O/T mountain bikes

[westie69]

Hi guys and gals,

Thinking about updating my giant mountain bike for a model with front and rear discs,i have looked a quite a few.

Is it worth the extra £100 or so to have hydraulic or does the cable ones do the job,i mainly use it for the commute to work.

Also looking into buying it online and saving at least 20% has any body got and good /bad experiences or any recomended sites/suppliers/dealers.

TIA

Peter.

[chrisbin]

Calling Jonny!!!!

[Buzz Billsberry]

i mainly use it for the commute to work.

U've just answered yr own question

Buzz

[zoso]

I had brake fade on my mountain bike, but only once and I was going at a silly speed with an overloaded back wheel and a big rucksack on my back...

Pretty funny actually, it nearly set fire to me panniers!

Disc brakes in general are well worth it IMO.  They work when it's wet, rim brakes don't, it's that simple!

Never tried cable ones though.

I have a Giant ATX860, probably 4 years old, it came with magura hydraulic discs and it's never needed them to be touched in all this time (mind you it hasn't been used in a year!.

HTH

[frubpato?]

I've got 4 bikes , one with discs (hydraulic Hope). You can get the same stopping power in the dry from properly set up v brakes - Wet is a different matter, but if you are using it for a commute ask yourself

1. Do I want to make my bike more nickable ( my pub bike is a right nail (or looks it on the outside)

2. If I had 100 quid what would really make a difference to my commute - I reckon making it easier to pedal or more comfortable would come first.

If after that you want discs , remember that you will probably need new wheels , if they dont already have a disc mount - and also do you need both? Like a car the front will do most of the work.

I'm jealous that you can commute on a bike though !

[chappers]

Hi Peter,

If you are using it mainly just to commute to work then I would have thought that properly set up V-brakes with good pads would be fine even in the wet. I'd save the £100 and instead of adding heavier components put it towards something else that makes you bike lighter or more comfortable, as frubpato said, such as a USE XCR cyclops suspension seatpost or lighter tyres/tubes.

If you want discs then I'd go for hydraulic ones personally.

chainreactioncycles.com get my vote for whatever you need. Superb, normally next day free postage, and quick e-mail response to queries. Top shop

Kev.

[oioi]

4 pots or 6 pots

[Bazzer]

I have Hope a 4 pot mono M4 on the front and a Hope mini mono on the back of my bike.

Managed to boil the brake fluid on a run in Tignes this summer. Never managed to do that on the Westie :-)

Would not go back to V brakes now but its probably not worth it on a bike to ride to work. As someone else said it makes them much more nickable.

Cheers

Bazzer

[blankczechbook]

i no nuffin'  

is the commute hilly & off road - yes?   then go for it.

is the commute on road - then don't ask silly questions.

how much dust/mud is there to clog up the pads and wear them out on your roads?

how likely are you to buckle the rim on your commute - where the discs offer a huge get you home advantage??

they look cool though - hope 4 pots on the front

personilzed laser cut discs - of course!

[Rick S]

Not very interesting fact mode:

Went to Betws y Coed last weekend for a quick spin & g/f hired a Sunn MTB from Beics Betws (or whatever they're called).

Apparently they switched to supplying bikes with hydraulic discs over the last year or so when they found that punters used a complete set of v-brake pads every 4 rides (=4 days) as they ride everywhere with the brakes on and the mud is very abrasive (high slate content mebbee?)

Anyways, I found my avid V's to be a bit scary when heading back to the shop down a *nice* DH run (in the shop's guide it actually says it's very steep, very slippery and should be walked down with care only as a shortcut back to the shop! but her levers were back to the bars cos of heat buildup.

Guess that's why people go on about open systems? I'd love to get some, but still need to find the ££ for a new frame first  

Ricardo

[Jed]

If you must have discs for commuting then get the hydraulic ones.  Commuting is worse for a bike than offroad. Salt and road grime corrodes big time plus you don't clean the bike after every commute - well I don't.

If you're a fair weather commuter then use anything.

Personally, I ride a fixed wheel bike in the dark and bad weather. Don't need to use the brakes as much as I slow down with my legs so get away with rim brakes.