£160 to spend on Wheels and Brakes, is this the best to get

Indigo Gorilla

Hi everyone,

I have a GT Avalanche 1.0 2008 (non-disc).

However I fell off my bike yesterday and screwed up my front wheel. My rear wheel is fine but if I'm getting a new front wheel I might as well upgrade to disc brakes while I'm at it and replace my rear wheel as well.

Had a quick look on Merlin and found this for just under £160 including delivery.

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=product&productId=1372&categoryId=112

It's basically:

LX Dual Control Hydraulic Levers
LX calipers
160mm Shimano centre lock rotors
Handbuilt wheels, LX splined disc hubs with Mavic X317 black disc rims.

Just wondering if this is the best upgrade I can make for the money and also wondering if it will fit my bike straight away or will I need to buy a post-mount / IS Mount conversion kit as well?

My bike is this one:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=29071

Cheers

IG

The Spiderman

Good buy if you ask me.

I currently have a pair of Merlin built wheels,XT with 717s which are great.Handbuilt wheels are good,LX hubs are easy to service and run smooth,317s are a good rim if on a budget.Will take wider rubber too.

I have XT dual control brakes.The LX are pretty much the same except that they have a 2 piece caliper.

I get on well with dual control,very light changes and means you can brake and change simulataneously.Only drawback I can see is that you are stuck with Shimano should you want to upgrade your brakes,but as Shimano is so easy to live with and service,its no bad thing really.

If youu can get a rapid rise rear mech too.

Re IS or post mount,what forks have you got?

Indigo Gorilla

I have Suntour SR X-100 forks.

On the forks there are two holes about 5cm apart from each other if that helps at all and the same on the rear of the frame as well.

supersonic

The brakes will come with adaptors.

Do you want dual control though? I s a marmite thing - can't stand them personally!

Indigo Gorilla

Well I'm not really sure to be honest.

How are dual control levers different from having two seperate pairs of levers?

Are they not just two sets of levers but in one external casing rather than two?

I understand the levers may be closer together and not as adjustable maybe as standalone levers but are there any other issues?

Only reason I am thinking of getting the dual control levers is just the price of that kit on Merlin as it seems really cheap for what you get.

KonaMike

Merlin wheel builds are very good,I have Mavic 719's on XT hubs which they built for me about a year ago and they have been very sturdy !

supersonic

You use the brake lever to shift - you physically nudge the lever 90 degrees to its natural motion. It does have a release lever.

The Spiderman

Dual control

Pros

Light changes
Brake and change gear simultanaeously
Totally intuitive once you get used to it,especailly if you run a rapid rise rear mech so gear selection works in the sameplane on each hand.I get really confused when I ride with rapidfire shiftes.(DCL is quite similar to my road bike STI shifters too.)
You can push the levers a long way inwards without worrying and not have to worry about postionng of gear shifters relative tobars.

Cons

Bit more fiddly to set up
Expensive to replace if you break one
Limited to Shimano brakes
People say you can change gear accidentally whilt pedalling over rough ground with hands covering the brakes.(I never have)

You will always find a lot of people,saying they are crap.I probably would never have tried them but for the fact that I got mine for nowt,so thought I may aswell give them a go.
I found them intuitive straight away but they may be to do with me having ridden a lot of road bikes.For £160 I`d give the a go.The wheels must be worth £100 and you`d more than cover your money on the brakes if you did`nt like them and sold them on.

The Spiderman

supersonic wrote:

You use the brake lever to shift - you physically nudge the lever 90 degrees to its natural motion. It does have a release lever.

The thumb release isn`t in a great place,and I never used it,instead using the backs of my fingers to flick up for downchanges,so I removed them on mine and fitted the blanking covers.Saves 20g too.....................