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  1. #1
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    Decent Mechanical Disc

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    DH has been throwing out the idea of upgrading my bike to mechanical (do I have the right term) disc brakes. I have V-brakes but he claims I do not know confidence until I go disc. My fork and wheels can accomodate them so he said we could do mechanical (I guess they can't take hydraulic, I don't understand these things). Are there some good ones to consider?
    Amanda

    2011 Specialized Epic Comp 29er | Specialized Phenom | "Marie Laveau"
    2007 Cannondale Synapse Carbon Road | Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow | "Miranda"


    You don't have to be great to get started, but you do have to get started to be great. -Lee J. Colan

  2. #2
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    Mar 2008
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    Generally, if your bike can take mechanicals, it will accept hydraulics as well. But mechs are a little easier to work on...no bleeding required.

    I have hydros on my bike (mostly because that's what it came with), but I hear good things about Avid BB7 mechanical discs. Easy to set up, easy to adjust....

  3. #3
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    somewhere between the Red & Rio Grande
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    I have a Manitou Axel Comp FFD, 80mm fork and Mavic Crossland (I think, they can go tubeless but were only about $300 for the set). I wonder why DH thinks I can only go Mechanical? I will have to ask him.
    Amanda

    2011 Specialized Epic Comp 29er | Specialized Phenom | "Marie Laveau"
    2007 Cannondale Synapse Carbon Road | Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow | "Miranda"


    You don't have to be great to get started, but you do have to get started to be great. -Lee J. Colan

  4. #4
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    It's cheaper to go mechanical, but if your bike can take those there's no reason you can't go hydraulic if you would rather. Shimano Deore and Avid Juicy 3s fall firmly into the not-that-expensive-yet-decent category. And if you get them set up properly in the first place, you shouldn't *have* to bleed them for ages.
    Drink coffee and do stupid things faster with more energy.

  5. #5
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    Mar 2008
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    I need to learn to bleed mine. I bought a set of Shimano dual control levers for practically nothing, and I can't install them without bleeding (to the best of my knowledge anyway).

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama View Post
    DH has been throwing out the idea of upgrading my bike to mechanical (do I have the right term) disc brakes. I have V-brakes but he claims I do not know confidence until I go disc. My fork and wheels can accomodate them so he said we could do mechanical (I guess they can't take hydraulic, I don't understand these things). Are there some good ones to consider?


    he claims I do not know confidence until I go disc


    Yawn, guy talk.

    I rode without discs for YEARS doing all sorts of trails all over the PNW. Unless you are downhilling or riding in the wet - sure discs are nice to have but can be an expensive upgrade. Maybe a different way to look at it is, is this the best bang for your upgrade buck?

    just my ornery two cents as usual.
    Last edited by Irulan; 01-26-2009 at 04:52 PM.

  7. #7
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    Oct 2005
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    It's an expensive upgrade. And FWIW the guys in the shop here grumble at the mechanicals all the time. If you are going to go through the expense I would go hydro- hands down!!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Uncanny Valley
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    Quote Originally Posted by Becky View Post
    I need to learn to bleed mine. I bought a set of Shimano dual control levers for practically nothing, and I can't install them without bleeding (to the best of my knowledge anyway).
    Much easier with one of those vacuum gizmos. Failing that, much easier with a helper to pump the lever and top off the master cylinder, while you open and close the bleeder valve and hold the bleed hose to keep it from falling off the nipple. (I've only done m/c brakes, but hydraulics is hydraulics.)


    And, define "ages." Brake fluid will absorb water from the atmosphere over time, so it does need to be changed periodically.
    Last edited by OakLeaf; 01-26-2009 at 05:04 PM.
    Speed comes from what you put behind you. - Judi Ketteler

  9. #9
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    Ama, found this in a different thread from you.
    Yippee! I have a Scott Hardtail I found on Craigslist and it is a great starter.
    Do I understand correctly that you want to put mech disk brakes on a craig's list find? So that's around a $200-250 upgrade, what's the total bike worth?

    Or, are you talking a different bike..

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by OakLeaf View Post
    And, define "ages." Brake fluid will absorb water from the atmosphere over time, so it does need to be changed periodically.
    Well, obviously you can't leave them forever... (As always, the real answer to that question is one that depends on what you ride, how you ride, when you ride and where you ride.)
    Drink coffee and do stupid things faster with more energy.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Irulan View Post
    Ama, found this in a different thread from you.


    Do I understand correctly that you want to put mech disk brakes on a craig's list find? So that's around a $200-250 upgrade, what's the total bike worth?

    Or, are you talking a different bike..

    Precisely, why I don't want hydraulic. This bike was about a $700 new bike. It is 2005 Scott Contessa 30. But since we are going to Alaska this summer on DH's work bonus (if he gets one) I am not getting a fully for a while. So this bike is what I have for now and honestly I REALLY like my bike. It is stock to that Bikepedia link except DH gave me some Mavic Crosslands he had put on his HT and never got to put many miles on.

    Maybe I should just tell the man to leave well enough alone and let me use my V-Brakes? I mean we don't ride in wet, more like dust! And I don't do much crazy downhill riding at all and nothing you can even call true downhill in Texas.
    Last edited by Aggie_Ama; 01-27-2009 at 05:11 AM.
    Amanda

    2011 Specialized Epic Comp 29er | Specialized Phenom | "Marie Laveau"
    2007 Cannondale Synapse Carbon Road | Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow | "Miranda"


    You don't have to be great to get started, but you do have to get started to be great. -Lee J. Colan

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama View Post

    Maybe I should just tell the man to leave well enough alone and let me use my V-Brakes? I mean we don't ride in wet, more like dust! And I don't do much crazy downhill riding at all and nothing you can even call true downhill in Texas.
    That is what I would do. It's the old "I'm a guy and let me tell you what you need" scenario. A $200 upgrade on a $700 bike is just silly, imnsho....Surely as a Texan you can appreciate the "sows ear - silk purse" analogy?

    This is where you educate your self, and make your own choices in gear. I way surpassed DH in bike knowledge sometime ago, heh heh.

  13. #13
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    He thinks it will give me more confidence for going down stuff, I think riding more will. Honestly I think a nice new pair of brake pads will help and just riding more. Is it scary to say I like that I don't completely stop on a dime?
    Amanda

    2011 Specialized Epic Comp 29er | Specialized Phenom | "Marie Laveau"
    2007 Cannondale Synapse Carbon Road | Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow | "Miranda"


    You don't have to be great to get started, but you do have to get started to be great. -Lee J. Colan

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama View Post
    He thinks it will give me more confidence for going down stuff, I think riding more will. Honestly I think a nice new pair of brake pads will help and just riding more. Is it scary to say I like that I don't completely stop on a dime?
    stopping on a dime will throw you into an endo, or a skid, your choice.

    You gain confidence through skills and experience. Equipment will help, but does not replace a skill set. If you don't have the confidence for speed on descents, disk brakes just means you can go slower than ever before.

    I'd take that $200 and look for a good skills camp in your area. Skills training improved my biking more than 100%. I'm pretty sure there's a strong group in Austin that does women's clinics, spend your money there.

  15. #15
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    AA, listen to Irulan.

    Depending on the bike, I run both linear brakes and disc. The biggest obstacle (or benefit) to my riding isn't the components, it's my pea brain.
    Frends know gud humors when dey is hear it. ~ Da Crockydiles of ZZE.

 

 

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