The epic Mountainuni disc brake thread has many examples of caliper mounts welded onto steel frames before there were bolt-on adapters. I skimmed the whole thing pretty quickly and it’s a couple of weeks since I did, but I don’t recall any reports of problems–just that most seemed to prefer not having to deal with welding or finding someone to do it for them.
Nope - don’t have to realign mine when refitting, it retains the brake position just fine.
I switched to welded-on disc tabs after busting a D’Brake. I suspect it’s more likely to break (or maybe quicker to do so) when it’s on a steel frame like I had it. This was also on a freewheel unicycle and I use the brake hard and a lot. It may have a longer life on a fixed wheel unicycle and perhaps the problem could be mitigated by paying close attention to the state of it. However, one break was enough for me. It probably failed at the best possible time and still trashed my rotor and caliper. A worse time could send me over a cliff.
Thanks for your replies!
Waaalrus–were the tabs you had welded on pre-made (and where to get them?) or were they homemade?
Killian–Why did Nimbus stop putting tabs on their frames?
LargeEddie–Thanks for pointing out the disc brake thread; I didn’t know about it. Epic is a good description–it will take a few days for me to work my way through it.
Nimbus stopped putting tabs on their frames because it was too hard to monitor the tolerances over seas. They got a run of frames with tabs that weren’t exactly ‘straight’ and had to be shimmed. This was apparently enough for them to back out.
I now have a frame with a tab on it, and many with D brakes. I like my tabbed frame because Jacob’s have are quite a bit sturdier than the standard tabs. His has an additional ‘foot’ that runs up the frame a couple of inches.
However, running a TRP Spyre brake, it was harder to get sufficient clearance with the tabbed frame than with a D brake. I made it happen, but it’s a bit more tedious.
I think D brakes are excellent. They are an easy fit, cheap, and do the job.
I have 3 D-brake on my 26, 29 and 36; 26 and 29 with disc on Oracle hub and 36 with disc on Spirit crank. I regularly have crack noise on my 36 and already bent 2 or 3 bolts which tighten the D-brake to the frame. Does someone have the same experience ?
Shimano BR-M575
Hello,
I’ve done a search, but can’t seem to pull up anything specifically referring to the Shimano M575 brake. I see there here where I live for sale at around £50 with everything needed inc 160mm disc.
I don’t want a very powerful expensive brake - just something that’ll help slow my soon to arrive KH36er (2012) - anyone have any direct experience with this brake?
I like the fact it is listed as being compatible with the KH system.
Thanks in advanced
Felix
The Spyre model is not available in NZ, but the HY/RD model is. Looks like a newer version of the Sypre. It seems like no-one has used this model on a unicycle yet, so I was wondering about whether it would work or not. I called the local supplier of these brakes today and asked them to measure the calipers’ width. The main body is 35mm across and is 40mm at the widest point (where the cable attaches to the caliper). Will this have enough clearance to use with a KH Spirit-mounted rotor?
One other TRP-related question - has anyone changed their Spyre or Spyke brakes to 180mm rotors? If so does this improve clearance and which adaptor did you use? (I’m still not entirely sure about front post to IS adaptors - are these all the same and interchangeable between manufacturers or do you have to use a TRP adaptor with a TRP brake and a Shimano adaptor with a Shimano brake and so forth?)
Larger rotors should help, but I don’t have any experience with the TRP brakes to be more specific. The adapters are generally interchangeable, with Avids being less so. As long as you use the orbital washers with the avid adapters they seem to work with other calipers, and you have to ditch the alignment washers to use non Avid adapters with avid calipers.
Yes…
I’m glad to report that the TRP HY/RD model works brilliantly! Very easy to fit and no need to shim rotors or other malarkey. Clearance between caliper and KH Spirit 127/150mm crank is not an issue. Went for a quick test ride down the short but steep hill at the end of my street and liked the feel and power of the brake a lot. Can’t wait to try it on some really steep offroad hills!
I received today my Skeletal hydraulic kit. It looks neat and there is everything you need to be setup (brake ready to use, 160mm rotor, IS adapter, bolts, extra pads). It was cheap and I saw it on somebody’s build on the forum.
Can’t wait to give it a try 
Sooo… After much waffling I’m looking at adding a disc brake to my 36er. Since this thread is a little old now I thought I’d query the hive mind and see if everybody is still happy with their choice. Failing that I thought I could at least get some up-to-date advice :).
It’ll be outboard with Spirits and a D’Brake. I’ll probably start with a 160mm rotor and see how it goes. If clearance or performance are an issue then I may look at 180mm. If I go hydraulic then I’m interested in mineral oil only.
Disclaimer: The closest I’ve come to ever using a disc brake is squeezing levers in a bike shop. I’ve also never used brakes of any kind on a unicycle.
After wading through a whole mess of options these are the models under consideration:
- TRP Spyre. I like the fact that it's mechanical, but clearance looks tight and it's the most expensive of the brakes I'm looking at.
- Shimano M355 (Altus). The cheapest of the lot. If it's going to be solid then the price appeals. Will it be ok? Is a brake a brake? I'm not sure if the lever has reach adjustment, which may prove to be annoying.
- Shimano M675 (SLX). Quite a bit fancier. The lever has on-the-fly reach adjustment. The caliper has an adjustable hose angle, which is a big plus.
- Shimano M535 (Deore?) and
- Shimano M596 (Deore). These two both sit between the M355 and M675 in features and price. To be honest, though, they would need to perform noticeably better than the M355 to grab my attention.
Brakes which I considered but are now pretty much out of the running:
- Magura MT2. The price is appealing, as is the ease of bleeding. But I've read enough reports of flaky lever design that I'm hesitant.
I’m also open to other models if you know of any worth looking at.
At this stage I’m pretty tempted by the M355 (cheapest). If I was going to spend more money then the next step up would be the M675 for the adjustable hose angle. Can anybody with more disc experience offer suggestions or advice?
Hi, after cooking a p.o.s. Avid elixir r, I bought a shimano br t675 with long “touring” lever.
It has already done 3 rides, and I’m quite pleased with my choice.
Pads are without fins, but still powerful… The long lever makes it very easy to use the right amount of force, and plus it’s adjustable on the fly.
Of course, the avid was looking good, but IMHO poor quality.
I will maybe try the finned pads and the icetech rotor, just for fetish!
Interesting. The T675 looks very similar to the M675 but with the longer lever and no adjustable hose angle on the caliper.
Avids have already been ruled out - DOT fluid, annoying to bleed and don’t like being stored upside down/sideways.
The feature which is drawing me after sleeping on it is the adjustable caliper hose angle. It seems the M675 is the cheapest Shimano brake to offer it.
KH stock brakes.
Hello, new to forum. Enjoy the info. Thank you.
Q: does anyone know why KH 29er, which I’m in the market for now, comes stock with Tektro brakes in USA and Shimano brakes in Europe (this is from the UDC page)?
I’d much prefer Shimanos, based on this thread, and my past exceptional experience with Shimano fishing reels. Lol.
Any clue that KH might be transitioning to all Shimano; if so, I’ll wait.
Thanks. Steve in Chicago.
I ended up going with the M675 (SLX) with a 160mm rotor on my 36er and I like it a lot. I was worried it was going to be a bit too grabby but it’s nice and smooth. Quiet, too. I’m running it with the stock resin pads for now.
I added 1mm washers between the crank and the rotor. Without them the caliper was pretty much at the end of its adjustment range. Plus it’s always nice to have a touch more clearance between the crank and caliper.
Things I like:
- The hose connects to the left side of the caliper. This keeps it away from pedals/cranks/feet in an outboard setup such as mine.
- The hose connects to the caliper using a banjo bolt, so the angle can be adjusted. This further helps keep it tucked out of the way.
The above two points were really why I chose this model over the lower level Shimanos. All the models below it that I could find had fixed hoses coming out of the right hand side of the caliper body.
Some minor annoyances:
- I can't get as much hose angle adjustment as I'd like because the d'brake gets in the way. You can see this in the photo of the left hand side of the caliper. This may not be a problem with a larger rotor as the caliper would sit in a different position relative to the d'brake.
- In that same photo you can see that there's one spot where the caliper almost touches the d'brake. I actually had to relieve the d'brake a bit in that area as it was touching out of the box. Again, possibly not a problem with a larger rotor as the caliper would be in a different position.
- The lever is offset. You can see this in the photo of the handlebar. I know it's all a bit wonky (my handlebar is bent) but for reference the cycle computer is centered. Not really a huge problem in practice, it just means that it's easier to reach the lever with my left hand than my right.
I also had to relieve the d’brake around the bearing holder to get it to clear the spoke elbows, but that’s a separate issue that has nothing to do with the brake itself ;).
All in all I’m very happy with it :). I bought a pair of them and I’ll probably be putting the other one on my muni-esque 26er when I get around to ordering some more parts.
thanks for your advice, I also like your likings. I think I will go with these!
Do shimano ice tech rotor fit on a KH/spirit setup?
Just wondering if shimano’s floating rotors fit on spirit cranks and a tabbed KH frame(2015) without clearance issues? I know the standard rotors fit great but the hubs of the floating are at least double the thickness.
Scratch that idea, I didn’t realize that ice tech rotors are made of a sandwich comprising of two layers of stainless steel with a layer of aluminum in the middle. I’ll just stick with the standard stainless rotors for crash resistance sake.