Help me get disc brakes!

Quoted message said:

What are the pros and cons of upgrading
to disc brakes on my 2001 Mongoose Inferno?

It's like bolting a Holley Double Pump 750 4-Barrel Carb and Headman
Headers on a 72 Ford Pinto....
Why bother, you cant polish a turd, well you can polish a turd, but
you have to get it VERY cold first.

--
ITSN Gunterman USN
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of all who threaten it.

J G said:

Quoted message said:

What are the pros and cons of upgrading
to disc brakes on my 2001 Mongoose Inferno?

It's like bolting a Holley Double Pump 750 4-Barrel Carb and Headman
Headers on a 72 Ford Pinto....
Why bother, you cant polish a turd, well you can polish a turd, but
you have to get it VERY cold first.

<http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6057&item=4516601762&rd=1>
Drop and give me 50!

Quoted message said:

J G said:

Quoted message said:

What are the pros and cons of upgrading
to disc brakes on my 2001 Mongoose Inferno?

It's like bolting a Holley Double Pump 750 4-Barrel Carb and Headman
Headers on a 72 Ford Pinto....
Why bother, you cant polish a turd, well you can polish a turd, but
you have to get it VERY cold first.

<http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6057&item=4516601762&rd=1>
Drop and give me 50!

That's just wrong!

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

"reknit" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

First of all I'm a cheapskate. What are the pros and cons of upgrading
to disc brakes on my 2001 Mongoose Inferno? Where can I look on-line,
what should I look for or look out for? Front and rear?

I a$$ume that you know that you also need disk hubs on your wheel set?

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest, I've just wasted.

Sarcasm not wanted - what I need is practical advice. The bike is just
fine for me and I got a deal at that. I don't know anything about disc
hubs, so I can research that. Any more serious posters willing to help?

Tinker says:

Quoted message said:

Sarcasm not wanted

No you've ruined today's sport..... ;-)

"reknit" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Sarcasm not wanted - what I need is practical advice. The bike is just
fine for me and I got a deal at that. I don't know anything about disc
hubs, so I can research that. Any more serious posters willing to help?

The wheel set you have is "probably" not worth rebuilding with disk hubs.

You'll also need a new wheelset.

This will help: http://www.universalcycles.com/wheelkit/index.php

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest, I've just wasted.

D T W .../\... said:

"reknit" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Sarcasm not wanted - what I need is practical advice. The bike is just
fine for me and I got a deal at that. I don't know anything about disc
hubs, so I can research that. Any more serious posters willing to help?

The wheel set you have is "probably" not worth rebuilding with disk hubs.

You'll also need a new wheelset.

This will help: http://www.universalcycles.com/wheelkit/index.php

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest, I've just wasted.

In other words, you'll probably spend more on the wheels and brake kit
than your bike is worth.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

There's two questions really, I think, in your desire to go to disc brakes.

First is to know the cost and technical issues of modifying your current
bike, and "Ride-a-lot" sent you an excellent link.

But I think apart from the matter of
will-the-brakes-be-worth-more-than-the-bike-at-this-stage is the other issue
of why you want them and what conditions do you ride through?

I find the main place discs are a huge advantage is when its wet and you
want to stop inside one rotation and you think this is useful.

On 1/5/05 4:13 AM, in article
[email hidden], "reknit"

Quoted message said:

Sarcasm not wanted - what I need is practical advice. The bike is just
fine for me and I got a deal at that. I don't know anything about disc
hubs, so I can research that. Any more serious posters willing to help?

"reknit" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Sarcasm not wanted - what I need is practical advice. The bike is just
fine for me and I got a deal at that. I don't know anything about disc
hubs, so I can research that. Any more serious posters willing to help?

You would be better off purchasing a bike that has disk brakes. You are
going to wrap up about 400 bones in getting your current ride set up. If
you are as frugal as you say. You will find this out.

TJ
www.fatboy.s5.com

"reknit" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

First of all I'm a cheapskate. What are the pros and cons of upgrading
to disc brakes on my 2001 Mongoose Inferno? Where can I look on-line,
what should I look for or look out for? Front and rear?

Hey reknit,
I understand your situation, and as others have said, they might not be
worth the expense on that bike. But if you want, go for it! If you want
the brakes just to look cool, then get whatever's cheapest (one source
mentioned below). But if you want actual stopping power, read on.

1. DO NOT buy ANY brakes other than Shimano, Hayes, Magura, Hope, or Avid.
There are so many disc brakes out there that are actually pieces of lead
grinding together to resemble the braking power of Barney-Rubble-style
stopping. If the price looks great, that's because they're really that bad.
I can't emphasize this enough.

There's a particular model that gets sold on eBay, a Grimeca OEM version for
something like $19.99 plus $7 shipping... these are a perfect example of
utter [censored]. Couldn't even pull the rear wheel up!!! Tektro - avoid it.
Shimano mechanical disc brakes - avoid them.

Avid's stuff is all good. Hayes makes good hydraulics and decent
mechanicals. I've never used Shimano,Magura or Hope, but I hear you can't
go wrong with Hopes. Maguras have some bad apples (notably the Julies). If
you're looking for cheap, I would get one used front Avid disc brake that
someone has claimed got grease or oil on it (because it'll go for cheap),
and then cook the pads on the stove to burn that stuff off, and then ride
it. I've found the Avids to be stronger than my Hayes hydraulics, but
nowhere near the kind of modulation that the Hayes have.

You probably don't need a rear disc brake at this point... save up for it if
you want.

By the way, I dropped my Hayes hydro disc brakes in favor of V-brakes, which
I currently now ride, since Florida terrain doesn't exactly require discs.

And if you buy new, the discs require a few rides before breaking in.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Yeah. Does your frame and fork have disc tabs? I'm guessing not. If
this is the case, there's an inexpensive and easy solution.
- Remove old, outdated, useless rim brakes.
- Take new disc brake caliper, find the area where the bolts are
supposed to connect it to the frame.
- Apply Krazy Glue to the bolt area, and stick it to the frame around
where you think the caliper will catch the rotor.
- While glue dries, duct tape the caliper to the frame to keep it in
place.
- Open hose clamp over duct taped area and tighten as much as humanly
possible. It may seem like overkill, but I'm like that.
- Repeat for the fork.
- Find steep downhill run.
- When brakes fly off the frame and tear off part of the fork, sue
Mongoose, frame manufacturer, brake manufacturer, and the steep
downhill. One of them is liable to cough up a few bucks.
- Use any money left over after your hospital stay to purchase a new
bike made for disc brakes. You'll likely be eating dinner through a
straw for the rest of your life, but your bike will look schweet!
/s

/s

<Phil, Squid-in-Training
<1. DO NOT buy ANY brakes other than Shimano, Hayes, Magura, Hope, or Avid. <snip>
Tektro - avoid it.
Shimano mechanical disc brakes - avoid them.>

whew!! First you reccommend Shimano then you say not the mechanicals...
The Shimano Deore Mechs I have work just fine... Heavy but are extremely easy to set up and gave me many miles of set it and forget it use...
Of course that is personal experience...

<Avid's stuff is all good. Hayes makes good hydraulics and decent
mechanicals. I've never used Shimano,Magura or Hope, but I hear you can't
go wrong with Hopes. Maguras have some bad apples (notably the Julies).>

Is that based on any personal experience??? oddly I know several people who use these as well with no problems at all... But I guess that is due to the fact they know how to set up their brakes

<By the way, I dropped my Hayes hydro disc brakes in favor of V-brakes, which
I currently now ride, since Florida terrain doesn't exactly require discs.>

Your advice is pretty ridiculous dude...
I would avoid misleading people if you can help it...
I mean I _hear_ that Florida sucks for mountain biking... but does that make me an authority on it?

---> Jimbo(san)

Thanks for the serious posts guys. Now I have enough info to check
things out and at least know what I need to ask about. I mentioned I
got a deal - I bought the bike new, really cheap and more than a year
after it came out. It was scratched a lot from display and test rides,
that's why the low price. I do have the lugs for mounting brakes.
Seems like it might cost too much though. Maybe I can get some parts
from a junker? Oh, the reasons I wanted to consider disc; my riding is
muddy and gritty and it eats up my rim and pads terribly. Plus I just
can't stop as quick as I would like to. My favorite trail is down,
down for a couple miles before a really steep uphill at the end. On
the downhill, I brake a lot and switchback a lot and pick up a lot of
mud. I am looking at my options now, but will check back here for any
responses.

Going down he hyway back in 75 I hear this cug cug
behind and low and behold its a Pinto. Now I see its tail lights way
off in front. My Mercury 390 couldn't touch that pony.
I MTB 05

Buy some Shimano Deore Disc wheels less then $ 150.00
and some Promax discs for less then $70.00 and I'll do the work for you
free for you. I MTB 05

Quoted message said:

Buy some Shimano Deore Disc wheels less then $ 150.00
and some Promax discs for less then $70.00 and I'll do the work for you
free for you. I MTB 05

That would be some crazy wheels
http://www.math.hmc.edu/funfacts/figures/10001.3-2-8.1.gif

--
Slacker

Jimbo (san) said:

<Phil, Squid-in-Training
<1. DO NOT buy ANY brakes other than Shimano, Hayes, Magura, Hope, or
Avid. <snip>
Tektro - avoid it.
Shimano mechanical disc brakes - avoid them.>

whew!! First you reccommend Shimano then you say not the
mechanicals...

The Shimano hydraulics I've tried were great.

Quoted message said:

The Shimano Deore Mechs I have work just fine... Heavy but are
extremely easy to set up and gave me many miles of set it and forget
it use...
Of course that is personal experience...

Poor power overall, very heavy lever pull, and less than can be obtained
from V-brakes. Of course the ones I tried were an OEM Shimano model, and
maybe not Deore-level, but I didn't think they would have made lower stuff.

Quoted message said:

<Avid's stuff is all good. Hayes makes good hydraulics and decent
mechanicals. I've never used Shimano,Magura or Hope, but I hear you
can't
go wrong with Hopes. Maguras have some bad apples (notably the
Julies).>

Is that based on any personal experience???

Sure is.

oddly I know several

Quoted message said:

people who use these as well with no problems at all... But I guess
that is due to the fact they know how to set up their brakes

Cool - always good to have working stuff!

Quoted message said:

Your advice is pretty ridiculous dude...

Personal experience defines life...

Quoted message said:

I would avoid misleading people if you can help it...

I do avoid misleading people.

Quoted message said:

I mean I _hear_ that Florida sucks for mountain biking... but does
that make me an authority on it?

Am I an authority?

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"Chris Phillipo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

<1. DO NOT buy ANY brakes other than Shimano, Hayes, Magura, Hope, or
Avid. <snip>
Tektro - avoid it.
Shimano mechanical disc brakes - avoid them.>

Tektro definitely avoid, but I have to say Maguara also avoid, at least
the Louis/Julie and Clara. They use plastic parts in critical areas
like the master cylinder piston, it doesn't take long before it all
starts to leak in cold weather and usually isn't never like new again
unless you replace the whole lever assembly. Value for money there's
nothing better than the Shimano 525 hydraulic brakes. The levers feel
better than anything else available at any price and they are easy to
set up without any special tools or brake lines, plus they usually cost
the same or less than Avid mechanicals which don't even come with a
lever.
--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
http://www.ramsays-online.com

I have Magura's (Louie) which have been in constant use for close to three
years and many, many.....many crashes. My only problem with them was the
original brake fluid. It reached boiling point way too fast. Replaced it
with new Magura blood and been good ever since.