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Is it possible to put disc brakes on the Tarpon and would it be worth it?
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its possible to put a disc on the front if its a 2003 to 2010, but you might need to get a new wheel with a disc hub if your bike doesnt have one, as for the rear i only know of the 2010’s having the rear bracket for disc brakes but your bike might have those tabs, they look just like the tabs on the left side of your fork. in order to convert your bike to disc brakes you will need those tabs and wheels/hubs that you can mount a rotor to. so its possible to go to disc brakes, also if you dont have the rear tab you can just run a disc in the front and a v-brake in the rear
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Disc brakes are worth having, you can convert any bikes swingarm to disc. Here is a link to one of many companies that make a conversion kit.
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Edewaa,
I upgraded my GF Wahoo to disc brakes and yes it is definitely worth it. You’ll spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $200-$300 to do the upgrades If you’re willing to do the work yourself and are patient enough to find good deals online.
You should be able to find Avid mechanical disc brakes on sale just about anywhere. You’ll need to get a new wheelset and this is what will cost you the most, but you should be able to find some good sale prices on those as well.
Also you’ll need some special tools to swap the cassette from your old rear wheel to the new one. It’s a pretty straightforward process though.
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Thank you all for the information and the links; I’ll start looking for some deals and see how involved the upgrade will be, thanks agian!
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After looking at my Tarpon, I do have rear and front tabs for a disc brake set up; question, my bike came with Formula FM31 hubs, do i change out the hubs to adapt to the disc system? Forgive if the questions seem uneducated, i am a newbee to the MTB world.
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You will need to replace the hub, or the whole wheelset.
Replacing the hub may seem like the cheapest way to go, but will require a lot of work and access to tools that you are likely not to have (Truing stand).
I would look at a good cheap wheelset like this one:
http://bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/index. … oductId=37If you can afford it you may do better by going for something lighter like this Mavic/XT wheelset:
http://bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/index. … ductId=141
I can vouch for the Mavic 321/XT hub wheelset as that is what I put on my Wahoo. It is definitely a quality set and much better then the stock Bonty’s.
Either way I would recommend going with a new wheelset over just trying to swap the hub.
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Is there anywhere to mount a disc rotor to the hubs? There should be six unused holes on the left side. See this picture– the rotor mounting holes are the threaded holes on the left (not the little holes where the spokes go).
Be sure you research the costs of upgrading before you start buying all the parts….unless you can find some good deals (sales, used, etc) you may be better off with a whole new bike IMO. This Specialized for example is only $460 and already has disc brakes.
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well, I usually ride about 2-3 hrs (on sundays) on the trails and ride 2hrs (twice a week) up and down the road system near my home. I plan on doing more trail riding, in the near future (summer). Also, i was wondering about the wheel sets (spokes per rim). I weigh a bit more than an average rider (250-260lbs). If I have to buy a new wheelset which would recommend ($200-$300 to spend).
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The Tarpon has a solid frame. The G2 hardtails from Gary Fisher are pretty sweet.
The cheaper wheelset I linked above have pretty burly rims. They are not considered light weight cross country wheels. As for number of spokes, I wouldn’t worry too much. The standard 32 spoke wheel/hub should do you fine. You usually wont find less then 32 spokes if you’re looking a wheels below $400.
I weigh ~200 lbs and the Mavic/XT wheelset has held up even after hitting some pretty gnarly trails.
One thing to consider is the hubs in the Sun Singletrack wheelset I linked in my previous reply is not the greatest. There is a Sun Singletrack wheelset that runs a little more that has the Shimano XT hubs which would probably be worth the upgrade since you’ll be putting more force on them than the average 160 lb rider.
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What is your opinion on Vuelta wheelsets; I have seen wheelsets on Ebay and I am wondering why these are so inexpensive?
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Vuelta is a well known road brand. I haven’t had any experience with them personally.
Make sure that they have good hubs and that the hubs are disc brake compatible. Also you should know that there are 6-bolt style hubs and Shimano centerlock style hubs for disc brakes. This will determine the kind of rotor you can use with the wheelset.
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Good deal; thanks for the help!
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