Whyte PRST-4...XTR disc brake conversion

[damage]

Ok, thanks for the clarification. As u suggest I will keep my eyes open for a bargain.

 

[damage]

Wow thanks for the insights and wouldn't it be brilliant if I was lucky enough to find some rubber covers. I'm cycling to the beach tomorrow for some sun and swimming so will have a good look and get some pictures of the hubs and maybe even the rings.

The bike seems very low miles, no creaking of the bearings/pivot points and the BB is silent even under power.

I had a nice lefty fork on my old Cannondale which I do miss but overall I'm very happy with the Whyte

 

[damage]

I could be wrong here, but weren't the xtr m960 hubs all centre lock rotor fitting with a cover over the splines for rim brake use? I think I'm wrong actually but they did do hubs in the m960 range this way in addition to rim brake only hubs.

Worth checking your existing hubs. If they are m960 they could have the rubber covers over the rotor splines and if so, happy days. You'd just need some rotors rather than a new set of wheels.

M960 is not typically that sought after so you may be able to pick up some wheels cheaply, but the hubs were decent, it's the rest that wasn't so well regarded.

Check the rings on your cranks and check for wear, replacement rings are not easy to find and fetch a premium because of their proprietary spacing between bolt holes.

Right then, I've done as suggested. The hubs are XT parallax m737 front and rear and sadly I can't see any rubber covers. If I want to fit discs I expect this 100% means new hubs...which probably for value just means buying a decent used wheelset right?

I've got pictures, and also pictures of the unique to Whyte I believe 'Big Gripper' dropout system, just in case this has any bearing on the hubs I need. To me, an absolute newb, it looks like the hardware to make it work can simply be removed from the existing hubs and fitted to the new (via two little nuts)?

Also, the chain rings look a little worn to me but not too bad? Certainly no skipping gear problems etc.

Beach was lovely, two hours of quiet sunning and swimming with a little bike ride either side.

Cheers
Karl

 

[novocaine]

replace the chain and cassette as a matter of diligence more than anything, front chainrings look fine.
big gripper goes over a standard hub QR hub and I believe these are 135mm spacing.

you are right, your hubs aren't disc ready. you could get hubs and spokes and relace or you could loko for new wheels, obviously one is less effort than the other.

@ishaw here's what the big gripper should look like. :~)

 

[damage]

replace the chain and cassette as a matter of diligence more than anything, front chainrings look fine.
big gripper goes over a standard hub QR hub and I believe these are 135mm spacing.

you are right, your hubs aren't disc ready. you could get hubs and spokes and relace or you could loko for new wheels, obviously one is less effort than the other.

@ishaw here's what the big gripper should look like. :~)

Thank you I will sort out the brakes first (being delivered tomorrow) and then get into the hubs/wheels part of the equation.

 

[Lucidone]

I'd clean and inspect the cassette before discarding - if it's M960 as the lock ring suggests it'll be part titanium and expensive (like for like) to replace. I'd buy a chain stretch gauge (cheap and always useful) and check the current chain. If the chain isn't too worn and it's all changing sweetly there's a good chance the cassette is good. If the chain is overly stretched and it's still changing okay then you're looking for a new cassette too usually.
Bike looks like it's not had the hardest life so hopefully all should be good in this department.

When you come to it (and if you don't want to retain) they'll be reasonable value in your existing wheel set if the rims aren't too worn / damaged.

 

[damage]

Thank you for the advice. The wheelset is pretty much perfect, runs straight with minimal visible damage. I think the bike has hardly been ridden considering it's age tbh. I am far from a hoarder so will prob sell the existing wheel set and v-brakes when the 'new' setup has bedded in

 

[Twozaskars]

They won’t be the original wheels, they’re from the mid 90’s

 

[ishaw]

replace the chain and cassette as a matter of diligence more than anything, front chainrings look fine.
big gripper goes over a standard hub QR hub and I believe these are 135mm spacing.

you are right, your hubs aren't disc ready. you could get hubs and spokes and relace or you could loko for new wheels, obviously one is less effort than the other.

@ishaw here's what the big gripper should look like. :~)

Thanks, spotted that this had a big gripper pic.

 

[ishaw]

The cassette doesn't look to have much wear on it at all from the pics. Inner and middle ring looks good too, can't make out the outer ring but if the rest looks good, hopefully that is too