Recently had my bike stolen, and having little money I’ve bought a used one as a replacement. It’s fine enough, but needs a little fine tuning. The main issue is that the hand-brake at the front wheel is a rim brake.
Is there a way to install a disc brake on the front wheel instead, or would I have to change the entire frame?
Also I’ve only ever done basic maintenance, but now I need to do a bit more (install a new set of gears). Does anybody have a recommendation for a good manual?
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For a disc you need a new fork if it does not already have mounts for the disc calipers. By “new set of gears” I assume rear cassette. You will need a chain whip and a cassette tool. Keep in mind that all drivetrain parts tend to wear together. Its important to swap your chain when it starts to wear. I just do mine every spring to be safe. If it’s been awhile, you’ll need new chaingring(s), casette, and chain. After a longer time, it’s good to replace the pulleys in the rear derailleur too.
But like others have said, with this amount of effort, just get another bike.
Thank you! Do you have any online resources you would recommend for learning more? For example how to evaluate the chain - I’ve just bought this bike used, so I don’t know it’s mileage really
Park tool has good, informative videos: park tool
Saint Sheldon Brown is one of the best, original sources for internet cycling knowledge.
Thank you!
Regarding your brake: You need a fork with disc brake mounts. You also need a front wheel with a hub that can accept a disc rotor. And, assuming you want to keep your existing brake lever, you need to choose the correct type of disc brake. Cable-actuated disc brakes come in “standard” and “road” versions for use with mountain or road brake levers, respectively. The big question is, why is a rim brake not adequate? A well-adjusted rim brake should be perfectly fine for most uses.
Regarding your gears, I assume you mean replacing the cassette on the rear wheel. Park Tool has a good tutorial. Make sure the new cassette has the same number of gears as the old one. Replace your chain at the same time.
In the future, this would be a great question for !bikewrench@lemmy.world.
@7bicycles@hexbear.net pinging you because I know you know a lot about bicycles, and I hope you can help. I understand if you’re too busy or don’t want to though - no pressure!