers as the latest meagura disc brakes. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it.