Converting from V-Brakes to Disc Brakes

Welcome to the channel! On this episode we upgrade Alvin's 2003 Giant NRS 3 mtb with some nice cable disc brakes! Watch and enjoy as we do the conversion!
Links to products 👇👇
XTECH Brake Calipers -- amzn.to/3pHDtKS
Front & Rear Brake Cables -- amzn.to/3Kk4rQO
180f/160r Caliper Mount -- amzn.to/3hLAaho
Bear Bell -- amzn.to/35XQLMB
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
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[@arronjohnston742]

lol you guys all excited about 180-160 mm discs an here i am looking to go 255mm with hydrolic pit bike caliper rear (i'm actually looking for an adaptor to put a motor bike disc on the rear if the fails i'll just go the 255mm as said)

[@FirstTimersCycling]

Lmao yeah the vbrakes he was originally on were toast. Shocked he was able to use them at all lol. Wow a 255mm brake. Hydraulic is nice but Alvin wanted to go with cable actuated for ease of maintenance. My bike is hydraulic though and love it.

[@rlake13]

Hype

[@FirstTimersCycling]

These I believe are the ones you got. Xtech brand. It's nice!

[@rlake13]

@@FirstTimersCycling yup, no problem with them at all. While some people complained that they seized up, but no problems so far. They are the best upgrade for the $ also always a great video

[@FirstTimersCycling]

Thanks Ron!

[@KillerRaptorr]

Hmm might be a disc caliper i might snag if i ever upgrade to Disc. Got a nice system for being a cable pull with a hydraulic action without the hassle of fluid bleeding. Never thought they'd have a hybrid system like that. So this is really neat. No need to remove the leavers and destroy the whole brake sensor ability of stopping the mid-drive from continuing to run while trying to stop. So you keep the cut offs and steel pull. But with that hydraulic feel. Though i think the mess up you guys had. Is the R-F on the mounts =ed R for REAR. and F for Front. So the F-180 = For front Mounting ONLY. And R-160 is for mounting on the REAR only with that set. The other one was F-160 and R-140. So it didn't have both being 180's for both Rear and Front. Kinda lame But atleast it had set for 160 rotors for both ends. But you used 180 on both right? That's probably why you needed to use another bracket that fit for a 180mm disc rotor for the rear. Since you already used the front 180/185 for the front end. Got any good recommended Rotors that are stiff and won't easily bend for when mounting to the 6figure screw system? (Not the center lock system that Shimano uses.)

[@FirstTimersCycling]

Yup that's exactly what happened and why we needed to use a different bracket for the rear disc. It is a cool hybrid system and didn't realize it was possible to make a it a fully hydraulic system! Thanks for that info! As far as rotors, we've only been using what came with the bikes when we bought them. These are the Shimano and Avid brands. I once had a bike with Hope Tech rotors and those were really nice but not enough experience to recommend a good one to ya sorry!

[@KillerRaptorr]

@@FirstTimersCycling That's ok. I was thinking of if i wanted to upgrade to get some 6hex style rotors from Shimano to. They got some good ones.

[@jonasmeier417]

Thank you for this video! You put hydraulic pistons but normal mechanical brake cables. Why not putting right away hydraulic disc brakes? Shimano has cheap ones that are good or Shimano or Magura hydraulics with 4 pistons. Disc brakes sensors for cutting off the motor Bafang BBSHD when braking are available too.

[@FirstTimersCycling]

Hello Jonas! We tried the bafang hydaulic disc brake sensors on my bafang setup but they were hard to get them to work so I ride without them. Due to this, Alvin chose to stay cable actuated. Still works but of course not as well has a hydraulic system.

[@jackreacher1963]

nice drywall job. 😂i want to allways see those hydraulic brakes if they work any good because the brake is hydraulic with mineral oil but run by cables. i thought they where the hydraulic brakes.

[@FirstTimersCycling]

Haha thanks! Figured it looked better than how it was before lol. The brakes were a night and day difference. We still need to test them out on the trails though. Just haven't had the chance yet.

[@mr.raiders7029]

Just bought those same calipers and actually love them. Stopping power is wayyyyy better than the mechanical stock ones. And for Alvin he's gonna get great stopping power now. Bit I also upgraded my rotors to 203 front and 180 back cause I'm over 220lbs. Can't believe he was actually using v brakes lol how was he stopping. Great video guys keep them coming live watching your adventures. Also make sure to keep stock bagang settings, I did mine awhile ago and didn't save my stock settings. So just messed with it till I got it the way I wanted and it's better than the stock programming.

[@FirstTimersCycling]

Nice good to know you have positive feedback on those brakes! We haven't ridden on any trails with them yet. If the 185f/160r setup is not good enough we'll probably upgrade later. As of right now super happy to not be on vbrakes lol. As for how he was stopping? Lmao he would scream "dont stop i got no brakes!" And zoom right by. The gopro mic couldnt catch his voice as he was passing me but I'll tell you it's funny as hell 🤣😂. Thanks for the heads up about the saving the stock settings before tuning and appreciate your support for the channel!! 🤙👍

[@Playncooler]

Did you also buy new wheels for the discs to attach to?

[@FirstTimersCycling]

Disc compatible wheels are required. These wheels however came from Alvin's other MTB.

[@KillerRaptorr]

Oh wow. I just also noticed. This is fully compatible with Hydraulic brake levers! So you can easily swipe if you needed to. There's alittle hose screw in the front that you open up and put the new hose for the hydraulic levers. Then bleed and you're good. I might experiment with these. Using Hydraulic brakes. But keeping the cable pull for using as a Parking break system using a friction shift lever to lock the wheel up whenever needed. One heck of a dual use system right there.

[@FirstTimersCycling]

Lol sounds like you are going for a bicycle drift setup with the dual action braking. 🤣 Drift cars use 2 rear calipers to lock up the rear while drifting lol. Happy modifying! 👍

[@KillerRaptorr]

@@FirstTimersCycling Eh not really. My Hyper has V-brakes that i use as daily usage. The front disc system i have is currently just a backup/parking brake dealo. So like i mentioned above. I have a generic click friction shifter that stays in place wherever you stop it. So i can crank it up to lock the rotor inplace at whatever point of interest. That what i was thinking of the rear idea since you could have the normal usage of Hydraulic braking. Then use a cable pully for the friction side. So say if you're on a hilly cliff or something and the might might roll. You could use it as a parking brake deal to lock the tire up so the bike won't slide down the hill even if you're on a slant. I mean it's pointless for many. But having that extra option to add such a feature is not a bad thing to do. Plus it might help stop thieves from jumping on the bike and thinking they can take off. Since the 'brake' is engaged XD!!!! I just picture someone trying to jump on and pedal and find out the 'Parking brake' on the bike is on. XD!!!!!!!!!! The realization of knowing a bicycle has a 'Parking brake' or 'E-brake' on XD!!!!!! Instead of putting a lock on it. ROFL!

[@FirstTimersCycling]

@@KillerRaptorr lmao!!! I like it! Lol

[@hirowing4985]

Need to wash the bike bro 🤣😂

[@FirstTimersCycling]

Never!

[@arronjohnston742]

some bikes like it "dirty" 🤣🤣🤣

[@FirstTimersCycling]

Lol 🤣😂