Disk brake

[gphil]

Not knowing much about all this all I can say is prices run from excellent to extreme. Found from a dealer a Hayes MX-1 rotor and brake . It is priced very good and was wondering if that was a good brand etc. 160mm I believe it was. Gotta have one and wanted a serviceable unit, you know. I will be watching for sure have a great week. gphil

[GregLWB]

Don't know much about these myself. I will be eagerly watching to see the responses you get.:1eye:

Greg

[OCD1]

If someone is giving you a set of Hayes MX1 okay, otherwise check these reviews before you buy: http://www.mtbr.com/cat/brakes/disc-brake-system/hayes/mx1-mechanical/PRD_365324_1507crx.aspx

I'm also a freeride mountain biker and I have owned a set of these in the past. Compared to the Avid BB style of mechanicals the Hayes are crap (in my opinion). The Avid simply have way more stopping power and both pads are independently adjustable so the chance of the pads dragging on the rotor are minimal (they are far easier to set up too).

Here's the Avid BB review: http://www.mtbr.com/cat/brakes/disc-brake-system/avid/bb7-mechanical-disc-brake/PRD_414628_1507crx.aspx

Are you just looking for one for the rear? If you're building a trike and want a matched set of left/right calipers for the front these are not too bad quality and the company is awesome to deal with: http://www.choppersus.com/store/product/832/Disc-Brake-Caliper-Set---R-L/
These are cost effective and work well but are Chinese made so are not to the lofty standard of the Avid BB. Also the difference between the stopping power of a 6" and 8" rotor is huge! I have front and rear 8" rotors on my downhill/freeride bike and can lock my brakes up on any slope, at any speed. Check this deal on Avid (and other brakes) at Pricepoint.com http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/15076-115_AVDBB6-3-Parts-158-Brakes/Disc/Avid-BB7-Disc-Brake---Mechanical-185-203mm-2008.htm

Just my $0.02 :punk:

Alan

[Odd Man Out]

Gotta agree with OCD1, if you can swing it Avid BB7's are the way to go. For general riding the 6 inch rotors will stop youm in any conditions. Highly recommended -- Hayes not so much. I use BB7's on all my rides. Hydraulic brakes are a waste of money -- the BB7's are at the top of my disc brake food chain!

[TheKid]

I have no problems with the calipers from electricscooterparts.com. They're basically the same as the ones from choopersus.com at a much lower price. Scroll down to the disc brakes:

http://www.electricscooterparts.com/brakes.html

[gbbwolf]

I have hayes mx4's I beleive about 75 bucks for front and rear on ebay.
They stop my delta wolf just fine and have held up quite well so far.
Not a single problem from them.

And I am 350 pounds and bike is like 70 so I wouldn't wory too much about it.

Nelson

[Patrike]

I am liking that R/L are becoming more common which will bring price down -- when I upgraded my Tadpole -- aprx 2yrs now?? -- it was about 30$ for each but not R/L so it was hard to set up.

[OCD1]

Thanks for the tip about the R/L combo at electricscooterparts.com, ChoppersUS are often bit pricier on some things but their service is foolproof. Electricscooterparts.com only ship to Canada by UPS and the surcharges/fees charged at the border often make CUS cheaper for me as they ship USPS to Canada.

Gbbwolf, I believe gphil was asking about MX1 not MX4 which are much better (read review: http://www.mtbr.com/cat/brakes/disc-brake-system/hayes/hayes-mx4-oem-only-mechanical-disc-brake-caliper/PRD_415306_1507crx.aspx ) but still not as good as the Avid BB series.

I'm a firm believer in total overkill where brakes are concerned. I'm not knocking all Hayes products just the MX1, I have their hydraulics on my mtb and they're scary-good. :jester:

[gphil]

Having a little problem with slight wobble of the disk. It got heat warpoed I guess. I do know that it needs to run true but trying now to weld a collar to a piece of flat bar the holds the disk and it distorted too even being clamped and spot welded. Any pointers here. I think I may be out a expensive disk. LEARNING PROCESS EXPENSIVE. gphil

[dynodon]

OK I'm new to all this recumbant stuff, I bought a Mach 2 frame from AD Carson and am putting together my components when I can accross your thread. I was going to install Diacomp road brakes or maybe Nashbar stuff but his looks really cool,whats involved in a disk brake install? and would my LWB recumbant benifit from it?

[Odd Man Out]

Having a little problem with slight wobble of the disk. It got heat warpoed I guess. I do know that it needs to run true but trying now to weld a collar to a piece of flat bar the holds the disk and it distorted too even being clamped and spot welded. Any pointers here. I think I may be out a expensive disk. LEARNING PROCESS EXPENSIVE. gphil

You can true up disc rotors -- hardly any are perfectly true to start.
By hand, rotate the rotor. When you start to hear noise. rotate it slightly back and mark where the noise begins. Do the same when the noise ends. This is the "untrue" section. There may be more than one.

You can do this next part one of two ways;
1. Buy a set of rotor truing forks -- this makes things much easier or
2. Use a pair of pliers and gently bend the offending section until it is right.

Either way, the important parts is to be GENTLE -- no big movements. It will take some time to get right. Bend a small part of the untrue section, check it, bend a bit, check and so on.

Hope this helps.

[Odd Man Out]

I bought a Mach 2 frame from AD Carson. Whats involved in a disk brake install? and would my LWB recumbant benifit from it?

The frame needs to have what are known as "Disc Brake Tabs" that are welded onto the left hand lower chain stay. If your frame does not have them you can buy the tabs and have them welded on.

The second thing you need is a disc brake hub. A hub dedicated for a disc brake rotor. Generally they come in two types -- Shimano proprietary and 6 bolt. Go with the 6 bolt type. Easy to find.

You need to decide between hydraulic (expensive) and regular disc types. I prefer the Avid BB7 disc brake series.

Set up is super easy;
1. Bolt the disc rotor on the hub
2. Bolt the brake on the frame
3. Connect the cable
4. Adjust the brake pads
5. True the rotor
6. Ride

IMHO any bike would benefit from disc bakes

Hope this helps

[dynodon]

Thanks OddDudeout sounds pretty straight forward...dont wabt to weld on the frame it was just powdercoated...

[John Lewis]

Another delight of disk brakes is that if you have the misfortune to buckle a wheel it doesn't rub on the rim brakes so you can ride home if the buckle's not too bad. Also if you want to try a different size wheel you don't have a problem with rim brakes not fitting. Eg you want to use a 26" wheel instead of a 700c. Friend does this a lot. He swaps 26" with 20" for different rides.

I like mechanical brakes. They are a lot less fiddly. No bleeding etc and easy to repair if far from home o tour for example. Hydraulics modulate and feel better though in my opinion.

John Lewis

[gphil]

Thanks for the advise on the warped disk. With a little persuasion and gentle thumb pressure I got the thing to track true. Now, do most of you weld the collar to the axel ? I sure do not want to end up crooked again because of heat even though the disk will be off at the time. My little welder has to work hard, 110. A better one is in the offing for sure. I think welding is best due to the pressures etc and same for the freewheel adapter. Thanks for the advise and another hurdle has been cleared and will be struggling with chain next. gphil

[dynodon]

can someone show me a pic of what the disk brake tabs look like?

[Odd Man Out]

can someone show me a pic of what the disk brake tabs look like?

Check this link out -- it shows a seperate tab that you can weld on;

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://chainganglowrider.com/DiscBrakeFrameTab_2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://chainganglowrider.com/Part%2520-%2520Frame%2520Building.htm&usg=__e28grPmh3hkFjcl6np2vi-6osiI=&h=108&w=155&sz=8&hl=en&start=97&um=1&tbnid=3QStDgyTAd98RM:&tbnh=68&tbnw=97&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddisc%2Bbrake%2Btabs%26ndsp%3D20%26hl% 3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7RNWG_en%26sa%3DN%26start%3D80 %26um%3D1

Quite the link...

[dynodon]

thanks Dude! Your ausome:punk:

[darwin-t]

While going through this thread, I found these: they look like an easy way to install calipers - but #38.95 seems a little steep. They look like they'd be pretty easy to make, don't they?
http://chainganglowrider.com/DSK-CAL-MNT-OUTSIDE_MKD.jpg