project

[una-velocidad]

I have a question for the fixers and commuters.
I have a 86' or 87' Specialized Stump', that has already been converted to SS. It was just an alternative ss that I would ride around town. Geared entirely to low. Well, I want to make it a fixed gear with 700c wheels. The wheels fit, with no problem. I also want drop bars and a front brake. Now, the fork has a hole near the crown; can that hole be used for caliper brakes, for 27" or 700c wheels? I have to have front brakes.

[wooglin]

That's for mounting a fender, but if you got a long enough mounting bolt on the brake set you could run it all the way through there and put a nut on the other side I suppose. Or for a plan B you could drill out the backside large enough to handle the allen nut that most modern brakes come with. It actually has to insert before it contacts the mounting bolt.

You're also going to have to worry about the reach of the calipers. I'd check that first.

[una-velocidad]

Yeah, the reach is something I thought about. There is a hole on the other side. Maybe it can't be done, it was just a thought. The reason I thought of this is because the hole is in the exact same location as my road bike's caliper mounting hole. Could leave the 26'ers but that would be boring.

[wooglin-at-home]

Got access to a set of 650c road wheels? That's about 26". I wonder if your cantis or Vs could be adjusted to hit those rims. And if you could get enough leverage on them for braking if they did. That'd be kind of fun.

One other thing to think about vis road wheels in an mtb frame is the rear spacing. Certainly you can fit a road hub in an mtb rear triangle, but will you tweak the frame out of alignment when you do it. (And will that matter to you?)

[riderx]

I have a 91 Specialized SS commuter, fork is drilled and TAPPED, so if yours is the same, you'll probably have to drill the hole bigger. Otherwise, it should work as long as you have the reach. A cheap BMX caliper can probably take care of this. It's what I run on my fixed since that frame was made for 27" wheels and I have 700c. Considering you are using a wheel bigger than what was designed of the fork, you may get away with using a standard caliper.

[DancingBear]

I'm guessing that a bmx type caliper will probably be your best bet for something that will fit, but the pads are going to sit so high in the caliper that it could be difficult to get any decent leverage (stopping power) and still have some pad clearance. If the existing hole won't work, put a 700c road fork on that bad boy. Decent 1" road forks are cheap and plentiful, and it shouldn't change your geometry any more than your proposed setup.