I have been thinking of upgrading my sons bike from V brakes to discs. He has the Orbea MX24 I have read it is possible to upgrade this bike easily enough as the frame comes already set up to take disc brakes.
My question is what is the likely cost of this (just roughly ish)?
I am not that technically adept so would have it done at a bike shop. However the guy in my LBS never gave me a price just did a lot of teeth sucking and told me it was quite a complicated thing to do and to give him a few days to sort out a price!
I don’t mind paying a fair price but I don’t like the idea of being given a high price because I don’t really know what’s what!

You will need brakes, obviously, rotors, a brake mount and new hubs or wheels. If you bought new Deore level parts yourself on t’net I would estimate about £240 (£100 for the brakes, £15 each for rotors, £10 for the mount and £100 for budget wheels). Of course you’ll have to add in shop prices and labour.

If the frame and forks have mounts then it should be a fairly easy job. Certainly not complicated. The expensive bit will be the wheels (unless you already have disk hubs). You can swap the hubs but it’ll probably be cost effective to buy new wheels. Then it’s just a case of buying the brakes and the right size mounts for the rotors and bolting everything on. Add a few cable ties to hold the hoses in place. It’ll be expensive if you get an LBS to do the lot as they will likely charge you RRP for the wheels and brakes. You’ll get a much better deal on-line from Merlin/Rose/crc/whoever has a deal on.

These will fit, hose length would probably be ideal too.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=87334
Discs – £25 a pair, shop around.
Wheels – Shop around, I got a set of these about a year ago for £75, and they’ve been ultra reliable and fault free.
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/wheels/mountain-bike-wheels/factory-mountain-bike-wheels/shimano-mt15-wheels-26-black-pair.html?utm_campaign=googlebase-GB&utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=shopping&utm_term=Factory+Mountain+Bike+Wheels
Ummm…. thats it, well under £150 if your careful. 😉

^Just a wee edit, those Shimano wheels actually come with a set of rotors! What a bargain!

It will be interesting to see what he comes up with at the LBS

Cheers folks

Don’t bother. It wont be the brakes holding him back. Change the pads if needed. My son went from V brakes on a Kona Hula 24 to hydraulics on a Kona Blast. He was riding the most technical red runs with V’s and is riding them with disks.

Put the money towards the next bike, it wont be long!

Being lazy and skimming CRC

Brakes from previous PSA you’ll need to swap the levers.

Rear wheel

front wheel

rotors

rear adaptor

front adaptor

That lot would do the job I’m sure you could beat the prices on most of those parts other than the brakes, but it gives you an idea….

+1 TiRed, save the dosh for the next bike

APF

I would agree with saving the money for the next bike.

However if you really want discs the first thing you need to check is whether you have the disc caliper mounts on the frame and forks. You’re looking for a bracket with two 5 mm holes about 45 mm apart. They will be welded onto the left fork leg and left side of the seat stay. If you haven’t got those then it’s game over.

He stated in the first post that the frame and fork have disc mounts. 😉
I just noticed that I’ve posted a link to 26″ wheels…. really must pay more attention. But it does give you an idea of the potential bargains out there.

Halo wheels = 2.75kg FFS!

I’d say save your money for his next bike but the info above answers your question.

I never expected to be a disc convert but…

I have just fitted a front disc to my bike and it’s made a huge difference. Well worth the £85 it cost me for a mavic crossride front and BB7.

Stopping is greatly improved in anything but dry weather (when teh v’s were plenty good enough). I’m riding faster knowing I can stop faster if I need to.

Happy with this set-up until I can afford a rear. Plent of stopping power. I don’t really need a rear disc but will do when I wear the rim out and need a new wheel.

Having coached junior cyclists I’d have to question the need for disk brakes in the first place. The wheel is 24″ so even a small disk will have a larger disk: wheel ratio than on an adults bike, the smaller wheels have a smaller contact patch with the ground so you run the risk of ‘over-braking’ the bike very easily.

Another thought…we all rode around for years on cantilevers before even V-brakes became de-rigeur. Technique counts for alot.

That said if scrambledeg jr has his wee heart set on disk brakes…well…there’s just no arguing with that!

I also have to say that I don’t like the tone of the ‘It will be interesting to see what he comes up with at the LBS’ comment. The prices given above are from mail order companies who naturally sell at a lower price than an LBS. It is extremely unlikely that an LBS will try and rip you off as they are reliant upon repeat custom to stay in business. If you go in with an attitude which suggests that you think they’re trying to scam you in some way, or that the RRP that they’re selling at is, in some way inflated, then you are likely to put their noses out of joint and come away with a negative experience.

An example to give some perspective:

CRC Are selling a Shimano M596 Disk Brake for £39.99
My LBS are selling exactly the same item at the RRP of £59.99