Disc brakes

[KKevin]

Anyone ever combined disc with rim brakes? Say disc in front with rear rim for a cross bike.

[auto_rock]

I am thinking about this setup for a franken-mountain bike, I don't see why it wouldn't work.

[alancw3]

Why??

[oldpotatoe]

Anyone ever combined disc with rim brakes? Say disc in front with rear rim for a cross bike.

In the fairly early days of MTBs, there were some disc front and rim rear bicycles...ala a car-disc front and drum rear. great idea IMO, but it never caught on. I think a disc front, where most of the braking comes from, is great idea. I have done this on a few tandems as well, when the frame won't accept a disc(Calfee) but the front fork can.

[ergott]

When I converted my Trek mtn bike to rigid, I used a suspension corrected fork with disc tabs. Now my bike has a mechanical disc up front and a V brake rear.

[slowandsteady]

When I converted my Trek mtn bike to rigid, I used a suspension corrected fork with disc tabs. Now my bike has a mechanical disc up front and a V brake rear.

How's it working for you? No endo's yet? I am thinking of doing this to my Moots YBB but was a little concerned for some unknown reason...

[yakstone]

I have a disc on the front and v-brake on the back on my mountain bike. Works excellent; when you think about where the majority of braking takes place, it makes sense especially since the older frames did not come with disc tabs. Change out the fork for one with disc tabs and you are good to go.
The only challenge is that you have to be able to get past having two different brake levers. Not a big deal for the performance that you gain.
I have an IBIS MOJO frame that I really enjoy and for me this made sense.

[ergott]

How's it working for you? No endo's yet? I am thinking of doing this to my Moots YBB but was a little concerned for some unknown reason...

It's awesome. It's a rigid single speed now. The Avid mechanical works well and since the fork corrects for the length of the original suspension fork it feels just right.

[Steve in SLO]

I have this front disc/back v-brake setup on my Moots YBB. Theis configuration is known as a 'mullet' for whatever reason. It works great. Plenty of front braking power and good modulation from the rear. Saves a bit of weight, too.

[rwsaunders]

I have this front disc/back v-brake setup on my Moots YBB. Theis configuration is known as a 'mullet' for whatever reason. It works great. Plenty of front braking power and good modulation from the rear. Saves a bit of weight, too.

As my friend from KY defines the word "mullet"...business in the front...party in the back.

[auto_rock]

Ryan Leech uses the setup because the brakes on the rim actually make the rear wheel stiffer with the brakes clamped, must help when doing that crazy stuff he does (youtube him if you've never seen it)

[billrick]

My Rock Lobster 650B mountain bike is a mullet bike, built that way on purpose. I have an Avid BB7 in front and Paul Motolite in the rear, both running on Paul Love Levers.

The reason? It is a single speed and the rear v-brake allows me to run a flip-flop hub. Also, it has S&S couplers. Air travel plus discs equals bent rotors, so this set up allows me to reduce damage by 50%. Finally, I just like the feel. I get good stopping power with the front disc and great modulation in the rear for roosting corners.

:D

[stickville]

It was fairly common to have v-brakes on the front and rear wheels and an additional disk or drum brake on the rear wheel. It works well!

[dookie]

When I converted my Trek mtn bike to rigid, I used a suspension corrected fork with disc tabs. Now my bike has a mechanical disc up front and a V brake rear.

ditto here...a '99 kona ti hardtail with no disc tabs and a modern fork with no brake bosses forced my hand.

absolutely no issues. i really don't notice a performance difference between the two, as there's always more stop up front. the v's felt a little different at the lever than the avid disc, but i use avid levers with adjustable leverage and was able to dial in the pair to match pretty well.

http://middlepath.gotdns.com/bikes/kona.jpg

[zap]

It was fairly common to have v-brakes on the front and rear wheels and an additional disk or drum brake on the rear wheel. It works well!

Drum set up as a drag brake. Set it and forget it until one gets to the bottom. Rim brakes used when more stopping power is needed.

Discs should not be used as a drag brake. Can't handle the heat. Discs warp and plastic bits melt.

[stickville]

The bike is a C'dale tandem. I was just about to remove the drum brake and replace it with avidBB7 mechanical disc. Do you think I should stick with the drum brake?

[zap]

If you plan on using it as a drag brake then yes, it is recommended that you stick with the drum brake.

Discs are designed to have cool down periods so use disc brakes as you would rim brakes. Everything gets pretty hot, the disc, caliper body and hub. There are reports (not Santana :rolleyes: ) of hard charging folks that have warped discs and melted those red Avid knobs.

One possible solution to improve performance is to replace the Avid disc with a two piece Magura rotor. The rotor is thicker and with the al carrier, should reduce heat transfer.