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disk brakes on a bmx bike

d4p4b

Chimp
Dec 21, 2004
25
0
hey, i dont want to start a discussion about frame building but ... is there a market for a bmx bike that has the OPTION of running disk brakes? the only drawback i could think of is that it would have to use a mtb rear hub. any in-put is cool. thanks
 

Handlebarsfsr

Monkey
Dec 6, 2004
287
0
ct
i think that'll have trouble catching on. theres really no point. i race bmx, (cruiser) and you barely use your brakes, and you only have a rear brake, no front needed. for street riding, discs would get mangled in an instant with the number of falls taken, and grinding. dirt jumping is similar to bmx- you just dont need your brakes very much, and rim brakes work fine and are much cheaper and they are more out of the way than discs are. except for bling factor, they would be almost completely useless on a bmx bike of any sort.
 

d4p4b

Chimp
Dec 21, 2004
25
0
allright thanks for the info, but im still making one for my self !!! ill post pics when its done.
 

HTFR

Monkey
Aug 20, 2002
413
0
Chelsea, Quebek
d4p4b said:
hey, i dont want to start a discussion about frame building but ... is there a market for a bmx bike that has the OPTION of running disk brakes? the only drawback i could think of is that it would have to use a mtb rear hub. any in-put is cool. thanks
no. drop it, same with hydrolic gyros
 

scurban

Turbo Monkey
Jul 11, 2004
1,052
0
SC
I don't think you really need disks on any bike that is intended for jumping, riding street and skate parks. 26" bikes included. Disc's over complicated, and rotors bend and brake way too easily. .......IMO. I actually feel the stopping power is better on a properly set up V brake then on a 6" disc. The major advantage of discs is their modulation. However the stopping power needs to go through the hub, then through the spokes, to the rim, to the tire. There is a lot more distance for flex. Rim brakes however, put their power to the rim, and give a much better "on" or "off" feeling. Which makes them better for tricks like Abubaca's and Fufanu's.
Again, this is all my own personal opinion that I have concluded to after spending significant time on both discs, and "V" brakes. Plus, on a stoutly built 20", 24" or 26" bike, its nice to reduce some weight by useing "V" brakes, especially if your intention is to build something both durable, and light.
 

The Kadvang

I rule
Apr 13, 2004
3,499
0
six five oh
scurban said:
I don't think you really need disks on any bike that is intended for jumping, riding street and skate parks. 26" bikes included. Disc's over complicated, and rotors bend and brake way too easily. .......IMO. I actually feel the stopping power is better on a properly set up V brake then on a 6" disc. The major advantage of discs is their modulation. However the stopping power needs to go through the hub, then through the spokes, to the rim, to the tire. There is a lot more distance for flex. Rim brakes however, put their power to the rim, and give a much better "on" or "off" feeling. Which makes them better for tricks like Abubaca's and Fufanu's.
Again, this is all my own personal opinion that I have concluded to after spending significant time on both discs, and "V" brakes. Plus, on a stoutly built 20", 24" or 26" bike, its nice to reduce some weight by useing "V" brakes, especially if your intention is to build something both durable, and light.
werd... and no bashing your disc on missed stalls and grinds... id run a v if my frame had mounts for it
 

Mattoid

Monkey
Aug 3, 2003
973
0
Charlottesville, Virginia
I agree that the vees feel nice in the park, but aslong as you dont smash your rotor the discs require less maintenance. Once theyre dialed they just keep working. When i ran rim brakes i had to clean the rims all the time to make sure they had any bite at all. Im sure with the proper pad/rim combo it would work very well though. To me the extra bite/power that the discs provided was worth the flex in the wheel compared to the brake actually slipping on the rim.
 

Zark

Hey little girl, do you want some candy?
Oct 18, 2001
6,254
7
Reno 911
Atomic has a kit for mounting a disc onto a BMX bike. You need a flip flop hub to thread the rotor adapter onto and I wouldn't recommend it for anything beside BMX racing really.. But for what its worth ;)
 

bikenweed

Turbo Monkey
Oct 21, 2004
2,432
0
Los Osos
Don't King and Phil Wood make BMX spaced (135mm?) single speed, disc hubs? It's nothing revolutionary to put a disc on a BMX bike, it's just not worth it.
 

arboc!

Turbo Monkey
Dec 18, 2004
3,288
0
spokane, WA
this thead should be deleted, it sucks tremedous ass. even if you could put them on a bmx, bmxers wouldnt, because bmxers are horrably cheap
 

SuspectDevice

Turbo Monkey
Aug 23, 2002
4,205
429
Roanoke, VA
Norco, mtn cycle, specialized, GT, Trek, and plenty of garage companies have sold race frames with disc mounts. It's a silly case of overkill, so i say do it!
 

Changleen

Paranoid Member
Jan 9, 2004
14,714
2,704
Pōneke
If your fingers are really that puny and you can't set up a u-brake properly, you'd be far better off building a frame with proper Magura HS33 lugs. Thery're out of the way, act on the rim for a great feel and have the power of hydro.
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
8,397
6,923
Yakistan
my 2 cents:

Personally, i beat the hell out of my bmx bike. The rims get dented and tweaked from all the 180's and 360 attempts. I CANT stand the brake rub on a dented rim with v/u brakes it wears the pads all funky and when its bad you can feel it alter your momentum as it rubs on each revolution of the wheel. Disc brakes are nice, cause no matter how dented the rim is, your gonna have good stopping power.

I have a friend who builds frames on the side, who used to race single A back in the day. The last bmx frame he built for himself had only a disc mount. I've ridden it and it works well. My bmx bike had the shimano dx vbrakes and i liked them well enough.

If i rebuilt a bmx bike i'd just go with v brakes or some diacompe 990's. Unless of course, if i have my buddy build me up a frame, i'd probably ask for disc mounts for the 'my bike is trick as f*ck' factor.
 

arboc!

Turbo Monkey
Dec 18, 2004
3,288
0
spokane, WA
yes but you failed to mention, that if you ride hard and do grind/ stalls and similar tricks there is huge potential of bending/destroying a disc.
 

Hucknificent

Chimp
Mar 24, 2005
49
0
dirtjumpP.1 said:
yes but you failed to mention, that if you ride hard and do grind/ stalls and similar tricks there is huge potential of bending/destroying a disc.
Ummm..........it's a bmx racing frame. Not intended for that stuff at all. Everyone fails to realize that at the speeds most pros ride at the modulation offered by disc would also be advantageous. Especially the speeds they race in downhill bmx, bikercross and the wide open hammer till you drop tracks.
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
8,397
6,923
Yakistan
dirtjumpP.1 said:
yes but you failed to mention, that if you ride hard and do grind/ stalls and similar tricks there is huge potential of bending/destroying a disc.

if i was into grinds/stalls i probably would run traditional brakes. I ride a bmx on dj's, race, and general goofing around (manuals, bunnyhopp, 180's).

but yea, you have a valid point to why disc's arent good for street/ramp riding on a bmx