1 rear brake or 2?

[TheKid]

I noticed some of you guys made your DW's with a single rear disc and a front brake. I'm undecided about putting two brakes on the rear. Is a single rear disc and a front linear pull brake sufficient for stopping?

[Pagan Wizard]

I am planning two rear disc brakes for my build. I am doing this for a few reasons. The first one is my weight, I check in at apx 260lbs and want the extra stopping power if I should need it. Another is that in the event one of the discs should fail, I have the other to take the load off the front brake. And like someone else here in another thread told me.....it is just plain good sence.

[SirJoey]

Is a single rear disc and a front linear pull brake sufficient for stopping?

Personally, I would think so, Kid.

I just prefer the (almost) symmetrical look of both brakes on the rear, & the slightly cleaner look of not having a cable going to the front wheel, though.

Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

[TheKid]

Thanks guys. I do want a front brake as well as rear brakes. No problem with the cable, thanks to Brad's USS system. With the bars under the frame, it's easy to rout mostly internal cables. guess I'll go with 2 rears in the near future. I'll just weld on the second caliper mount and adapter, and wait until I can get another disc.

[TheKid]

I finished all the welding on the DW. I welded on two caliper mounts, but I don't have a second disc yet. I also finished drilling the holes for internal cable routing and was all set to finish the grinding when it started to rain. It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, so I'm stuck until Sunday. I still need to weld some parts for the hubs, so I can't even build the wheels yet. I'm hoping to finish the frame and weld the hub parts on Sunday, build the wheels Sunday night, and assemble and test ride on Monday. I still don't have handlebars, so I may be forced to make them Sunday or Monday, which will delay my schedule at least a half a day. At least we gain an hour of light starting Sunday, so that may help. I should be able to prime the frame on Tueday, and possibly paint it Tuesday or Wednesday. I'd really like to get some progress on the quad, but my friends are stuck. After the DW is finished, I'll work on the quad alone. I could probably get more done. If it isn't finished by Memorial Day, I'll ride the DW in the parade instead.

[Richie Rich]

Hi, 'Kid'...

In the original configuration of my DW, I used a hub brake in the front wheel (another eBay find - see the Blog for pix).

But, since I'm converting the DW to a quad with no front brakes, I added a second 160mm disc brake to the rear (an AVID BB-5 also from eBay).

I only cruise the bike trails at a leisurely pace, so it should have enough stopping power for me and the bigger quad.

...{RR}

[TheKid]

It's a moot point now since I already added 2 disc caliper mounts, drilled holes for the cables, and made two disc adapters, but was the front drum brake and single rear disc sufficient?

[SirJoey]

Sounds like you're really SMOKIN' on this one, Kid! At the rate you're going, this is gonna be a record quick build for you! I guess my title of "world's slowest builder" is still safe, LOL!

How 'bout some pics, BTW? :)

[TheKid]

I'm having problems disassembling one hub, and will have to wait until I could find another to finish. Too bad those wheelsmith's didn't work out. The frame was much easier than I expected, and alignment was done in one shot. Every once in a while I get lucky, and one part goes without a hitch. Then I get hit with triple problems on other parts of the build. happens every time.

[Pagan Wizard]

I guess my title of "world's slowest builder" is still safe, LOL!


I don't know about that Joey, I've been hangin around here since October of last year (when I bought my DW plans) and still haven't even started building. In fact, all I have so far is one frame and the cassette for the rear axle.

[TheKid]

Progress. I managed to drill out one the first Wheelsmith hub, which I thought was wide enough to house a 5/8" axle. The second Wheelsmith hub had to be disassembled, which was easy. I had to file out the holes and cups, because my drill bits are now toast from the hardened steel. It was actually easier to file them than to drill them. So instead of having the aluminum rims with 14g spokes, I'm back to the heavy Wheelsmith wheels. When I find another hub I could use to make the lighter wheel, I will, and I'll use 1 1/2" tires for for those. With the Wheelsmith's, I'll use 2 1/8" tires for winter use. I'll also make some 20" wheels because all I have to do is weld in the nuts. They'll be for the interchangeable Streetfighter front end. If I didn't have the problems with the frame twisting on the LWB tadpole, I'd make an interchangeable rear end so the DW could be a delta, quad, LWB tadpole, or bike, which was the idea I came up with last August. I posted these plans back then:



http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z66/edpol_photos/Bike_trike_quad/000_0077.jpg