Cycling UK Forum

I'm thinking of fitting discs to my Dawes Ultra Galaxy. Anyone done this? Any tips?
In two minds whether to trade in for a newer tourer with discs and perhaps hub gears, but being Cornish, I hesitate to spend the necessary £££.

which year is it? This could make a difference; does the frame/ fork have suitable mountings for disc brakes?

FWIW if it doesn't have disc mounts, and you want good all weather braking, it might be worth considering SA drum brakes; these are designed to fit to bikes with frames/forks that were originally meant for rim brakes, and you can use the X-RDC model at the rear if you want to use a cassette type derailleur setup.

cheers

Brucey wrote:which year is it? This could make a difference; does the frame/ fork have suitable mountings for disc brakes?

Yes, this confused me. If you can fit disc brakes it usually means that it already has them - if not then you can't. My Sardar is disc ready but came with V brakes but I wasn't aware of any other Dawes like that (the Spa Wayfarer has both).

Did you fit them in the end?

Yes, I have done this on the front. It required new forks, wheel rebuild (which I can do myself) and other sundries, I had flat bars and V brakes before starting this. New forks were bought that have been designed for disc use, getting fittings brazed on is not enough, the forces involved require different fork thicknesses. Version 1 with eBay surplus Galaxy disc forks (very cheap) was heavy , stable and gave a firm ride but was ok. Version 2 uses a set of Surly disc forks with a much more compliant ride. Stopping is better than the V brakes I had before but not as good as my MTB for similar front disc, caliper (SLX) and pads (go figure?). The Surly forks / 853 frame / disc is a bit squealy (not so on my mtb). Was it worth it? I am still undecided after two years, possibly I should have used carbon fibre forks however I am partial to steel frames (old school me! I also use friction shifters). I do wonder if top notch V brake pads (Kool stops?) would be sufficient.

SA drums mentioned by Brucey are superb on my Ice trike, no complaints on those, well worth a thought on a road bike.