Basically, I’m a thicko with current tech – anything up to 1997 and I’m your man, but embarrassingly I’m now a middle aged git that just buys stuff and rides it occasionally.
Right, now that’s out the way.
I have an F6 RC200, I thought I couldn’t get disc brakes fitted, I even spoke to the lovely people at Pace who told me no chance.
However, I’ve spotted a pic of another F6 (and it definitely is an F6) which show disc brakes fitted – they’re not glamorous, but they’re discs.
Can anyone shed any light on this?
I’ve attached pics of the bike in question, and then mine from the same angle, just in case there’s a design feature I’ve missed. I’m not sure why I’m obsessed about discs as the Vs work surprisingly well, and certainly well enough for my riding, but I’m just curious.
Well it looks like a C2 caliper but the mount doesn’t look like it’s even attached to the frame?!
Was it definitely a working brake or just mocked up for the pic?
You see how your dropout on your frame is bolted onto the stays – that has been replaced with a custom made dropout/disc mount combo in the other picture.
Pretty sure I had one on my F4 years back, was a replacement dropout made by Hope, and fitted the Hope C2 or O2 caliper in Type 1 mounting guise.Just had a rummage in my box of bits in case I still had it, but I must have left it on the broken frame when it went back for replacement.
Gill at the cycleshed had some singlespeed ones made up, not sure if they had disc mounts.
It should be pretty easy to get a new dropout machined with disc tabs, It would be worth speaking to a frame builder. The dropouts on those frames are dead simple.
It looks like a custom made dropout/caliper mount to me too.
My guess is that it was made so the caliper would sit parallel to the seat tube.
Obviously, with that much leverage, the first time it was used, it bent, which is why the gap is wider at the top.
I have used a specialzed mount on a couple of bikes now. It bolts to a hole just above the dropout and to the V boss which spreads the load nicely. Looks like your upper dropout bolt is in about the right place for the lower fixing with a little fettling. No idea where you will get one, though. Spesh stopped selling them years ago, maybe ebay or retrobike.
Someone on retrobike was making those disc mounts, do a search on there. It comes as part of the replacable dropout. It probably isn’t sitting parallel to the seatstay as he probably makes one dropout that has to fit all frame sizes and different seat stay angles.
I had one of those fitted to an F6. I don’t remember whether it was made by Pace or by Hope, but it was a retail item rather than a custom part. It was a bit of a lump that had been extensively machined, but was fairly solid… The choice of caliper was somewhat limited (Hope C2, single caliper size, as others have said)! The machining was designed to fit the different angles of seat stay on different frame sizes, hence the gap.
Ah, right I understand now thanks. Oddly though I’ve just noticed my seatstay has an extra bolt on it.. I wonder if that makes any difference to range of options?
I wouldn’t have thought that that addition bolt hole will aid in finding a disk mount.
There are plenty of bikes that have the disk mount as part of the drop out. for example see this link for one manufacturers design.
What you esentially need is a custom made dropout that has a disk mount on it. The two bolts holding the curent drop out on should be enough to support it and hold it in place.
If you have a single fixing on your seatstay, it’s to be used in conjunction with a disc specific dropout to provide a pair of mounting holes for the aforementioned Type 1 caliper (these are not IS mounts), not sure when they were introduced, but I had them on the F7 that replaced the broken F4. The F8 that I had came with IS compatible mounts.
Got that exact set up ill try and get a pic loaded up, it is a replacement dropout that came via LBS think it was a pace part, from memory mine sits on top of the seat stay so braking force is transmitted into stay rather than tha 2 dropout bolts. I think it is a hope C2 calliper.
Cheers Pacerc200 – apparently this bike was bought new, raced for a few months then sat in a garage for 9 years; current owner then bought as is, and has just ridden it on road. Hoping what I pic up tomorrow matches the story!
Would be interested in what options I have available as those discs look awful!
Discs to suit those type calipers will be C2 in 155mm, i’ve still got an original splined 3 bolt floater, though Hope can make a custom rotor to your requirements. Also worth noting that modern hubs may have a slightly different offset to the rotor mount than ones of that vintage, though I can’t remember whether you’d require more or less shims.