[ja001son]

I picked up a Schwinn Protocol 1.0 a few weeks ago, Im trying to get into riding a bit primarily for exercise. I love the bike and for my needs it was a good mix of cost and .. non crappyness..

I ride a dirt trail that is loose dirt and is ALWAYS completely covered with leaves.

The protocol has a disc front break, but a standard V break on the rear. so every few min I find myself having to stop to clear leaves from the rear break :madman: Its almost like it was designed to collect them.

The rear of the bike, looks like it MAY be compatible with disc, but Im new to all of this so I cannot be sure, but if it is, I haven't the foggiest as to where to get a compatible setup.

Im not looking to spend a ton of money one a cheap bike, If I decided to stick with riding I will most likely get a new better bike.

I have attached pics of the rear, any advice welcome.

 

[shiggy]

I picked up a Schwinn Protocol 1.0 a few weeks ago, Im trying to get into riding a bit primarily for exercise. I love the bike and for my needs it was a good mix of cost and .. non crappyness..

I ride a dirt trail that is loose dirt and is ALWAYS completely covered with leaves.

The protocol has a disc front break, but a standard V break on the rear. so every few min I find myself having to stop to clear leaves from the rear break : Its almost like it was designed to collect them.

The rear of the bike, looks like it MAY be compatible with disc, but Im new to all of this so I cannot be sure, but if it is, I haven't the foggiest as to where to get a compatible setup.

Im not looking to spend a ton of money one a cheap bike, If I decided to stick with riding I will most likely get a new better bike.

I have attached pics of the rear, any advice welcome.

I do not see anything that is broken.

You would spend at least twice the price of the bike to add disc brakes, which would require replacing the wheels.

Save your money for a new bike in the future.

 

[ja001son]

I never said anything was broken.

Ok so the wheel is not compatible.

Well i guess thats that then.

 

[rlouder]

Save your money for that better bike.

The leaves should settle soon, so maybe they won't be as much of an issue.

 

[ja001son]

Yea, that's kind of the way I'm leaning, I Just wanted to get my feet wet with something decent for a bit first, I had knee surgery 2 years ago and I want to make sure I can actually do this on a regular basis before blowing serious cash on a high end bike.

The Schwinn will make a good "guest" bike anyway, so I can drag along and torment others with my new hobby.

I dont think my next bike will be full suspension though.

 

[the-one1]

I never said anything was broken.

He's just giving you a hard time :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

break = broken
brake= device used to stop

 

[ECOdork]

Felt like those other replies were a bit gruff for a newb (but accurate). Yeah, the deal is that your frame appears to be compatible with disc brakes but you'd need a new wheel, plus disc brake--which should come with a rotor unless you bought used. New disc brakes usually come with rotors and adapters for the rear mount so that they fit onto your frame and mount fairly easily all things considered.

You could find the disc brake for cheap enough but the wheel's the beater--they tend to be expensive. If the leaf thing (or lack of stopping power) really bothers you, see if you can't see find online (or borrow?) a cheap rear wheel with a rotor. I recently sold an old one for like $20. Enough people out there upgrade parts so frequently that you can often find some almost free deals by someone looking to clean out their garage or keep their wife from busting them on yet another upgrade.

But if you're new to this, you probably don't have the tools/know-how to transfer your cassette onto your new wheel. It's not hard, but requires a special tool (and/or additional cash for the shop to do it). And there's always a chance (albeit small chance) for a lack of compatibility with your setup (mainly if one or the other is particularly old).

So yeah, in the end, it'd probably be worth saving your clams for a something a bit higher end if you decided to get more into biking. Now's the time to find a shop you like and trust for fixes and as a place to test drive new bikes to learn what you like. On the other hand, if it bothers you enough to prevent you from getting more into it, then upgrade whatever you want, regardless of what anyone else says!

 

[ja001son]

He's just giving you a hard time :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

break = broken
brake= device used to stop

My typing in English is sometimes a bit rough, I have 20 years experience but I still screw up at times.

 

[ja001son]

Well I woke up this morning and decided "screw it"


4300 disc

Love it.. LOVE IT, only got to ride it about half an hour due to the 2 hour each way trip to get it.

but Im really really happy with.

leaves can bite me.

 

[ja001son]

Well, apparently I got really screwed on the price.

I paid just under $700 out the door WITH a "$50 off" due to a "sale"

from the reviews im seeing people paying 150 to 200 less..

 

[rockNnachos]

That bike is $680-ish at my lbs... plus tax. (2011 4300 disk) I think around $100 less for non-disk. I'm in south carolina.

 

[ECOdork]

Those reviews can be hard to compare given sales, regional diffs, etc. It doesn't sound like a terrible deal, given you bought it locally from a shop that will (hopefully) give you your first set of repairs/tuneups for free. Local shops can be a bit more but you're not paying shipping and you have a local place to talk with if you have probs.

Enjoy the ride! You in Austin? There's lots of good riding around. Bluff Creek Ranch out in Warda (east of ATX) is worth the drive and has some really nice trails that are lots of fun but not overly difficult. Plus they have showers, crappers, and used to offer free-range longhorn burgers post-ride! YUM!