[Singletrakin Mike]

Whats the difference between Avid BB7 160s and Avid BB7 180-203s is it just the rotors or is the caliper different too... can I use the Calipers of the 160s and put 180 rotors or 203 rotors on them with no effect or are they meant just for 160s. I guess my question is if there is any difference between them besides the stock rotors that come on them when you first buy them.

 

[saturnine]

it's just an adapter that makes the difference. calipers are the same. rotors must match as well, obviously.

 

[Mountain biker 41]

biigger rotor equals more heat diccipation equals cooler rotors equals more stopping power

Theres is an adapter for each rotor size, calipers are all the same

 

[Singletrakin Mike]

ok so I just have to buy a new set of adapters and rotors?

 

[Boulder Pilot]

Correct.

 

[rkowalick]

biigger rotor equals more heat diccipation equals cooler rotors equals more stopping power

Theres is an adapter for each rotor size, calipers are all the same

Bigger rotors equals more torque equals more stopping power

I think torque will be more noticeable than heat dissipation

 

[Razorfish]

Bigger rotors equals more torque equals more stopping power

This is the correct answer.

 

[perttime]

A bigger rotor may also equal bigger than the fork or frame can handle.

Many frames will have clearance issues with big rotors. Then there's the torque...

 

[Speedub.Nate]

I think torque will be more noticeable than heat dissipation

Depends, really.

Back in the day, I upped to a 185mm front rotor when it first became available from Avid (I was running a V in the rear at the time).

My sole motivation for the rotor swap wasn't power, but heat. One of my regular rides descended me 2,000' over 5 miles. At the same point on every descent -- about 1.5 miles in -- my front 165mm rotor began howling so loudly that I'd back off the brakes, just to spare my sensitive eardrums. The power was sufficient for me, but the noise was gawd-awful and probably echoed for miles.

Being new to discs, I thought it was due to the dust at that particular section of the trail. But an Avid tech took one look at my rotor, and diagnosed heat buildup as my problem, citing the tell-tale rainbow discoloration.

Bumping up to 185s cured that problem instantly.

The extra power was noticable, but for the most part, the 165s were sufficient. In fact, the larger rotors were most noticable in slower speed, techincal trails, where they were more difficult to modulate. Naturally, it was something I quickly adapted to (and all the various adjustments on the Avids & Speed Dial levers help to tweak it).

 

[Singletrakin Mike]

the frame I'm workin off of is rated up to a 203 mm its a 2007 Komodo with a Fox Vanilla R

 

[Singletrakin Mike]

Are there any other options in the mechanical disc brake arena than BB7s that are worth anything... I dont want to go to Hydraulics because I will be living in an area next year where the nearest bike shop is 80 miles away.

 

[Speedub.Nate]

Are there any other options in the mechanical disc brake arena than BB7s that are worth anything... I dont want to go to Hydraulics because I will be living in an area next year where the nearest bike shop is 80 miles away.

IRD Dual Banger. But it's got a number of shortcomings compared to the BB7.

 

[tomsmoto]

ive had zero problems with hayes MX2's.. they work just as well as my bb7's, except they were easier to set up. i know a lot of people are down on hayes brakes, but they've been perfect for me. i think the stock hayes rotors are much nicer than the pos roundagons as well.

 

[EnglishT]

biigger rotor equals more heat diccipation equals cooler rotors equals more stopping power

bigger rotors equals more heat dissipation equals cooler rotors equals less lost power due to hot rotors.

Its additional torque on a larger rotor that increases the power.

edit, just read further into the thread, where others said that

 

[Mountain biker 41]

ive had zero problems with hayes MX2's.. they work just as well as my bb7's, except they were easier to set up. i know a lot of people are down on hayes brakes, but they've been perfect for me. i think the stock hayes rotors are much nicer than the pos roundagons as well.

I have bb7 and mx2, theres no comparison, the bb7s dominate, my hayes have to be adjusted about once every two weeks....ridiclulous

 

[tomsmoto]

i adjust mine as they slowly wear.. but you have to do that with all mechanical disc brakes. they never go out of adjustment on their own.. and anyway, the only adjustment they have is screwing the pads in or out, its not exactly a lengthy process.

this is my second set of bb7's, one 160mm and one 203mm.. i havent been thrilled with either. for the price of the brake, new housings and cables, a decent lever and replacing the awful roundagon, you might as well buy hydros.

 

[Mountain biker 41]

bigger rotors equals more heat dissipation equals cooler rotors equals less lost power due to hot rotors.

yeah, thats what I meant sorry.

tomsmoto, as far as the mx2, it seems like we have a reversal of brake opinions, I love bb7, u hat em, I hate mx2, you love em lol.

anyway, BB7 are considered the best mechanicals on the market, they just take FOREVER to brake in. MX2 has decent stopping power, mine just go out of adjustment so much its a waste of time to adjust them so often, considering I ride the bike with them on less often than my bb7 bike

 

[psych]

If the calipers are the same, and all the difference is in the adaptors, what happens with post mount forks where the adaptors are discarded?

Will a post-mount fork only work with a given sized disc, or is there some special sort of adaptor available to allow the bigger disc sizes to align properly?

 

[b4 stealth]

If the calipers are the same, and all the difference is in the adaptors, what happens with post mount forks where the adaptors are discarded?

Will a post-mount fork only work with a given sized disc, or is there some special sort of adaptor available to allow the bigger disc sizes to align properly?

you can buy an adapter to run virtually every possible combination, they make adapters for post mount forks. If they didn't they would be losing a LOT of money

 

[perttime]

Yes, there's adapters for post mount too.