Reducing weight by removing front disc brake?

hakko

Is it safe to remove the front disc brakes and rely solely on the rear disc brakes?

nicklouse

no. as most of the braking is done on the rear. also if the bike is to be used on the public highway it needs 2 working brakes.

ddoogie

Why do you need to lose the weight? And removing the front brake is no good as you need it stop quickly, removing the rear brake takes away your control braking.

hakko

Thanks for the replies.

CitizenLee

The law aside.... :roll:

It depends on your riding style. For XC / DH I wouldnt recommend it, but if you just ride dirt jumps, park or street then you can take it off if you find you dont really use it and want to save a bit of weight. Most dirt jumpers, park or street riders only run a rear brake, with some opting to ride totally brakeless like a lot of BMXers do.

Best thing to do is give it a try... it's not much hassle to remove it and then put it back on again if you find it's not to your liking. You can even leave the rotor on whilst you experiment.

I only run a rear on my BMX but I prefer to have a front and rear on my MTB... mainly because stoppies and nose wheelies are too much fun!

Not having a front on the BMX has never caused me any harm... you just learn to control your speed and braking more and if worst comes to worst jam your foot in behind the forks.

Tune in same time next week for some more bad advice

crashandburn

your front brake stops your momentum, so if you just have a back brake and do downhilll then you wont stop , just skid - gain speed and crash!

BoredHousewife

why not get V-brakes, lighter and you can still stop

crashandburn

cause v brakes suck and dont have any modulation to them.

i.e- its either on or off.

and also! they dont hardly work in the wet

BoredHousewife

crashandburn wrote:

cause v brakes suck and dont have any modulation to them.

i.e- its either on or off.

and also! they dont hardly work in the wet

all I can say is WRONG! Either you can't set them up or have only used the crappy plastic ones on a £100 quid bike. They don't have the power of hydro disks but then thats the reason hydro discs are available. The V brake itself is perfectly adequate for the majority of riding, especially XC where weight is so important.

supersonic

Yep, agree with the housewife - good Vs are just that, good, and can have plenty of power and modulation. One finger braking for me!

deanvw

also if the bike is to be used on the public highway it needs 2 working brakes.

thats untrue

supersonic

I am sure you need two operational brakes on a cycle for use on the road,

nicklouse

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4073

Pedal Cycle
In the case of a pure pedal cycle (no electrical assistance) these regulations are simply and entirely concerned with the brakes.

Most sorts of cycle are required to have at least two efficient braking systems, by which the front wheel (or wheels) can be braked independently of the rear wheel (or wheels). This means that if there are two wheels at the front or rear, the relevant system must act on the pair. It also means that the combined operation of front and rear brakes from one lever is not allowed except as an extra braking system: additional to the two independent front and rear braking systems required by this law.

Apart from saying that a brake that acts directly on a pneumatic tyre shall not be deemed to be in efficient working order, these regulations do not define how the brakes are operated (by hands, feet or maybe even the teeth?) or how they work. A lot of words are nevertheless devoted to wheels that cannot rotate independently of the pedals (i.e. no freewheel), the effect of which is that a fixed wheel drive counts as a braking system – on that wheel or wheels

Will Snow

nicklouse wrote:

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4073

Pedal Cycle
In the case of a pure pedal cycle (no electrical assistance) these regulations are simply and entirely concerned with the brakes.

Most sorts of cycle are required to have at least two efficient braking systems, by which the front wheel (or wheels) can be braked independently of the rear wheel (or wheels). This means that if there are two wheels at the front or rear, the relevant system must act on the pair. It also means that the combined operation of front and rear brakes from one lever is not allowed except as an extra braking system: additional to the two independent front and rear braking systems required by this law.

Apart from saying that a brake that acts directly on a pneumatic tyre shall not be deemed to be in efficient working order, these regulations do not define how the brakes are operated (by hands, feet or maybe even the teeth?) or how they work. A lot of words are nevertheless devoted to wheels that cannot rotate independently of the pedals (i.e. no freewheel), the effect of which is that a fixed wheel drive counts as a braking system – on that wheel or wheels

yeah!!!

Andy

crashandburn wrote:

cause v brakes suck and dont have any modulation to them.

i.e- its either on or off.

and also! they dont hardly work in the wet

Absolute rubbish.
V brakes in fact in most cases have far more modulation as a trade off for less out and out power.

deanvw

it is legal to have one brake our pcso said so

supersonic

pcso?

nicklouse

deanvw wrote:

it is legal to have one brake our pcso said so

well your pcso does not know the law.

deanvw

police constable support officer...

supersonic

Ah... probably why he is a special ;-)

nicklouse

and as i said does not know the Law.

deanvw

oh nd u no better? what r u a cop? No!

supersonic

The police may not, and do not always have to know the finer points of the law. But we are right. You and him are wrong!

deanvw

yh allright the kid is always wrong. :shock:

supersonic

Kid or not lol, the law is stated quite clearly in many documents!

deanvw

well. that is quite strange cuz i aint been told off by any cop for having one brake. Ive went past many of them nd they aint said anything. Even when i got my bike coded and chipped they said nothing. What i do no is that a trials bike is illegal to use on road.

supersonic

The thing is, they can use their discretion. They aint going to stop everyone that rides with one brake, or on the footpath etc. And i am sure they arent looking at your brakes! But nevertheless they could and that is what you need to be aware of.

deanvw

but. when that happens ill change my views

supersonic

Your views are different from the law, and while you may have a point (that they don't always check) you still need to be aware of it. Ive seen it happen!