Old School Trek Y Frame disc brake adapter?

[slackard]

Hey all,

Looking for some info from any old Trek Y frame owners -- that is if any even exist anymore

I am the designer of several 3D printable disc brake adapters for late model bikes that lack standard disc mounting tabs.

Some recent info has lead me to believe some of the old Trek Y frames used the same URT swingarm as the 98 & 99 fisher Level Betty frames (& 99 Joshua), for which an adapter is already available.

If what ive seen/read in old catalogs is true, the adapter i've designed for the Fisher bikes should also work on the Trek Y's of the same year.

Can any Y owners out there confirm whether or not their rear triangle and dropout matches the one pictured below?

See this thread for more info on the adapters I've produced:
http://forums.mtbr.com/singlespeed/rear ... 985-3.html

Visit my Shapeways Shop, if you're interested in a disc adapter of your own: Polymetric Design by slackard on Shapeways


Thanks in advance for any info you can provide!

 

[velomaniac]

My Trek Y-5 has the same rear end as pictured.
However since the two threaded holes in the swingarm to the right of your adaptor are for mounting a disc brake adaptor which are rarer than hens dental records I wonder why you dont create an adaptor for that ?

 

[02gf74]

Re:

That looks similar to gary fishers. An adapter is avaikable to use a rare hayes or hope callipoer. A cheaper option is to fit a compact front calliper e.g magura marta. For more info see my gary fisher.

 

[dyna-ti]

Well i think it looks very nice

 

[iamkeith]

Re:

Attached are a couple of images of the rare, already-designed-but-discontinued adapter that velomaniac mentioned. If memory serves, this adapter was made by Hope, and the two holes on the frame that it attaches to are an obsolete, 22mm, Hayes mounting standard. The adapter itself was indeed intended for Trek Y bikes, but it obviously worked on a few other bikes as well. I used one a couple of years ago to convert my 1997 Ellsworth Truth to disc brakes, as shown in the second photo.

Your adapter is beautiful, but I agree that it would be easier to accomplish with a more straight-forward bracket like this one. Before I was able to locate this adapter (in the ads here, from a fellow retro-biker!), I actually did some drawings that I intended to use to have one fabricated, from a piece of steel angle. If this would be helpful to you or someone else who needs such a piece, I'm happy to pass them along. Send me a PM.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of 3D printing method is suitable for a part that is exposed to those kind of stresses? Just basic additive metal sintering? (Not an expert on the subject - just fascinated by this stuff....)

 

[coomber]

It may be discontinued, but making an adaptor from those two holes on the chainstay to fit a modern can't be that hard to knock up

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

I think the issue with the chainstay mounted calipers is clearance - no way you'd get an adapter plus a modern caliper in ther, and keep it in the right orientation. Especially if using something like a BB7.

Was also going to ask about the material used. looks very neat!

 

[coomber]

Consider me learned!

 

[slackard]

Re:

As others have mentioned, thr hope adapter pictured above will not work on these URT frames. The 22mm disc mount is on the chain stay and no room to mount the caliper. A2Z also had a similar 22mm adapter, but again no room on a small rear triangle.

The fact is that the 22mm brake mount is totally obsolete, and the only real option is a milling machine, or 3d printing if you want a solid, respectable disc adapter.

There are a few universal adapters, but they are hokey and most require mods to your hubs, and some hubs are not compatible at all.


Someone mentioned the trek y 5 has the same dropout pictured above.. any idea what year that y5 is?

thanks for the assist!

 

[slackard]

Re:

answering another question above about the 3d printing process. it is an addative process similar to laser sintering. stainless steel filings are glued together w a linseed based binder, then the parts are baked in a furnace w bronze pellets, which melt and flow into the stainless steel matrix. the end result is a very strong composite material. Nasa has used a similar process to 3d print rocket fuel intakes.

I've used my 3d printed adapter on my 45kg electric bike (the fisher pictued above), and im a large rider at nearly 2m. My braking quality is excellent and couldnt be more pleased

thanks again for the input guys!