Resend my activation email : Register : Log in 
BCF: Bike Chat Forums


Mountain Bike Help

Reply to topic
Bike Chat Forums Index -> The Cycling Forum
View previous topic : View next topic  
Author Message

tvchimp
World Chat Champion



Joined: 29 Sep 2009
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:07 - 14 Jun 2011    Post subject: Mountain Bike Help Reply with quote

or suggestions?


I'm getting a second hand bike from a guy I know, a 'reebok trakker'

https://i.pbase.com/g1/32/615532/2/129644426.ZFTVlsP6.jpg

It will strictly be used for the journey to and back from work (2miles just over), the guy is a bicycle mechanic at decathlon has just done a 'full service' on it (brakes/chain+sprocket/wheels etc) and it's only costing me £65 so IMO it's a bargain for what I'm going to be using it for.

I've got some fairly decent slick tyres (Schwalbe CityJet I think?) from my old bike which should just swap across, but I'm looking to upgrade the front brake from a V-Brake, to a disc brake for a little extra stopping power. And this is where I'm stuck, I've only got a limited budget as my outgoings are through the roof at the moment, so around £60 at the most (which I know is nothing considering what I could spend).

Out of the following, which are going to serve me best? Will I have any issues fitting them to the bike? (It has the fitting on the fork to allow for a disc brake already)

Funn Drop In Disc Brake - £49.99
Avid Juicy 3 Disc Brake - £49.99
Clarks SX Hydraulic Disc Brake - £44.99

Or... Am I looking at the total wrong thing and could I be better off with a cable disc brake (although I'd have thought the hydraulic ones would be better?)
____________________
Bike: Currently Bikeless... Gahh


Last edited by tvchimp on 23:36 - 14 Jun 2011; edited 1 time in total
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Wafer_Thin_Ham
Super Spammer



Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:15 - 14 Jun 2011    Post subject: Reply with quote

You'll need a new front wheel hub, or whole new wheel too. There's nowhere to mount the disk on that hub that I can see.

IMO I can't see the point in fitting a disk brake. You already have enough stopping power to stand it on it's nose, so why waste the money. V brakes have enough power, are cheaper and more reliable day to day.

Hydraulic disk brakes are better than their cable counterparts, but as I say, stick with the V brakes IMO.
____________________
My Flickr
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

fiveus
Spanner Monkey



Joined: 29 Oct 2009
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:23 - 14 Jun 2011    Post subject: Reply with quote

as long as your hubs and forks are compatible go for the juicy 3's Thumbs Up
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

cagiva gezzer
World Chat Champion



Joined: 17 Mar 2003
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:25 - 14 Jun 2011    Post subject: Reply with quote

Its a fair amount of money for (to be honest) not much of a bike. With MTBs you pay a lot for not much, then a little bit more for a lot more.

It doesn't even have quick-release hubs, so it will be poverty spec all the way. Think of a Chinese copy CG125.

It will make you fit cycling that weight around, but it will also put you off bikes completely.

For twice as much you can get THIS which, if he's your mate, you can probably get for £20-30 more than the reebok one. Question
____________________
"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

tvchimp
World Chat Champion



Joined: 29 Sep 2009
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:26 - 14 Jun 2011    Post subject: Reply with quote

Big_Ham wrote:
You'll need a new front wheel hub, or whole new wheel too. There's nowhere to mount the disk on that hub that I can see.

IMO I can't see the point in fitting a disk brake. You already have enough stopping power to stand it on it's nose, so why waste the money. V brakes have enough power, are cheaper and more reliable day to day.

Hydraulic disk brakes are better than their cable counterparts, but as I say, stick with the V brakes IMO.



Crap. overlooked the fitment on the wheel haha Doh! I just guessed it would be able to fit it on due to the forks being able to take a disc (amateur mistake I know!)

I was under the impression disc > v-brakes by a huge margin (hence why I was looking to upgrade them) Guess my £60-/+ could be used on beer money instead...
____________________
Bike: Currently Bikeless... Gahh
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Wafer_Thin_Ham
Super Spammer



Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Karma :

PostPosted: 22:31 - 14 Jun 2011    Post subject: Reply with quote

tvchimp wrote:

Crap. overlooked the fitment on the wheel haha Doh! I just guessed it would be able to fit it on due to the forks being able to take a disc (amateur mistake I know!)

I was under the impression disc > v-brakes by a huge margin (hence why I was looking to upgrade them) Guess my £60-/+ could be used on beer money instead...


The disks I had a few years back gave me no end of hassle, although I admit that's probably down to me not really knowing how to care for them. For bikes that are going to get used mostly on the road I think V brakes are the way to go.

I used my Specialized mainly on the road and as I say the disks were more trouble than they were worth. Had more power and control out of my V brakes. Granted they were cable disk brakes, but it kind of put me off them as a collective.

Especially on a commuter I'd be plumping for whatever was the least hassle.

O, and I'm with cagiva geezer in that my inital thoughts were "Halfords Special".
____________________
My Flickr
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

tvchimp
World Chat Champion



Joined: 29 Sep 2009
Karma :

PostPosted: 23:53 - 14 Jun 2011    Post subject: Reply with quote

cagiva gezzer wrote:
It will make you fit cycling that weight around, but it will also put you off bikes completely.

For twice as much you can get THIS which, if he's your mate, you can probably get for £20-30 more than the reebok one. Question



Interesting.. In all honesty I hadn't even thought about looking at new bikes, was going down the second hand route as the price was a lot cheaper than a new bike - I'll speak to him and see how much it would cost if 'he' got that bike - it looks fairly decent so may pop to my local decathlon and see if there's one there and how it feels Thumbs Up

With regards to riding a bike, I've had quite a few 'halford specials' haha, and I can see how bad they can be, although when I was younger my bike of choice was a £70 'dirt jump bike' from halfords as it just kept going for 3years without me even 'maintaining' it as such. Pretty good imo.

He(my mate) has owned the bike for about 2.5yrs, only rode it around the local area to my knowledge and on the odd trail (no hard stuff!) and he said it's never let him down, being a mechanic I'd suspect he's taken fairly good care of it too (he's kept it pretty spotless whenever I've seen it) so I'm not worried about it's history.

Depending on how cheap I can get that decathlon bike for, may sway my decision, but to be honest, I'm only going to be using the bike on a 2mile journey which will take about 5-10minutes as it's all pretty flat apart from one bridge I have to cross over, so I think the bike should be fine for my 'commute'.

With regards to the brakes, I've only used 2 of my friends bikes which have had disc brakes, and both were pretty awesome in comparison to my old bikes, so I'm going to see how I get on with the brakes (if I do buy it) and then see in a month or so if I still want more breaking power (hopefully getting the back wheel in the air should be easy enough).
____________________
Bike: Currently Bikeless... Gahh
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

bikertomm
World Chat Champion



Joined: 03 Jul 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 01:34 - 15 Jun 2011    Post subject: Reply with quote

V- Brakes FTW

A new set of well maintained proper 'V' brakes will work just as well, and in my experience if not even better than cheap to middle range discs. (In the dry)

They are also easier to replace.. no hassle Thumbs Up
____________________
07' Honda Hornet now full powaah! My guide on performing an oil change!
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Rogerborg
nimbA



Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 08:28 - 15 Jun 2011    Post subject: Reply with quote

cagiva gezzer wrote:
It will make you fit cycling that weight around


That may be the point. I deliberately got the cheapest, heaviest bike that I could find and mash it up hills rather than sitting and spinning, in order to get a resistance workout. You don't need some carbon fibre wisp to complete a 2 mile commute, and if you do decide to get into Serious Biking For Serious People, can sell on the clunker as and when necessary.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts
Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 12 years, 291 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
  Display posts from previous:   
This page may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set.

Post new topic   Reply to topic    Bike Chat Forums Index -> The Cycling Forum All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Page 1 of 1

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum

Read the Terms of Use! - Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group
 

Debug Mode: ON - Server: birks (www) - Page Generation Time: 0.07 Sec - Server Load: 0.13 - MySQL Queries: 17 - Page Size: 69.09 Kb