tareyton

I am the original owner of a Lemond Poprad 2006 with cantilever brakes. I have probably put over 5K miles on the bike. For years I used it strictly as a commuter. My bike commuting days are over and I want to transform it into a modern day gravel bike/neighborhood riding machine. I have a trek Marlin 6 that I use for mountain rides.

I will use the poprad for gravel path rides with the kids and rides around the neighborhood.

It is currently 100% original; doesn't have disc brakes. 2006 they were offered as an option. My particular model came with cantilever brakes and steel fork.

Questions - how hard is it to upgrade to disc brakes? What are biggest tires I can run? What can I do to improve comfort? New front fork?

Thanks

Koyote

​​​​​​Infinitely hard, i.e., impossible.

​​​​​Measure the distance between inner fork legs where the tire fits, subtract about 8-10mm (depending on your comfort level), and that's your max tire size in front. Do the same with the rear, but be sure to measure between both the seat stays and the chainstays.

​​​​​​A new fork likely won't noticeably impact comfort. Just put on the widest tires you can fit, and make sure they're relatively plush -- try to avoid anything with enormous puncture-protection layers, which tend to be stiff. For more comfort, you'll probably need new wheels (or new rims laced to your old hubs) which are tubeless-compatible -- then you can run very low psi for more comfort.

fishboat

+1 on the above.

I have two 2003 Poprads (actually one Poprad and a Wayzata that I converted to drop bars...which is a Poprad).

38mm tires will fit fine. I run Panaracer Gravel King Slicks on one bike and it's a great tire. Fast and nice ride at around 60-65psi. The other one I run Schwalbe Marathon Supremes on in size "28x1.40"...aka size 37-622 (37mm wide, 700c rims). The Marathon Supremes are a wonderful tire. Super fast and cushy ride for roads..not great on gravel, but will do rail trails fine if they aren't wet/greasy. When the Gravelkings wear out, they'll be replaced with the Marathon Supremes.

You might be able to get a 40mm tire on a Poprad, I'm going to try when the GravelKings wear out. Certainly a 40mm tire will fit on the front, while fit on the rear might be iffy at the chain stays.

With respect to the fork..I wouldn't bother. With good tires the stock fork is fine.

Even if you could add disc brakes, they'll mostly just add weight. If you feel you need better braking..pick up a set of Tektro 720s and mount Koolstop salmon pads on them. You'll stop..seriously..you'll stop. If you set them up right and take the bike out for a spin..and you're not use to them, you can launch yourself over the bars if you hit them too hard. (From experience when a friend took one of mine out for a spin..he was used to canti brakes that were not set up properly and squeezed the brake levers a bit too hard. Fortunately he stayed upright.)

I have a good number of bikes, but the Poprads easily see the most miles.

oh..and I run both of them with Brooks Imperial saddles. Not sure what you're looking for in "comfort"...there's different approaches to comfort depending on what is uncomfortable.

Dave Mayer

I have a Poprad from about that time. Rim brakes: TRP 8.4 shortish V-brakes. These brakes are outstanding, more power than the mechanical disc brakes on my Giant 'cross bike.

Tires? I haven't checked but at least 32's, maybe as large as 38s. Don't know of any riding conditions in which I'd need bigger tires than this, except perhaps real mountain biking, for which I would use a real mountain bike.

Anyway, the Poprad is one of my fav bikes of all time, and the simpler and lighter rim brakes are a net bonus, except in rare muddy, wet, steep conditions.

Eric F 

Not quite. It just takes help from someone who knows what the hell they're doing. This Poprad was converted to disc brakes with the help of Jeremey Sycip (Sycip Cyles)... https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3440846/

mstateglfr 

1- thats a cool bike.
2- thats probably $600+ between the prep, work, and paint. not impossible, but its extremely rare and cost prohibitive for most. Maybe that is a better way to phrase things.
3- odd that there are no pictures of the rear drop out that was worked on. That is the biggest thing about the bike and its not even pictured.

Eric F 

Agreed on all of it. If it was a little smaller, I probably would have bought it...after asking for some additional pics.

fishboat

Rather than go through all that ($600+) with an uncertain outcome..I think I might just look for a 2006-2008 with factory disc brakes. They're around. They've gotten a bit more pricey in recent years, but they are around.

Eric F 

Based on your intended use, I wouldn't change anything. It doesn't sound like you will be putting the kind of demand on it that would necessitate the modifications required for disc brakes. Set it up with the largest tires that will fit (35? You'll have to check this for yourself), gearing appropriate for your terrain, and you'll be just fine.

If you feel like you do need better brake performance than what cantilevers are giving you, maybe consider v-brakes with "travel agent" adapters for use with road levers.

scubaman

+1 for lwaving the frame and fork as is.

Most important change is the tires. If you can indeed fit 38mm, which it sounds like you can, that's legit wide for gravel in my view.

Canti brakes can work very well. Another option is Paul Minimoto v-brakes, which are compatible with road (I.e., short pull) brake levers.and are powerful and easy to set up. Less money, and much less speculative, than getting a frame builder to modofy the bike for disc brakes.

I'd personally switch to 1x, but of course opinions vary about that. 10 speed HG road wheel can take an 11 speed Shimano MTB cassette (I use 11-42 on my gravel bike).