Did I install this upside down? Backwards? (rookie wrenching content)

[a4racer]

Hey there all you cool cats and kittens! I've decided to swap my 140mm rotors on my Desalvo gravel bike to 160mm because I am not as svelte as the previous owner. To be blunt, I'm pleasantly plump and desire the additional stopping power that 20mm in additional rotor diameter may provide, hahaha!

My brakes are SRAM force (non flat mount). My frame is rear IS and my fork is an ENVE gravel fork (correction, it is a CX fork!), post-mount.

Originally then, no adapter was required up front, and there was a 140mm IS adapter for the rear.

I had a 160mm IS adapter for the rear from the good folks at North Shore Billet, so that went on without an issue. My question, however, is for the front.

I have a 20mm post mount adapter (top pic). As I understand it, the bow goes towards the fork and away from the body of the brake (to accommodate the brake) and the arrow points up to the sky. You can disregard the janky and mismatched bolts.

The only way I could do that, is to mount it so that the text shown on the adapter faces into the wheel. In that fashion, I can have the arrow pointing up, and the bend in the adapter accommodating the brake. This results in the fatter part of the adapter being on the top post, and the thinner part of the adapter on the bottom post.

That doesn't seem right to me, however. I thought that the text faced outwards, which would mean that the arrow would point down. Here is how it is currently installed (perhaps egregiously negligently) in the bottom pic.

Am I overthinking this / am I an idiot??? (hopefully the answer is yes / no). Perhaps I have the wrong part entirely, or it was a mirror image part sourced from the Upside Down.

Thanks all!

[Pegoready]

If you're running a 160 mm front rotor, I don't think you need the adapter at all. Just bolt the brake to the fork directly.

If that's a 180 rotor, you have it correct. the bow is away from the caliper.

[a4racer]

If you're running a 160 mm front rotor, I don't think you need the adapter at all. Just bolt the brake to the fork directly.

If that's a 180 rotor, you have it correct. the bow is away from the caliper.

I thought that might be the case as well, so I tried the 160mm rotor in there without the adapter, and the rotor was going all the way through the caliber and I couldn't mount the wheel. I think that perhaps newer Enve forks are 140mm and 160mm compatible--I checked the fork specs and it said that it will accommodate 160mm with an adapter (not included, hahaha!)

[Pegoready]

Ah, my bad, looks like that fork is native 140 post mount. In which case your adapter setup looks right for the 160 rotor. The writing doesn't have to be on the outside.

[scoobydrew]

Arrow points in the direction of rotor rotation. Shimano also makes a similar part for the rear, which I believe has an arrow pointing towards the front of the bike (i.e. direction of rotor rotation).

FWIW, this bracket should technically be called a spacer and not necessarily an adapter (even though it's described as such as a product).

[FriarQuade]

It looks like the bottom part of the adapter isn't sitting anywhere close to square on the fork. If the top is tight and there's a gap on the bottom then you should have those mounts faced. The brakes will be much more reliable if they've got a good foundation.

[a4racer]

It looks like the bottom part of the adapter isn't sitting anywhere close to square on the fork. If the top is tight and there's a gap on the bottom then you should have those mounts faced. The brakes will be much more reliable if they've got a good foundation.

I hadn't noticed that until I saw the picture, I may have to do that! I'll check to see if the bolts are equally snug and if so, I'll reface em!

Thanks sir!

[ultraman6970]

To me looks more like the bottom bolt is too long and is bottom out. Two ways to fix it, put a washer under the head of the bolt so it doesn't bottom out, or cut the bolt a few millimeters. Maybe file it or dremel will do the same, just put a nut before so the nut re do the threads missing from the filing/cutting process.

[charliedid]

Look here...

[a4racer]

Look here...

...that is delightful.

I'm glad the reference was caught!

[fmradio516]

Look here...

hey there cool cats and kittens

[a4racer]

To me looks more like the bottom bolt is too long and is bottom out. Two ways to fix it, put a washer under the head of the bolt so it doesn't bottom out, or cut the bolt a few millimeters. Maybe file it or dremel will do the same, just put a nut before so the nut re do the threads missing from the filing/cutting process.

The bolt was bottomed out. I swapped it for a shorter bolt (and a little washer) and hey presto, nice and flush.

Thanks all for your help!

[FriarQuade]

The bolt was bottomed out. I swapped it for a shorter bolt (and a little washer) and hey presto, nice and flush.

Thanks all for your help!

You put the bolts in backwards. Notice how the upper part of the adapter is thicker, it gets the long bolt and the shorter one goes in the bottom.

However, if the top is tight and it's pulling the adapter off the bottom mount, it's a sign the mounts are not co-plainer. Face them, this isn't a simple hardware issue.