Fixed Wheel Bike with Disk Brakes

spin_city

I’m thinking of getting a fixed wheel bike with disk brakes, using it mainly for commuting (with panniers) but also for winter rides when the feeling takes me and I have a few questions about this plan.

Are there any bikes like this you can buy off the shelf? There are some frames available e.g. Cotic Escapade or Genesis Day One.

As I’ve not ridden a bike with disk brakes before, I wondered whether there would be any specific issues when teaming them up with a fixed wheel set up. e.g. what brakesets would be appropriate to use? Any comments greatly appreciated.

Finally, I don’t know how easy it will be to purchase a set of wheels that have a fixed hub and take disk brakes. (I would be using either 25/28 commuting road tyres.) Does anyone know of a factory made wheel like this or a wheelbuilder that has this in their repertoire? I live in the Manchester area.

Thanks all

ugo.santalucia

I have seen disc hubs for single speed but not for fixed... the all idea of having a hub brake on a fixed seems a bit flawed to be honest. But ask the crowd at LFGSS, I am sure someone has done it.

It does seem a wheelbuilder job

Monty Dog

I ran one for a couple of years using a custom frame - the main issue is how do you adjust chain tension and keep disc/caliper alignment if running a rear brake. 2 solutions are eccentric BB or White ENO eccentric hub and disc brake adaptor. I used an Forward Industries Eccentric BB (no longer in production) which means you can use a CX disc frame. Unless you live somewhere very hilly, you could probably get away with front-brake only with disc fork on a Planet-X Pompino.

ugo.santalucia

Monty Dog wrote:

Unless you live somewhere very hilly, you could probably get away with front-brake only with disc fork on a Planet-X Pompino.

And if he does, then one would argue a fixed gear bike is probably the worst solution anyway

spin_city

Thanks for your replies.

I hadn’t considered using just a front brake. Currently, I use both a front and rear brake on my ‘conventional’ fixed wheel bike and I tell myself that I need both.
Do you think that one front disk brake would match the braking power of two rim brakes? If I did this, what rear wheel options would I have?

Also, I’ll have a think about the possibility of an eccentric hub.

ugo.santalucia

Spin City wrote:

Thanks for your replies.

I hadn’t considered using just a front brake. Currently, I use both a front and rear brake on my ‘conventional’ fixed wheel bike and I tell myself that I need both.
Do you think that one front disk brake would match the braking power of two rim brakes? If I did this, what rear wheel options would I have?

Also, I’ll have a think about the possibility of an eccentric hub.

A front brake + the braking action of your fixed hub is plenty. If you are really worried just install a 180 mm rotor and an hydraulic MTB brake + lever (you can fit it vertically if you have drop bars). Most likely a 160 mm rotor and a mechanical disc brake like TRP Spyre or Avid BB7 will be plenty

2oldnslow

Not a "dedicated" fixed bike but possibly ticks the rest of your boxes and has an eccentric bottom bracket but how about a Singular Peregrine ?

spin_city

Thanks Ugo

I do like having the option, for whatever reason, of having a choice of brake to use (and it does give you somewhere to put both hands when you’re on the hoods!). If it’s all true about disk brakes then I’m sure just a front brake will give me all the stopping power I need; I’ll have a look into the capabilities of using different sized rotors.

Monty Dog

Firstly, I only weight 60kg, but a BB7 with 160mm front disc only was more than adequate for me - there are some local descents where it's perfectly feasible to hit 70kph+ as long as you can keep the pedals turning. It's not just the power, but also the degree of control the disc gives in all conditions, particularly if riding in a group where you have a bit more momentum with a fixed due to the spinning legs.

monkimark

Why not go disc brake front and rim brake rear if you want 2 brakes? Saves any issues with the hub and relatively cheap and easy to add/remove if you decide you don't need it later.

spin_city

Thanks for all your replies. They've given me plenty to think about. I see you can buy dummy brake levers (Cane Creek Ergo Stoker) so just a front disk brake could suit me.

Back to the wheel choice if I go with what's been suggested. The rear one needs to have a fixed hub (no brake required) and the front one has to take a disk brake so can anyone recommend a pair of wheels that would suit?

ugo.santalucia

Spin City wrote:

Back to the wheel choice if I go with what's been suggested. The rear one needs to have a fixed hub (no brake required) and the front one has to take a disk brake so can anyone recommend a pair of wheels that would suit?

You need a custom build. If you are in London, give me a shout

cycleclinic

What is the spacing of the rear of the bike 135mm? If so why not use a pair of XT M785 hubs and keep the rubber cover over the centre lock disc mount this way it almost looks like a rim brake hub and make your wheelset saleable should you choose to move it on.

spin_city

Thank you all v.much for your input.

From what I can work out, the most straightforward and probably the most cost effective option would be to get an MTB wheelset (135 wide) and just use a disk brake at the front. This would involve flipping the rear wheel round, bolting a sprocket onto the rear wheel brake rotor and then putting a dummy brake lever onto the handlebars so there would be a pair of hoods to use. I hope I’m using all the correct terminology here.

There are a few potential issues with this set up which I’ve listed below but in theory it shouldn’t be too difficult to do.
- I’m not sure if you can work out whether the chainline would be straight or not. Does anyone know how I could work this out in advance?
- The rear wheel would have a redundant cassette body. However, it may be possible to buy a single speed MTB wheelset which would be ideal. I guess these do exist. Any suggestions?
- The hoods wouldn’t match unless I could put the spare dummy rubber hood onto the front brake lever. (The dummy brake levers come in pairs.) If I could find a compatible front brake lever and dummy brake levers then this sounds possible (maybe without swapping the hoods). Any ideas?
- Is there anything else I haven’t thought of that needs to be taken into consideration?

A possible easier solution would be to buy an off the shelf disk-braked single speed bike such as the Genesis Day One, removing the rear disk brake, flipping the rear wheel and screwing a sprocket onto the brake rotor. The rear brake lever can be left in place and the connecting wire would, of course, be removed.

ugo.santalucia

It seems like a really bad solution.
Get a local builder to build you something appropriate, rather than bolting a sprocket o the disc mounts.

Beside the chain line which won't be right, my main issue is having the low tension side of the wheel as your torque-bearing side... pretty sure you'll start snapping spokes in no time

spin_city

Thanks Ugo

I was imagining that, because of the requirements of the disk brake, the wheel would be able to handle the torque. I found this set up being suggested on the VeloSolo website.
I agree that the chainline issue definitely needs to be looked into further.

redvee

An option, assuming the frame you'll be using is 130mm is to use a Shimano disc hub and a Surly Fixer which replaces the freehub body and allows a fixie sprocket and lockring to be screwed on.



Not cheap and not easily found it seems unless you buy from the US.

http://mclaincycle.com/product/surly-fi ... 5538-1.htm